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FROM STAFF REPORTS

BIRMINGHAM – Vincent High School senior Aiden Poe and Opp High School’s Haley Vendetti were named the Bryant-Jordan Scholarship Foundation’s 2025 state Scholar-Athlete and Student Achievement award recipients at Monday night’s 40^th annual Bryant-Jordan Student Athlete Awards Banquet held at the Sheraton Ballroom Monday night, April 14.

Poe, an outstanding multi-sport athlete at Class 2A Vincent High School, was the first Class 2A student to claim the Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award since Harriett Washington of Aliceville High School in 2011.

“I have never been a rah rah guy to get motivated,” Poe said. “Getting this honor though, well, I am just so grateful.”

Poe, who will be attending Air Force Academy playing baseball and also pursuing his dream to become a pilot, is one of the state’s elite high school baseball players. He started playing shortstop on Vincent’s varsity baseball team as a seventh grader, played on elite summer league teams for years, and won the 2024 Class 2A Pitcher of the Year award as a junior.

Aiden has mastered the ability to excel academically and athletically. He carries a 4.4 GPA while taking numerous dual enrollment and AP classes. He scored 31 on the ACT and is slated to be Vincent’s salutatorian. He’s never made less than A on his report card.

As a junior, the right-hander compiled a 12-1 pitching record and added a save while striking out 134 of 303 batters he faced. Perhaps most impressive is the fact he walked only eight batters in 79 1/3 innings – a state record. He was also captain of the football team.

Poe received the Larry Striplin, Jr., Scholar-Athlete Award, and Vendetti received the Ken and Betty Joy Blankenship Student-Achievement Award as the overall state recipients. The Achievement award was being presented for the 37^th consecutive year. A total of 104 high school regional senior honorees were recognized and awarded more than $500,000 in scholarships through the Bryant-Jordan program annually.

The scholarship program, named in honor of the late coaches Paul “Bear” Bryant of Alabama and Ralph “Shug” Jordan of Auburn, recognized 52 regional scholar-athlete winners selected for their excellence in athletics and academics and 52 achievement winners chosen for their ability to compete in athletics while overcoming major obstacles during their high school careers.

Eight students in each category were selected as regional winners in Classes 1A through 6A. Four regional winners in each category were selected from school nominations in Class 7A. Each of the 104 regional winners received a $3,000 scholarship. the 14 Class winners received an additional $3,500; and for each overall state winner, the stipend received was $4,000.

In addition to Poe’s award, multiple area athletes were regional recipients of the Bryant-Jordan Scholarship Program Scholar-Athlete Award.

Westminster OM’s Reese Robbins represented Class 2A, Region 5, Briarwood Christian’s Taylor Leib is Class 5A, Region 4’s winner and Spain Park’s Zachary Erickson won the award for Class 6A, Region 4.

As for the Bryant-Jordan Scholarship Program’s Achievement Award, Calera’s Alysssa Quintanilla won the award for Class 6A, Region 3 while Pelham’s Johan Favero was recognized for Class 6A, Region 4.