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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

It’s hard to believe another year of high school sports has come and gone, and it was among the most unforgettable in the county’s history.

A county team made the finals in each of the six major team sports, with Thompson football and softball, Vincent baseball, Westminster OM boys soccer and Briarwood Christian girls soccer securing state titles while Pelham volleyball, Chelsea girls basketball, Oak Mountain boys soccer and Indian Springs boys soccer made valiant runs to the finals.

Beyond that, we saw a plethora of state championships including Chelsea’s girls indoor and outdoor track and field, Thompson girls bowling as well as a sweep of boys and girls wrestling and Briarwood boys tennis all winning blue maps in addition to the countless individual titles in track and field and wrestling by county athletes.

The All-Sports Team is our annual attempt to distill one of the most talented counties in Alabama into a top 25 list. It is by no means an easy feat to gain recognition, and therefore no easy decision to compile, but this year’s roster once again features state champions, school record holders and future college stars.

Here is the 2025 All-Sports Team listed in alphabetical order following our Athletes of the Year.

 

First Team

Bradley Williams, wrestling, Spain Park. Williams is the Male Athlete of the Year for winning his second-straight state title during an undefeated season. This time however, he did so in a new weight class and while battling complications from Type 1 diabetes. The Davidson commit went 54-0 on the year to extend his high school win streak to 108 straight matches and placed eighth at NHSCA High School Nationals, making him an All-American.

Haley Trotter, basketball, Chelsea. The Female Athlete of the Year was a dominant force for the Hornets, averaging 17.7 points and nine rebounds per game to push Chelsea to its first state championship appearance. Before heading to Shelton State, she made the Alabama All-Star and Super All-State teams while winning her second-straight Shelby County Player of the Year award and earning finalist honors for Class 6A Player of the Year.

Lauren Buchanan, volleyball, Chelsea. The Texas Tech signee finished the year with 764 kills, 346 digs, 95 aces and 35 blocks during the Hornets’ Final Four season. She was named Shelby County Player of the Year in addition to All-American and All-State honors and walks away as the school’s all-time leader in both kills and digs.

Anquon Fegans, football, Thompson. Before graduating and taking his talents to Auburn, Fegans delivered another state championship to Alabaster with a county-high six interceptions. The Class 7A Back of the Year and Shelby County Player of the Year was a MaxPreps All-American, Under Armour All-American and Alabama All-Star selection.

Aubree Hooks, softball, Thompson. Hooks took home her second-straight Shelby County Pitcher of the Year award while securing the Class 7A state championship for Thompson. The Indiana signee finished atop the county in just about every major pitching stat with a 20-0 record, 1.41 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 158 strikeouts against 38 walks and 19 earned runs.

Katie Hopson, softball, Chelsea. Hopson won Shelby County Hitter of the Year and made the All-State First Team with a .461 average, .512 on-base percentage and .954 slugging percentage for a mind-boggling 1.466 OPS. She led the county in five different hitting categories with 49 RBI, 53 runs, 70 hits, 23 doubles and 16 home runs.

Aiden Hughes, baseball, Chelsea. Hughes led a loaded Chelsea rotation to the Class 6A state championship series while earning a share of Shelby County Pitcher of the Year and making the Super All-State team. The Coastal Alabama South signee earned the best ERA in Shelby County at 0.94 and had a 1.08 WHIP with 11.6 strikeouts per seven innings. At the plate, he finished with a .447 average with a .529 on-base percentage.

Luke Jovanovich, soccer, Oak Mountain. Jovanovich helped the Eagles set a state-record unbeaten run of 60 matches while making the Class 7A state finals and winning Shelby County Player of the Year. The Super All-State selection and West Alabama signee finished with 13 goals and 25 assists as a wingback while securing 58 tackles and 37 interceptions.

Chase Kyes, golf, Spain Park. Kyes finished off one of the best careers for an amateur golfer in state history with his third-straight individual state title. The Tennessee signee’s pair of 66’s at the state championship made him one of just five men to win state at least three times and gave him his 17th individual medal of his career. The win came after he reached bracket play in the U.S. Junior Amateur for the second-straight year in July 2024.

Taylor Leib, soccer, Briarwood Christian. Leib won a long-awaited state title with the Lions to cap off her career. She scored 40 goals and added 12 assists to win Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year, Birmingham Metro Player of the Year and Shelby County Player of the Year before joining the Clemson Tigers.

Aiden Owens, basketball, Chelsea. Owens dominated the hardwood to win Shelby County Player of the Year and make the All-State Second Team. He finished with averages of 16.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game during Chelsea’s run to a second-straight area title and Sweet 16, and he earned an opportunity to play at Wallace-Selma as a result.

Aiden Poe, two-sport star, Vincent. Poe was named the Class 2A Pitcher of the Year, Shelby County Pitcher of the Year and made the Super All-State team as part of the Jackets’ first state baseball championship since 1985. The Air Force signee had a 12-1 record, 1.19 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 128 strikeouts and a .450 batting average. That wasn’t his only two-way success as he played both offense and defense during the Jackets’ run to the Class 2A football second round.

Elizabeth Rosenstiel, wrestling, Thompson. Rosenstiel put the Warriors on the national stage as the junior national champion at NHSCA High School Nationals, but not before making history by fueling Thompson’s Class 6A-7A state championship, the first sanctioned title in state history. The North Central College signee took the 145-pound state championship after posting a 43-1 record across the top tournaments in the Southeast.

John Shoemaker, runner, Oak Mountain. Shoemaker already stood as a program legend at Oak Mountain before the season but etched his name into the record books with a runner-up finish in the Class 7A cross-country state championship before winning four state titles in track and field. He won both the indoor and outdoor 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter blue maps before taking his talents to Ole Miss.

Wyatt Williams, baseball, Thompson. Williams was a standout two-way threat for the Warriors, earning a 1.50 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 86 strikeouts on the mound while going .450 at the plate with a 1.258 OPS and 68 RBI off 63 hits. The Alabama commit won Shelby County Hitter of the Year and made the All-State First Team for the latter stat line.

 

Second Team

Brock Bradley, football, Spain Park. Bradley led Spain Park to an undefeated regular season and the Class 6A quarterfinals with 2,667 passing yards and 32 touchdowns against just five interceptions. The Clemson commit and All-State Honorable Mention completed 66 percent of his passes and rushed for six more touchdowns for 38 total.

Ty Cason, runner, Chelsea. The Hornets made history in 2025 with both the indoor and outdoor Class 6A girls track and field state titles, and a big reason for the pair of team titles was Cason’s four individual titles. She added to her two titles from 2024 with indoor and outdoor 400-meter and 800-meter titles. In cross-country, she won the sectional title and her second-straight Shelby County Championship before an injury caused her to miss state.

Akasha Dudley, track and field, Thompson. Dudley continued her shot-put dominance with her third-straight Class 7A indoor state title, capping a five-win season with a throw of 40 feet, 5.75 inches at state. She also won her elusive first outdoor crown with a throw of 44 feet, 8 inches to finish a six-win outdoor season. Dudley also placed second in the outdoor discus state championship.

Grayson Gulde, two-sport star, Vincent. Gulde was the only player in the county to make two different All-State First Teams, securing a Class 2A Lineman of the Year finalist honor with 202 tackles, three sacks and five turnovers as a linebacker before helping the Jackets win a state baseball title with a .442 average, 1.296 OPS and 34 RBI off 42 hits.

Tee King, basketball, Pelham. King made the All-State First Team with 19.3 points, a county-high 4.8 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game to make a splash in her junior season with the Panthers while stepping into a new role as primary scorer.

Camryn McMinn, volleyball, Pelham. McMinn fueled the Panthers’ run to the Class 6A state championship match with a county-high 797 kills plus 397 digs, 70 blocks and 53 aces to make the All-State First Team.

Anthony Palmieri, football, Shelby County. Palmieri was an All-State Honorable Mention and helped Shelby County turn around its record into a runner-up region finish. He finished with a county-high 1,846 yards and 22 touchdowns off a heavy load of 230 carries and also earned three receiving touchdowns.

Marlee Parsons, softball, Helena. Parsons turned in quality start after quality start to lift the Huskies to the Class 6A state championship, leading the county with 185 strikeouts across a 17-8 record while giving up just 49 earned runs and 34 walks in 154 innings. She was both an All-State and All-County First Team selection.

Cooper Jeffcoat, runner, Oak Mountain. Jeffcoat represented the Eagles on the national stage, winning the 800-meter national title at the RunningLane Track Championships and finishing eighth at the New Balance Indoor Nationals to be named Alabama Gatorade Boys Track and Field Player of the Year. He also won two 800-meter state titles with Oak Mountain, earned two podium finishes at state for the 1,600-meter run and finished 25th in the cross-country state championship.

Nick Sykes, wrestling, Shelby County. Sykes finished off his career with his third-straight state championship, joining his teammate Xander Shook with a Class 5A state title. The University of Montevallo signee finished his senior season with a 60-1 record to claim his second-straight crown in the 132-pound division.

Honorable Mention: Caroline Foster, Briarwood Christian. Andrew Groves, Briarwood Christian. Emma Kerley, Briarwood Christian. Drew Mears, Briarwood Christian. Alec Perez, Briarwood Christian. Mary Grace Parker, Briarwood Christian. Niles Cummings, Chelsea. Gabe Pendley, Chelsea. Porter Schott, Chelsea. Alex Hage, Indian Springs. Dylan Heald, Indian Springs. Cara Huff, Indian Springs. Ashna Mehra, Indian Springs. Dee Cutts, Montevallo. Drew Adams, Montevallo. Sam Collins, Oak Mountain. Trey Denny, Oak Mountain. Kylee Hester, Pelham. Londyn Wynn, Pelham. Kenna’d Buie, Shelby County. Cooper Pennington, Shelby County. Xander Shook, Shelby County. Corey Barber, Spain Park. Chenelle Hunter, Spain Park. Cailyn Kyes, Spain Park. Reese Oldfield, Spain Park. Kelsey Burden, Thompson. Emma Roberson, Thompson. Trent Seaborn, Thompson. Kelsey Seigler, Thompson. Lynleigh Weltzin, Thompson. Landon Archer, Vincent. Weaver Caldwell, Westminster OM. Aiden Gamble, Westminster OM. Reese Robbins, Westminster OM.