Midlands HS girls basketball: Breaking down area’s top teams, best players for 2025-26
The high school girls basketball season begins in full this week .
Here is a look at the top teams and players in the area to watch for the 2025-26 season:
Midlands Teams to Watch
Class 5A
Blythewood: The Bengals captured their first state championship in program history last year and begin the season ranked No. 1 in Class 5A Division I by the S.C. Basketball Coaches Association. Blythewood returns most of last year’s team, including the talented trio of Chase Thomas, India Williams and Hayley Hightower.
Chapin: The Eagles have a new coach in Terence Jones, who led Denmark-Olar to three straight Class A championship appearances. Chapin begins the year ranked No. 9 in 5A Division II.
Dutch Fork: The Silver Foxes also are ranked in the preseason at No. 6 in 5A Division I but must replace all-state performer Michaela Fairwell.
Irmo: Coretta Ferguson helped turn around the White Knoll program and will try to do the same with the Yellow Jackets, the 10th-ranked team in 5A Division II. Irmo returns talented junior guard Abby Livingston.
Lexington: The Wildcats haven’t had a losing season in Molly Goodrich’s 10 years as head coach. Lexington, preseason No. 7 in 5A Division I, has a strong front-court that includes Francis Marion signee Sydni Anderson.
Ridge View: The Blazers have a new coach in Aaron Lucas, the former South Carolina point guard who led Lower Richland to a pair of state semifinal appearances during his time there. Ridge View is a preseason No. 10 in 5A Division I and competes in a tough region with Blythewood and Westwood.
River Bluff: The Gators have a new coach in Jordan Leath, who was at Northside Christian a year ago, and a remade roster. River Bluff should bounce back from an 8-20 season a year ago.
Westwood: The eighth-ranked Redhawks (14-15) are coming off their first losing season in a decade but return plenty of firepower, including eighth-grader Amari Alexander, who played varsity as a seventh-grader a year ago.
Class 4A
AC Flora: The Falcons are the No. 9-ranked team in 4A and return most of last year’s squad, including leading scorer Teonna Draughn and Skylar McCray.
Camden: The Bulldogs, No. 4 in Class 4A, will be a team to watch in Lewis Mungo’s second season as head coach. Legion Collegiate transfer Lakiara Ayona Alexander averaged a double-double last season, and the Bulldogs also return double-digit scorers Braylin Mungo, Harmony Jefferson and Jillian Rush.
Gray Collegiate: The War Eagles are the 10th-ranked team in 4A and bring back leading scorer Kiley Freeman as well as transfers Zaria Thompson, Aneya Britt and Alexis Gartmon. The biggest obstacle for Gray is competing in the same region as powerhouse North Augusta.
Lower Richland: Three-time S.C. Gatorade Player of Year Morgan Stroman takes over at her alma mater. Stroman’s mom had success as a head coach, winning seven state titles, and she will look to keep one of the area’s tradition-rich programs going strong.
Class 3A
Keenan: The Raiders are in the title hunt year in and year out. Keenan is ranked No. 3 in the preseason in 3A and returns Taelor Lee-Sutton, who was all-state as a freshman.
Class 2A
Eau Claire: The Shamrocks are coming off their first state championship appearance since 1998 but graduated most of their roster. Eau Claire starts the season ranked No. 8 in 2A.
Saluda: The Tigers are ranked No. 10 in 2A and bring back Ceddrianna Springs. Sophomore was an all-state selection and averaged 21.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.6 steals and 1.1 blocks last season.
Class A
CA Johnson: The Green Hornets are ranked No. 8 in the Class A preseason poll and will look to make a deep preseason run.
SCISA
Heathwood Hall: The Highlanders fell short in their bid for a third-straight SCISA 4A title last year and must replace their top three scorers, including South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year Lauren Jacobs.
Preseason Honors
The State’s Preseason Player of Year: Chase Thomas, Blythewood
Players to Watch
Amari Alexander, Westwood: Alexander started on varsity as a seventh-grader last season and averaged 10.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
Lakiara Ayona Alexander, Camden: Tennessee State commitment and transfer to Camden program was voted by coaches as one of top five seniors to watch in Class 4A. Alexander averaged 16.8 points and 10.8 rebounds last season at Legion Collegiate in Rock Hill.
Sydni Anderson, Lexington: Senior signed with Francis Marion and averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds last season.
Aneya Britt, Gray Collegiate: Junior played at Westwood last season and averaged 15 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game last year.
Kristin Brown, Keenan: Senior averaged 13.8 points and 2.9 steals per game last season.
Trinity Crumlin, Dutch Fork: Junior forward/center averaged 9 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks per game last season.
Teonna Draughn, AC Flora: Senior was named one of the top five seniors to watch in Class 4A by SCBCA and averaged 14.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.4 assists last season.
Mikayla Foster, Ridge View: Lower Richland transfer averaged 10.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game last season.
Kiley Freeman, Gray Collegiate: Junior averaged 10.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.1 rebounds per game last season.
Evie Godfrey, River Bluff: Junior played last season at Northside Christian and averaged 18.7 points, 5.8 steals, 4.4 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game.
Reagan Haggard, Chapin: Senior and East Tennessee State softball signee averaged 10.3 points and 9 rebounds per game last season.
Hayley Hightower, Blythewood: Senior averaged 12.4 points, 5 steals and 3.5 rebounds per game last year.
Harmony Jefferson, Camden: Junior averaged 12.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.9 steals per game last season.
Jenna Johnson, River Bluff: Junior averaged 12.1 points and 7.9 rebounds last season.
Simone Johnson, Ridge View: Senior averaged 8.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2 steals per game last season.
Taelor Lee-Sutton, Keenan: Sophomore was an all-state selection and averaged 18.3 points, 5.0 steals and 3.0 assists this season.
Jazzlyn McMillan, Hammond: Junior comes over from Fairfield Central and was an all-state selection, averaging 17.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.1 steals.
Skylar McCray, AC Flora: Senior averaged 9.6 points and 2.4 rebounds per game last season.
Braylin Mungo, Camden: Junior was an all-state selection and averaged 15 points, 5 assists and 5 steals per game.
Abby Livingston, Irmo: Junior averaged 17.7 points, 4.9 steals and 3.5 assists per game last season.
Blythe Price, Gilbert: Sophomore averaged 14.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game last season.
Jordan Samuel, Lugoff-Elgin: Sophomore averaged 14 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.6 steals per game last season.
Ceddrianna Springs, Saluda: Sophomore was an all-state selection and averaged 21.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.6 steals and 1.1 blocks last season.
Jhani Sumter, Lower Richland: Senior is one of top five seniors to watch in 4A by SCBCA, was an all-state selection last year and averaged 13.3 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.6 assists per game.
Chase Thomas, Blythewood: Senior is one of the top five seniors to watch in Class 5A Division I, was an all-state selection last year and averaged 23 points, 12 rebounds and 3 steals.
Chaelyn Tifre, River Bluff: Senior averaged 12 points, 10.9 rebounds and 3.6 steals per game last season at Northside Christian.
India Williams, Blythewood: Senior is one of the top five seniors to watch in Class 5A Division I, was an all-state selection and averaged 17 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game
Others to Watch
Brea Boyd, Mid-Carolina; Kynadi Breland, Dreher; Dominique Briggs, Spring Valley; Campbell Childers, River Bluff; Maddie Coker, Northside Christian; Tamira Delaney, AC Flora; Eady Detreville, Cardinal Newman; Alexis Gartmon, Gray Collegiate; Teryn Hobson, Lugoff-Elgin; Dakota Jenkins, Heathwood Hall; Aaliyah Lee, Dutch Fork; Jaleya Lytes, Lexington; Jilian Rush, Camden; Lailyah Singletary, Irmo; Ariel Summons, Ben Lippen; Zaria Thompson, Gray Collegiate; Elaina Whalen, Ben Lippen; Sidney White, White Knoll
This story was originally published November 24, 2025 at 2:26 PM.
