Nine storylines to follow as Midlands high school teams battle in the postseason
The high school sports season in South Carolina is winding down, and the postseason is about to get going in earnest.
SC Independent Schools Association crowned champions in boys tennis, boys golf and track and field last week. SC High School League will crown its first champions this weekend in boys tennis, boys and girls lacrosse, and SCISA soccer titles are on the line.
SCHSL baseball, soccer and softball playoffs begin this week along with state qualifiers for boys golf and track and field. Here are nine storylines to watch for Midlands teams over the next month.
Farewell seasons for Andy Hallett and Chris Fryland
It will be the last postseason for Andy Hallett with AC Flora baseball and Chris Fryland with Lexington girls soccer.
Hallett, who won his 600th game earlier this year, will be leaving the Falcons after 29 seasons to take over as athletic director and baseball coach at Midlands STEM Charter School. The Falcons have won seven state titles under Hallett and can make a run at another this year. AC Flora won its 22nd region title under Hallett and enters the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the Class 4A Upper State.
Fryland, the winningest girls soccer coach in SC history, is retiring at the end of the season. The Wildcats won the region title and are the No. 2 seed in the Class 5A Division I Lower State bracket. Lexington is in the same part of the bracket as Wando.
Gray Collegiate softball looks to cap perfect season
Gray Collegiate softball is the favorite to win a second straight Class 4A championship and enters the playoffs undefeated at 26-0. The War Eagles are the No. 1 seed in 4A Lower State bracket and are ranked No. 6 nationally in MaxPreps’ Top 25 poll.
Gray’s roster features South Carolina signee Aspen Boulware, who reclassified and is graduating in 2026. Boulware entered last week hitting .542 with 8 home runs and 32 RBIs.
The War Eagles have a strong 1-2 at pitcher in Makenzie Sease and Payton Hendrix ,who have thrown multiple no-hitters this season. Sease has 107 strikeouts in 54.1 innings.
The favorites in track and field
The Blythewood girls and Ridge View boys track and field teams will look to extend their championship streaks.
The Bengals are going for their fourth-straight championship, second in Class 5A Division I and dominated the region meet last week.
Ridge View looks for its third straight title and second in a row in Class 5A Division I. The Blazers also impressed at the Region 5-5A championship a week ago.
Westwood boys also will be a contender for a championship in Class 5A Division II.
Fairfield Central will be going for its third-straight Class 2A title while Gray Collegiate eyes a third-straight 4A crown.
Cardinal Newman boys soccer go for No. 7
The Cardinal Newman boys soccer team is going for its seventh-straight SCISA state championship.
The Cardinals are the No. 1 seed in the SCISA 4A playoffs and have a first-round bye. Cardinal Newman had a four-match losing streak (three to teams from Tennessee) earlier this year but entered the playoffs with shutouts in seven of its last nine matches.
More local soccer contenders
In addition to the Lexington girls and Cardinal Newman boys, the area has other contenders for the state soccer championships.
The Blythewood boys team is the top seed in the Class 5A Division I Upper State bracket while Chapin boys are No. 2 in 5A Division II Lower State.
The Chapin girls team is No. 1 seed in Class 5A Division II Lower State and going for its third state championship appearance. Blythewood girls are No. 2 seed in Class 5A Division I Upper State.
Gray Collegiate girls are the No. 1 seed in Class 4A Lower State while the boys are the No. 2 seed. The Gray girls team has never played for a state championship while the boys, coached by Kevin Heise, one of state’s winningest coaches, are looking for their first appearance at 4A level after making three straight in 2A from 2022-24.
Other teams to watch for in Class 4A are both AC Flora and Dreher soccer teams
Gray baseball rolling with interim coach
Gray Collegiate baseball is one of the top contenders as the Class 4A playoffs begin.
The War Eagles are playing under interim coach James Adams after Matthew Hornsby resigned just before the season started.
Gray Collegiate won the Region 5-4A championship and entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in 4A Lower State bracket and ranked No. 2 in the latest Class 4A SC Baseball Coaches Poll. Gray Collegiate has won 17 of their last 19 games, but one of those losses was to the reigning state champion, Airport.
The Eagles have the pieces to make another championship run and could play Gray in the opening round of the 4A Lower State championship if they both win their district championships.
Gilbert also is in the 4A Lower State Bracket and is No. 7 seed
Will a local team play for the Class 5A baseball title?
Since the state expanded to five classifications in the 2016-17 school year, an area team has played for a Class 5A title in six of the last eight years with all local matchups in two of those years.
The area looks to continue that trend with Blythewood being one of the favorites to do it. The Bengals are the No. 2 seed in the 5A Division I Upper State bracket. They are one of the hottest teams in the state, but had their 21-game win streak snapped by Lexington in the final game of the regular season last week.
Lexington enters the playoffs with a losing record but is the No. 3 seed in 5A Division I Lower State after earning the top spot from Region 5-5A. The Wildcats are looking for their third straight championship appearance.
Lexington girls lacrosse eyes second title
The Lexington girls lacrosse team is playing for its second straight Class 5A Division I championship.
The Wildcats were a win away over rival River Bluff on Monday from making it back to the championship. Lexington has won 14 straight games and hasn’t lost since Feb. 27.
Other area lacrosse teams still left are AC Flora boys and both Chapin girls and boys teams.
Can River Bluff boys golf repeat?
River Bluff boys will be eyeing their second straight Class 5A Division I golf championship.
The Gators have been on a roll as late, winning the region championship and also the Anderson Brothers Invitational.
River Bluff finished second behind James Island in Monday’s 5A Division I Lower State qualifier and headed to next week’s state championship in Myrtle Beach. Blythewood and Lexington also qualified for next week’s state championship.
