Top 15 rising high school juniors in Gibson County for the 2025-26 school year

By Michael Odom | July 22, 2025 |

1913 – South Gibson’s Jade Reed (23) goes up for a layup against Bolivar during the Region 7-3A high school basketball quarterfinals at South Gibson on Feb. 28, 2025.

As the 2025-26 school year continues to near, we broke down the top 15 seniors going into the year last week. This week, we look at the top 15 returning juniors in GibsonCounty for the upcoming school year.

1. Jade Reed (South Gibson girls basketball) – Reed, the 2024-25 All-Gibson County girls basketball player of the year, helped lead the Lady Hornets to the Class 3A semifinals last season as she averaged 11.1 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 2.0 assists, while shooting 65.3 percent from the field.

2. Marleigh Chicantek (South Gibson girls golf) – Chicantek, the 2024 All-Gibson County girls golfer of the year, averaged a 74.75 over four rounds of postseason play last season. She finished 13th at the Class AA state tournament with a 152 (79-73).

3. Darion Taylor (Humboldt boys basketball, football) – Taylor was a two-sport star for the Vikings last season. In basketball, Taylor helped lead the Vikings to the Class 1A semifinals last season as he averaged 11.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists. In football, Taylor helped the Vikings to a three-win season as he had 35 receptions for 472 yards and five touchdowns, 23 kickoff returns for 659 yards and two touchdowns and 57 total tackles with one interception and one fumble recovery.

4. Kooper McFarland (South Gibson boys soccer) – McFarland helped lead the Hornets to the Class AA state quarterfinals last season as he made 76 saves with a 78 percent save percentage.

5. Anna Fawcett (South Gibson girls soccer) – Fawcett helped lead the Lady Hornets to the Class AA state quarterfinals last season, and she was named the District 13-AA Defensive most valuable player.

6. Kendall McLemore (Humboldt girls basketball) – McLemore helped the Lady Vikings to the Region 7-1A quarterfinals last season as she averaged 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

7. Sabryna Day (Humboldt girls basketball) – Day helped lead the Lady Vikings to the Region 7-1A quarterfinals last season as she averaged 15 points, four rebounds and two assists.

8. Alexis Wilson (Peabody softball) – Wilson helped the Lady Tide to a 12-win season last season as she batted .453 with 13 extra-base hits, including three home runs, 25 RBI, 36 runs and 14 stolen bases.

9. Clay Pruett (South Gibson cross country, boys soccer, track) – Pruett was a three-sport athlete for the Hornets last year. In soccer, Pruett was a key component of the defensive line that helped the Hornets reach the Class AA quarterfinals. In cross country, Pruett finished 41st in the Region 7 A-AA meet with a time of 19:22.89. In track, Pruett ran one leg of the Hornets’ 4×800 meter relay that reached the Class AA state meet and finished eighth with a time of 9:28.71.

10. Rebel Blackwell (South Gibson boys soccer) – Blackwell helped lead the Hornets to the Class AA state quarterfinals last season as he played a key role in the defense recording eight clean sheets.

11. Austin Crone (South Gibson boys soccer) – Crone played well on the wing for the Hornets as they made the run to the Class AA state quarterfinals. His ability to run helped South Gibson spread the field.

12. Tieanna Adkisson (Milan girls basketball) – Adkisson helped lead the Lady Bulldogs to an 11-win season last season as she averaged 6.7 points and 8.3 rebounds.

13. Carson Kelley (Milan football) – Kelley helped the Bulldogs to a 13-win season and spot in the Class 2A state title game as he rushed for 378 yards and five touchdowns on 53 carries to go with 24 total tackles, including two tackles for loss, two sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

14. Andrea Criswell (Gibson County softball) – Criswell helped the Lady Pioneers to a fourth-place finish in the District 14-2A tournament last season as she batted .379 with 0.946 on-base percentage and five doubles and one triple.

15. Grey Buchanan (Peabody baseball) – Buchanan helped the Golden Tide to a 10-win season last year as he batted .356 with 29 total hits, one double and successfully stole 12 of the 14 bases he attempted.

Michael Odom is the sports editor for the Mirror-Exchange, Weakley County Press, Brownsville States-Graphic and Fayette Falcon. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @GCSportsWriter. Reach him by email at michaelodom@milanmirrorexchange.com.