Top 15 rising sophomores in Weakley County for the 2026-27 school year

By Michael Odom | July 21, 2026 |

Dresden’s Hudson McDaniel runs in the Class A state cross country race at Shelby Farms on Nov. 6, 2025.

Over the past two weeks, we have looked at the top returning seniors and top returning juniors for the four schools in Weakley County.

This week, we look at the top 15 returning sophomores. This is a much harder category to decide upon because freshmen don’t always get playing time with the varsity team.

But here are the top 15 sophomores in Weakley County:

1. Hudson McDaniel (Dresden girls cross country, track & field) – To start the list, we have an athlete that has already won two state championships in her first year of high school. McDaniel proved to be one of the best runners in West Tennessee. In cross country, she won the Class A state championship with a time of 19:12.20. During the track season, McDaniel ran the 3200-meter run with a time of 11.48.12 to win the state title, beating McKenzie’s Abigail Wallace by 2.78 seconds.

2. Ella Porter (Greenfield girls basketball) – Entering her sophomore year, Porter has already played in two state tournaments with a total of five state tournament games. After winning the Class 1A state title as an eighth-grader, Porter helped the Lady Yellowjackets to a semifinal finish in the 2026 state tournament. She averaged 21.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 3.2 steals.

3. Colin Haskins (Westview football, basketball, baseball) – When Haskins was on the field, he proved to be a high-level athlete, but he sustained two foot injuries that kept him out of all three seasons for a time period. Haskins got playing time at quarterback behind Graham Simpson in the fall. He returned early in the basketball season and started to get quality minutes at guard before his second foot injury right before the postseason. He came back late in the baseball season, playing in 15 games and batting .390 with five doubles, one triple, 12 RBI and 10 runs as the Chargers finished in the top four in Class 2A.

4. Maggie King (Westview girls basketball) – King provided quality time in the post for the Lady Chargers as they made a return trip to the Class 2A state tournament after winning the District 14-2A championship and finishing runner-up in Region 7-2A. She averaged 5.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, while shooting 53.2 percent from the field.

5. Charlie Sutherland (Westview boys golf, baseball) – Sutherland played as the Chargers’ No. 3 golfer throughout the season, and he shot a 83 average over two rounds of postseason play with an 81 in the District 14-A tournament and a 85 in the Region 7-A tournament. He also showed his ability on the mound as he pitched 34 innings for the Chargers that finished in the Class 2A semifinals, going 4-1 with two saves, while striking out 38 and finishing with a 2.88 ERA.

6. Jackson Woodrough (Westview boys cross country) – Woodrough broke onto the long-distance running scene as a rookie and showed his true potential. In cross country, he had a top-25 finish in the Class AA state meet. He finished 23rd in the Class AA state meet with a time of 18:28.45.

7. Cannon Floyd (Dresden boys basketball) – Floyd was a constant for the Lions as they worked through a rebuilding year. He helped lead the Lions to the Region 7-1A quarterfinals as he averaged 12.4 points and 6.5 rebounds, while shooting 57 percent from the field.

8. Jace Thomas (Greenfield baseball) – Thomas came in and filled a big hole in the infield in helping the Yellowjackets reach the Class 1A state tournament for the first time in program history. He batted .391 with a .469 on-base percentage, including three doubles.

9. Athan Spaulding (Dresden football) – Spaulding showed his ability to be a 3-point shooter on the basketball team as a freshman, but he transitioning to be the starting quarterback on the football team this year. The former starter moved to Murray (Ky.) before dead period, and Spaulding has already shown the ability to hit receivers.

10. Miles Cary (Dresden boys cross country) – Cary is showing is potential already as a long-distance runner. Last fall, he finished 49th in the Class A state cross country meet, finishing with a time of 19:23.46.

11. Raulan Gonzalez (Westview boys soccer) – Gonzalez was the leading scorer for the Chargers as they won the District 12-A championship. He scored 13 goals last season to go with two assists.

12. Wesley Hatler (Westview golf, baseball) – Hatler stayed in the top five all season for the Chargers’ golf team and helped them reach the region tournament. On the baseball field, he earned a starting spot as the team went through injuries with 28 games played. He batted .236 with eight RBI and nine runs.

13. Caidan Mount (Dresden football) – Mount got playing time last year on special teams with kickoff and punt returns His playing time should increase this season as he takes a bigger role in the offense.

14. Ainsley Phillips (Westview girls cross country) – Phillips battled through her rookie season and continued the strong long-distance running group from the county. Phillips reached the Class AA state meet and finished 108th with a time of 24:43.92.

15. Brayden Madison (Greenfield football) – Madison moved into the center position last year to fill and big hole to allow Caden Sparkman to move on the line. He helped solidify an offensive line that reached the second round of the Class 1A playoffs.

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.