Simmons Superlatives

It’s been a long journey, but it’s time to finish off the Simmons Superlatives. I think I saved the best for last – the Best Teams in 2024-25 in high school.

It’s great to highlight athletes, coaches and moments (please go back and check out all the stories), but at the end of the day, I think most of us love sports because of the team aspect. Being a part of a team is special – it’s like inheriting a second family when it’s the right team.

Frankly, there aren’t a lot of bad teams in Warren County. But, for the purposes of this list, I’m looking to narrow down the top three. Success was usually the easiest deciding factor when choosing which groups rose to the top – winning still matters, after all.

Again, thanks so much to Security Federal Saving Bank and to everybody who has read the Simmons Superlatives. Being focused on the radio show(s) I do has probably limited my writing more than some people would like, but I enjoy getting to interact with everybody when they tell me their opinions on my lists and especially appreciate everybody who has reached out to say they love the lists.

The likes, the shares, the comments on social media – I’ve seen a lot of them and I truly do appreciate it.

OK, let’s get to the list.

WCHS Pioneer basketball team

This feels like splitting hairs while picking between the two championship Pioneer squads from the winter. In the end, I went with what I think would be the people’s choice considering the whole town continues to be captivated every time a WCHS squad heats up on the hardwood.

It’s easy to see why this particular group of Pioneers had a lot of people flocking to their games over the winter. In an era where everybody likes watching the highlight reels as much as the actual games, Warren County turned a lot of its games into one big highlight reel.

Want high-flying dunks? Just wait for Keyton Reno to come off a back pick for a lob or get out on the break. Want long-range buckets? Corban Felton didn’t mind pulling up from deep and Nate Turner had nights where he heated up faster than a microwave from 3-point range.

If highlight reels aren’t your cup of tea and you prefer the nitty-gritty style of play, the Pioneers could do that too. Deashawn Adams was an elite “garbage” man – a guy who grabbed boards, did the little things and erased top options on other teams. Guys like Chance Whitlock, Isaiah Robledo and others played the same way: They just wanted to do the right things over and over to help their team win.

Take all those fun and important role players and put them around the District 9-4A MVP (Devin Fish) and you have a great recipe for a memorable team.

To add more good news about Pioneer basketball: Almost every player I just mentioned will be back in uniform for WCHS next season (Turner was one of four WCHS players who graduated). Best of all? Danny Fish – coming off being named the District 9-4A coach of the year – is back too.

WCHS wrestling

Again, if you think the District 7-AA champions to be the top boys team in 2024-25, I can’t really argue. It was really a coin flip between the basketball and wrestling groups, with both having a ton of team success in the regular season.

If the Pioneer wrestling team had an edge, it would be that individually, the wrestlers pushed their postseason success all the way to the state level. Multiple Pioneers won individual region titles and one – Jakoby Odineal – ended up standing on the state podium by the end of February.

Much like the Pioneer basketball team, the wrestlers had a cult-like following of fans who supported their group through thick and thin. Honestly, there wasn’t much thin for WCHS on the mat – the Pioneers were almost always in the thick of things and winning over and over.

And also like the basketball team, Warren County wrestling is set up for extended success. Yes, the Pioneers will need to replace the school’s all-time wins leader (Zerek Keel), but Odineal is just going to be a junior next year and other state qualifiers (Burgess Galligan, Jaylen Clayton and Xavier Simmons) will be back too.

They’ll also be joined by some guys from WCMS who helped the young Pioneers finish in the top four in the state in 2024-25. Bottom line: WCHS wrestling is still ascending and may be the odds-on favorite to be the absolute best team in Warren County in 2025-26.

WCHS soccer, golf and baseball

Because it’s the last Simmons Superlative and I make all these lists myself anyway, I decided to cheat a little bit here. I was only going to do three teams, but I didn’t feel like breaking what I felt was almost a virtual tie for third between Pioneer soccer, golf and baseball.

Here’s the case for each:

Soccer – The Pioneers finished second in the season, won 10 matches and had one of their best years in a long time.

Golf - Ty Childers, Noel Davis, Aubrey Bryant and Tyler Adams were able to push the Pioneers into the region tournament AS A TEAM for the first time in nearly a decade.

Baseball – Won 17 games and, yet again, had another kid sign a scholarship (Evan Snapp is heading to Roane State to pitch).

Congratulations to all the Simmons Superlatives winners. We’ll do this again next year I hope!