2025-2026 Basketball Tipoff
Lovorn brings experience, playoff tradition to Eagles' job
BY TIM RITTER tritter@hearstnp.com
The moment that Travis Schulte retired from his head coaching position at Canyon High School, his successor was already in place.
Schulte, who built a regional championship basketball program during his time in Canyon, passed the baton and whistle to Canyon native and former Eagles point guard Kyle Lovorn for the 20252026 season.
Lovorn was the Lubbock Cooper head girls basketball coach for many years before joining Schulte a year ago as Canyon’s JV basketball coach and varsity assistant.
This season, Canyon steps in a different direction with Lovorn bringing a very fast-paced offense to Joe Lombard Gymnasium and an aggressive pressure defense.
“With a considerable amount of experience returning, we are hoping to have a highly
competitive season and make a deep run in the playoffs,” Lovorn said.
The Eagles return eight players and four starters from a 2024-2025 team that finished 17-16 and lost in the first round of the playoffs.
Among the players to watch, according to Lovorn, are Jordan Webber, Cal Munsell, Hansen Williamson and Brox Hacker.
The identity of the Eagles under Lovorn will be “Teamship and Toughness.”
“Our strengths will be our length and rebounding, while our weakness will be consistent shooting,” Lovorn said.
“We change our approach on the court based on our personnel. This upcoming season, we would like to play fast offensively, as well as apply a lot of pressure defensively. I expect rebounding to be a strong point for us,” Lovorn said.
The Eagles’ schedule will feature tough non-district games against Amarillo High (Tuesday night), Lubbock Monterey and Lubbock Coronado.
“Our non-district schedule is composed of 5A’s Amarillo High, Plainview, Lubbock Coronado and Lubbock Monterey, as well as tough opponents at the Yellow City Classic Tournament and Glen Rose Tournament,” Lovorn said.
“We are confident our nondistrict schedule will prepare us well for district.”
District wise, Lovorn expects a lot of tough games this season.
“With us and West Plains having so many returners from last season, I expect us to compete for a championship,” Lovorn said. “Randall, Pampa, Dumas, Hereford, Perryton and Borger (will be teams to watch).”
Lady Eagles ride senior leadership to strong season
BY TIM RITTER tritter@hearstnp.com
When it comes to Canyon Lady Eagles basketball, everyone wants to know if they’re going to be a state champion.
For many years, former head coaches Bob Schneider and Joe Lombard built a program that included more than 20 state championships and thousands of victories over 40-plus years.
Tate Lombard, the son of Joe Lombard and the current Lady Eagles head basketball coach, has a wealth of experience back from last season’s regional tournament appearance.
“We are excited about this upcoming season,” Tate Lombard said. “With several returning players, as well as some new faces that should make an immediate impact, we think this team will be a fun group to coach.”
The Lady Eagles welcome back six returning players from a 2024-2025 team that finished 30-5 and advanced to the Class 4A Division I Regional Finals … falling to eventual state champion Decatur.
“Our players to watch this
season will be senior guard Kambrie Graser, senior guard Tai Wright, junior point guard Addison Cunningham and junior guard Theresa Mode,” Tate Lombard said.
“With our returning players, we expect each one of them to take a step forward in their overall performance and leadership.”
The Lady Eagles’ offense will evolve around their personnel, according to Tate Lombard.
“We change a few things each year to fit our personnel,” Tate Lombard said. “We pride ourselves on being fundamentally sound and show toughness on both ends of the court.”
Looking at the strengths of the Lady Eagles this season, Tate Lombard sees team chemistry being at the top.
“We feel that our team chemistry is really strong with this group,” Tate Lombard said. “They have been working hard this fall and coming together as a team. We will rely on our veterans to help lead and set the tone for how we should play and practice each day. Our newcomers have shown a lot of promise to make an immediate impact, as well.”
To help with the team chemistry, Tate Lombard added assistant coaches Brig Gerlich and Emma Phillips to work with Joe Lombard this season. Gerlich is the husband of former Canyon All-State point guard Nicole (Hampton) Gerlich.
So far this season, Canyon is 2-0 with wins over Panhandle and Canadian. Graser and Wright continue to lead the offensive scoring with doubledigit performances, including a 37-point effort for Graser against Panhandle.
Tate Lombard noted that the team motto and identity will be “Toughest Team Wins.”
“We stole it from Texas Tech and Grant McCasland,” Tate Lombard said. “We’ve been working on ways to continually develop physical, mental and emotional toughness by how we practice and play.”
The Lady Eagles’ schedule will definitely be challenging, according to Tate Lombard.
“We, once again, have a really challenging non-district schedule. We will host two tournaments this year (First United Bank Shootout on Nov. 20-22 and Tatum Tough Tournament on Dec. 30-31)
and will participate in Aledo’s Tournament on Dec. 4-6,” Tate Lombard said.
“We feel that our nondistrict schedule will give us different opportunities to grow and improve before district starts.
“All of the 4-4A teams graduated some key veteran players last year, so all of us will look a little different coming into the 2026 season. There are so many good
coaches in our district, that we know each game we will need to be ready to play our best game. We are excited for the opportunity to compete in a tough district and potentially make a deep run in the playoffs.”
Canyon faces Shallowater on Thursday night in the First United Bank Shootout and Lubbock Cooper on Saturday morning in the shootout. Both games will be played at Joe Lombard Gymnasium.
Cowboys aim to make Class 1A Division I State Tournament
BY TIM RITTER tritter@hearstnp.com
The Happy Cowboys bring a hard-nosed work ethic into the 2025-2026 basketball season under new head coach Zach Kidd.
Kidd takes over a Cowboys basketball program that finished 22-12 overall and 9-2 in district. The Cowboys also reached the third round of the Class 1A state playoffs.
With the football season wrapping up earlier this month, the Cowboys are switching out their cleats for high-tops and will be starting non-district play on Nov. 25 at home against Vega.
Players to watch for the Cowboys this season consist of: junior Tad Evans, sophomore J Lond Ferguson and sophomore Noxon Bennett who played an integral role in last year’s season.
Kidd and the Cowboys feature a 2025-2026 schedule that includes these games:
November 25: vs. Vega
December 9: at Vega
December 12: vs. Boys Ranch
December 19: vs. Lazbuddie
December 30: at Bovina
January 2: vs. Fort Elliott
January 6: at Hart
January 9: vs. Nazareth
January 13: at Hart
January 16: at Silverton
January 20: at Kress
January 23: vs. Springlake-Earth
January 27: at Lazbuddie
January 30: vs. Hart
February 3: at Nazareth
February 10: vs. Silverton
February 13: vs. Kress
February 17: at Springlake-Earth
Cowgirls embrace 20252026 season with first-year head coach Kelsie Hill
BY TIM RITTER tritter@hearstnp.com
The Happy Cowgirls are looking to make another strong push to the Class 1A State Basketball Playoffs under first-year head coach Kelsi Hill. With a 3-0 record thus far and victories over Fritch (30-20), Lockney (45-9) and
Sunray (24-22), the Cowgirls have reeled off a three-game winning streak.
The 2025-2026 roster consists of senior Emmy Holstein, sophomore Eva Burris, senior Angel Reyes, junior Bela Ramirez, senior Celia Middleton, sophomore Kaydence Bender,
senior Arianna PerezBurch, junior Lynnlea Johnson and junior Kadence Jordan. In 2024-2025, the Cowgirls finished 25-5 overall and 9-3 in district. Also, the Cowgirls advanced to the fourth round of the state playoffs, where they lost 63-39 to Borden County.
The Cowgirls’ schedule will include the following games:
November 18: at Bushland
December 9: at Vega
December 12: vs. Kress
December 16: at Springlake-Earth
December 19: vs. Lazbuddie
December 30: at Bovina
January 2: vs. Fort Elliott
January 6: at Hart
January 9: vs. Nazareth
January 13: at Sunray
January 16: at Silverton
January 20: at Kress
January 23: vs. Springlake-Earth
January 27: at Lazbuddie
January 30: vs. Hart
February 3: at Nazareth
February 10: vs. Silverton
Raiders look to regroup under Coach Johnson
BY TIM RITTER tritter@hearstnp.com
Trevor Johnson eats, sleeps and breathes Randall Raiders basketball.
The second-year head coach and longtime assistant under the late Leslie Broadhurst, Johnson welcomes the challenge of taking the Raiders back to the UIL Class 4A State Tournament in San Antonio.
Randall, year in and year out, has been one of the state’s top basketball programs in Class 4A … dating all the way back to the late 1990s where Broadhurst had the Raiders always on the brink of making the state tournament.
This season, Johnson says, “We are looking to continue building on what our program has built over the past three seasons. This year will have a different pace to it, as it is a whole new team and the introduction of football players, but our goals and sights have not changed from previous seasons.”
Randall returns three letterwinners from a 2024-2025 team that finished 31-6 and advanced to the Class 4A Division II Regional Finals.
The identity, according to Johnson, is “we really do not have a team motto this season, but our mentality is to win the day every day. We are really young and inexperienced right now, so we are preaching to our players that we are 0-0 every day, and that it is imperative that we win the day in order to improve.”
Randall’s strengths will focus on scoring.
“We believe this team could be one of our better offensive teams that we have had,” Johnson said. “We have to really focus on getting better defensively every day.”
The offensive and defensive philosophies will change based on
personnel, according to Johnson.
“As the season progresses and more bodies return to the gym after football season, we will be able to gradually ease into our defensive mentality,” Johnson added.
“Offensively, we still want to push the pace and shoot the ball as much as we can. We feel like early on in the season, our offense will be the strength of our team.”
Players to watch for Randall will be
Camden Hardy (6-9 junior post), Eddie Cruz (6-1 junior guard), Kobe Baccas (6-2 sophomore forward) and Braylon Thompson (6-0 senior guard).
“Cam is going to be a great player for our basketball program once he learns the speed and physicality of varsity basketball,” Johnson said.
“Eddie has the potential to be one of the best shooters in the (Texas) Panhandle. In the first game of the season, Eddie tied the school record with 9 3’s in a game.
“Kobe made big strides in his freshman year as a varsity basketball
player. We are looking for him to make an even bigger impact on our team this year. Braylon brings toughness and athleticism to our basketball team.”
Looking at the Raiders schedule, Johnson believes it will be a test night in and night out.
“We pride ourselves in scheduling the toughest non-district and tournament opponents as possible,” Johnson said. “We want to see the quality opponents that will be similar to district foes, such as West Plains
and Canyon, as well as the better teams in our region.
“With West Plains returning every player, it is hard not to put them at the top of the district. Canyon returns almost everyone as well. I feel like we will start playing really good basketball by the time district is about to start up.
“This could be the year where the top of the district comes down to whoever is playing their best basketball and is the healthiest in January/February.”
Happy Volunte er Fire Dep ar tment
Good Luck Happy Cowboys & Cowgirls On A Great Basketball Season!
Lady Raiders strive for long postseason run under Walthall
BY TIM RITTER tritter@hearstnp.com
Optimism is high for the Randall Lady Raiders going into the 2025-26 basketball season.
Under veteran head coach Brooke Walthall, the Lady Raiders are looking to make a deep playo run … building o the regional semi nals a year ago.
“We are really excited about this group of girls. We have a strong junior class and a lot of talented underclassmen who have already stepped up and are pushing each other every day,” Walthall said.
“ ey’ve been fun to work with so far this season … they bring great energy, compete hard and truly enjoy being around one another. e chemistry and commitment they’ve shown early on give us a lot to look forward to.”
e Lady Raiders return ve juniors from that regional semi nal team.
“ at experience was huge for our program and for the girls who are coming back … they know what it takes to compete deep in the playo s and are hungry to get even further this season,” Walthall said.
ose ve juniors include Kennah omas, Hailey Hedrick, Carmella Guerrero, Tatum Gibson and Azariah Gilliam.
“Kennah has been a two-year starter and continues to grow as both a player and a leader. She’s very talented, always in the gym, and constantly working to get better. Her experience and competitiveness set the tone
for our team,” Walthall said.
“Hailey is an aggressive player who plays with a lot of heart. She has a strong presence in the lane and has worked hard to improve her outside game, which makes her even more versatile this year.
“Carmella is a quick, skilled guard who had multiple double-digit scoring games for us last season. She gives us a spark o ensively and brings consistency to our perimeter play.
“Tatum is a gritty, hard-working player who always brings energy and intensity to the oor. She does all the little things that make a big di erence in games.
“Azariah unfortunately tore her ACL early in the school year, but she continues to be a great teammate. Even from the bench, she’s growing, learning and supporting her teammates every day.”
Walthall’s philosophy and playing style revolves around playing at a high-level.
“We are continuing to grow on the
o ensive end and trying some new looks this year,” Walthall said. “Our players are really improving in their understanding of the game, and that growth is helping our overall o ensive ow and con dence.
“Defensively, we’re changing things up a bit and enjoying experimenting with some new approaches. e girls have bought in and are having fun with it, which makes a big di erence in their energy and e ort.
“We always want to keep evolving … every group is di erent, and part of our job is to adjust to their strengths while challenging them to keep learning and improving.”
e Lady Raiders’ biggest strength this season, according to Walthall, will be their chemistry and work ethic.
“ ese girls truly enjoy being around each other, and that shows in how they play,” Walthall added. “ ey compete hard, support one another, and bring great energy to the gym every day.
“We also have a strong junior class with
HAPPY COWBOYS & CANYON EAGLES
valuable experience from last year’s playo run, and our underclassmen add depth and talent at every position. at combination of leadership and youth gives us a great balance.”
An area the Lady Raiders are looking to improve on is their consistency.
“(We need) to make sure we’re bringing the same focus and intensity every game and every possession,” Walthall said. “We also want to keep improving our communication and execution, especially as we add some new looks on both ends of the oor.
“Overall, this group’s attitude and drive to improve are what make them special.”
Walthall views the district competition to be very competitive.
“Our district is always tough, with great coaches and great players. Every night is a battle, and that’s what makes it fun,” Walthall said. “We are striving for a district championship, and our girls understand the work it takes to get there.
“Canyon is always talented, and Coach Tate (Lombard) does a great job with that program year a er year. We also feel like Coach (David) Castellion is doing a great job with his West Plains girls … they continue to get stronger and more competitive each season.
“Hereford brings back a lot of players from last year, and Coach Sanders has them headed in the right direction, as well.
“It’s a strong district top to bottom, and we know we’ll have to be at our best every single game. Our focus is on controlling what we can control and continuing to get better each day.”
Wolves chasing district title with experience, solid senior leadership
BY TIM RITTER tritter@hearstnp.com
Experience is back and optimism is high for the West Plains Wolves to make a serious run toward the UIL Class 4A State Basketball Tournament in San Antonio.
Under four-year head coach Kendall Cogburn, who has coaching stints at Happy and Bushland and is a Randall High School alum, West Plains returns ve starters from a 2024-2025 team that nished 23-12 overall and 12-2 in district. Also, West Plains reached regional
semi nals and lost 69-62 to Decatur.
is season, though, the mantra is going one step further with a very seasoned and experienced starting lineup.
Back for their fourth season on varsity are senior point guard Kaden Hooker, senior guard
Ayden Larra, senior guard Reid Macon, senior guard Boston Ladd and senior guard Jackson Mast.
Also returning to the starting lineup is junior center Ethan Gilliam and sophomore forward Beckett Jones. Cogburn also
expects great things from senior guard Nykko Larra.
In the season opener, West Plains roared past Tascosa 55-40 as Jones scored in doublegures and was e cient on the perimeter. Ayden Larra also showed poise leading the Wolves from the point guard position.
Max Macon, a 6-foot-2 sophomore forward, provided minutes o the bench and scored three points with four rebounds.
Currently, West Plains’ top returnees are playing football and those include Hooker, Ladd, Reid Macon and Slade Russell.
The 2025-2026 schedule includes the following games:
November 18: vs. Lubbock Coronado
November 25: vs. Plainview
December 2: vs. Dalhart
December 5: at Frenship Tourney
December 6: at Frenship Tourney
December 9: vs. Midland Lee at Idalou
December 11: at Abilene Tourney
December 12: at Abilene Tourney
December 13: at Abilene Tourney
December 16: at Frenship
December 22: vs. Hereford
December 29: at Caprock Tourney (Lubbock)
December 30: at Caprock Tourney (Lubbock)
December 31: at Caprock Tourney (Lubbock)
January 6: at Perryton
January 9: vs. Randall
January 13: at Dumas
January 16: vs. Canyon
January 20: at Borger
January 23: vs. Pampa
January 27: at Hereford
January 30: vs. Perryton
February 3: at Randall
February 6: at Pampa
February 10: at Canyon
February 13: vs. Borger
February 17: at Pampa
Lady Wolves go into 20252026 season with new coach
Coming into the 2025-2026 basketball season, the West Plains Lady Wolves are primed to make a deep playo run under rst-year head coach David Castellion.
Castellon takes over for former coach Kevin Richardson, who le West Plains to become the principal at Happy High School. Richardson was the rst-ever girls basketball coach in the four-year history of West Plains.
e past two seasons, Castellon was Richardson’s assistant and played a valuable role in getting West Plains into the postseason.
“We are looking for a strong showing from the Lady Wolves,” Castellon said. “ ere is not
much experience returning from last year’s team, but that doesn’t lower the expectation. Some of our younger girls will have to step up and play a pivotal role for us this season.”
West Plains has four players back from a 2024-2025 team that nished 23-12 and lost in the Class 4A Division I Bi-District playo s to Seminole.
“Our philosophy is simple this year,” Castellon said. “It is to control our attitude, e ort and toughness. We want to play hard for 32 minutes.”
Castellon believes in TEAM and says, “Everyone on our team will share the role of being players to watch.”
West Plains’ main area of growth will be “experience and con dence.”
“E ort … Attitude … Toughness is our Motto,” Castellon said. “Control the things you can control.”
e non-district schedule, according to the rst-year head coach, “will be pretty tough with plenty of ranked teams throughout all classi cations. We hope our preseason will prepare us mentally and physically for the grind of the district schedule. Every night we will have to play our best to win … there are ZERO nights o for us.
“Our district is a dog ght. It will be a fun time.”
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