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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

It’s time to close the book on another banner year for Shelby County sports.

Year after year, this county sets the bar across the state for what success looks like, and the 2023-24 school year was no different.

We saw Oak Mountain boys soccer and Spain Park boys golf and boys bowling bring home state championships to the county while multiple other teams across many sports went deep into the playoffs and stood toe to toe with some of the state’s best.

Individual athletes even secured big honors throughout the season, including individual state championships for Thompson’s Bradley Franklin and Ella Walker and Spain Park’s Chase Kyes, Kyle Oliveira, Bradley Williams and Luke Eaton.

Multiple players even secured state-wide recognition from coaches and media members, with Helena’s Presley Lively winning 6A Hitter of the Year in softball, Vincent’s Aiden Poe earning the 2A Pitcher of the Year crown, 7A Back of the Year finalist honors for Thompson’s Anquon Fegans and an Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year finalist spot for Oak Mountain’s Aiden Riley.

The many All-State players, award winners and champions in Shelby County have been compiled into the All-Sports team, recognizing the top 25 athletes in the county among every AHSAA-sanctioned sport.

First Team

Presley Lively, two-sport star, Helena. Just when you thought she couldn’t get better, Lively improved on her incredible junior season and won both Class 6A Hitter of the Year and Shelby County Hitter of the Year in softball. She racked up a .550 batting average, .620 on-base percentage, 82 hits, 75 runs, 12 triples and a mind-boggling 56 stolen bases in 61 attempts, all of which were county highs. She also was a big presence on the back line of the volleyball court and reached 1,000 career digs this past season.

Bradley Franklin, track and field, Thompson. After coming close last season, Franklin finally got to represent the Warriors atop the national podium in 2024. Franklin won the boys 60-meter hurdles at the New Balance Nationals indoor meet in Boston back in March, achieving the eighth-fastest time in U.S. history of 7.61 seconds. He also achieved multiple state championships with Thompson this season, winning the Class 7A indoor 60-meter hurdles title and outdoor titles in the 110-meter dash, 300-meter hurdles and 110-meter hurdles, the latter of which broke a state championship meet record.

Jordan Washington, football, Helena. Washington completed his ascent among the ranks of the area’s top talents as he took Shelby County Player of the Year to cap his Huskies career. He ran for 1,810 yards off 257 carries to lead the county, and scored 24 touchdowns on the ground as part of his 27 total scores as Helena put together a special season.

Chloe Mittelstadt, volleyball, Thompson. Mittelstadt won volleyball Player of the Year honors after a phenomenal offensive season, earning 458 kills while hitting for +.320. She earned Honorable Mention All-American and All-State First Team honors and contributed 251 digs, 68 aces and 54 blocks as the Warriors reached the Elite Eight.

Josh Williams, basketball, Helena. Williams became the star that Helena needed to get to a historic first Final Four, and in the process, he became the county’s boys basketball Player of the Year. His averages of 18.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game came from big performances throughout the season, but his 33-point game in the Sweet 16 and 26-point game in the Elite Eight made his name known across the state.

Haley Trotter, two-sport star, Chelsea. Trotter improved on last year’s stats to average a double-double of 18.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Her dominance around the court gave her Shelby County girls basketball Player of the Year honors and pushed the Hornets to an Elite Eight berth. She was also a key part of the front line for the Chelsea volleyball team.

Aiden Poe, two-sport star, Vincent. Poe racked up incredible numbers on the way to winning his second Shelby County Pitcher of the Year award, going 12-1 with 134 strikeouts, a 0.97 ERA and a 0.67 WHIP against just 11 earned runs and eight walks. He also won Class 2A Pitcher of the Year while Vincent made a run to the quarterfinals. He was also an All-County talent in football, playing on offense, defense and special teams but making the most impact as a defensive back. He ended 2023 with three interceptions, a forced fumble, a blocked punt, 68 tackles and 39 solo tackles.

D’Marion Terrell, baseball, Thompson. D’Marion Terrell, senior, Thompson. The Auburn commit and 2024 Shelby County Hitter of the Year finished the year with a .426 average, .798 slugging percentage, 1.318 OPS, 42 RBI and 10 home runs. He also came up in big spots on the mound with a 2.12 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and just 14 earned runs allowed while earning an All-State selection.

Aubree Hooks, softball, Thompson. Hooks earned 2024 Shelby County Pitcher of the Year honors Hooks by striking out 145 batters and limiting batters to a .163 average en route to a 1.28 ERA, 22-4 record and a North All-Star selection as part of Thompson’s run to the state tournament.

Tatum Ahlemeyer, soccer, Spain Park. Ahlemeyer secured her second Shelby County Player of the Year award and first outright award for her offensive contributions to Spain Park’s 21-0 regular season. The Lipscomb commit had 30 goals and 20 assists while also securing Metro Player of the Year honors and a Super All-State First Team spot.

Aidan Riley, soccer, Oak Mountain. A finalist for Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year for boys soccer, Riley scored 25 goals and added 10 assists to help Oak Mountain win a state championship with a 29-0-1 record.

Colben Landrew, two-sport star, Thompson. It’s hard enough to make an All-County First Team in one sport. Landrew did it in two. The sophomore broke out on the football field with 10 receiving touchdowns and 491 yards off 24 catches in his first season ever playing football. He then led the Warriors on the basketball court to their first Elite Eight in over a decade with 15.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.

Bradley Williams, wrestler, Spain Park. Williams was absolutely untouchable for the Jags this season, going 54-0 on the year against tough competition to finish his sophomore season in a Spain Park singlet perfect. He finished it off with a 3-0 run at the state championship meet to earn the Class 7A 144-pound state title, earning the 100th pin of his career in the process.

Kyle Oliveira, wrestler, Spain Park. Oliveira also achieved perfection at Spain Park this year, overcoming a difficult slate of opponents to finish the year 53-0. He won all four of his matches at state to add a Class 7A 215-pound state championship to his crowded mantle of first-place medals from this season.

Chase Kyes, golf, Spain Park. Kyes entered the school year with big expectations after his performances last summer in both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Junior Amateur, and his lived up to those in a big way with the Jags. He surged back from an early deficit at the state championship to take the lead on day two and repeat as Class 7A individual champion while also guiding Spain Park to a team championship. He capped off his spring by winning his qualifier into the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur, setting up what should be another big year for the Alabama commit.

Second Team

Trent Seaborn, football, Thompson. Seaborn shined in his first full season as a starter and earned nationwide acclaim as the MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year for his big performances. During the regular season, he completed 73% of his passes and threw for 2,002 yards and 22 touchdowns, and in the playoffs, he put together great performances when his team needed it the most as he reached his second state championship game as just a ninth-grader.

Anquon Fegans, football, Thompson. Fegans continued establishing himself as one of the best safeties in the country while covering some of the state’s top receivers. He had three interceptions, nine pass breakups and caused three fumbles while also racking up 55 tackles on the year as he earned Class 7A Back of the Year finalist honors in addition to All-State and All-County recognition.

Megan Ingersoll, volleyball, Spain Park. Ingersoll led both Shelby County and all of Class 7A in kills with 536 as just a sophomore to receive All-State Second Team honors. She also had 286 digs, 57 aces and 30 blocks as the Jags reached the Elite Eight.

John Shoemaker, runner, Oak Mountain. If there was a distance race, chances were Shoemaker was near the front of the pack. He came just a second away from taking the Class 7A cross-country state championship after winning five meets during the season, earning a North All-Star selection in the process. On the track, he won the boys outdoor 3200-meter state championship for Class 7A with a new record time for the state meet, and he also podiumed in the outdoor 1600-meter run and indoor 3200-meter run and 1600-meter run.

Taylor Leib, soccer, Briarwood Christian. Leib walked away with Shelby County Golden Boot honors for the second straight season after she led the county with 42 goals. Those goals came from all around the pitch as she was just as effective from outside the box as she was near the goal. She also had eight assists in a year and earned Metro A-Division Co-Captain honors as the Lions made the state championship game in Class 6A.

Tee King, basketball, Pelham. King led Shelby County in scoring as just a sophomore, stepping into a big role and thriving while averaging 19.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. In all, she scored 612 points, putting her over 1,000 career points before she becomes an upperclassman. Her double-digit performances at regionals helped the Panthers tangle with some of the top teams in the state in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight.

Maggie Daniel, softball, Spain Park. The UCLA signee dominated with her consistency at the plate and power hitting, leading the county with 14 home runs and earning a .972 slugging percentage while going .443 overall at the plate to earn spots on the All-State and All-County teams.

Dailynn Motes, softball, Thompson. Motes regularly came up in big spots for the Warriors, batting .475 as a senior while leading the county with 68 RBI off 75 hits. She also had a big-time power bat with 12 home runs and 20 doubles to earn All-State honors.

Luke Eaton, bowler, Spain Park. Eaton dominated when it mattered the most for the Jags, earning a Class 7A individual state championship before contributing to Spain Park’s run at the team state championship. His dominance was also noticed on the national level as he is up for USA Today’s Boys Bowler of the Year award.

Ella Walker, bowler, Thompson. Walker brought home gold to Alabaster thanks to her big performance in the state bowling championship. She bowled the best games in rounds one and two of any other bowler at the meet with scores of 196 and 231 as she cruised to the Class 7A individual state championship with a score of 632.