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By TYLER RALEY | Special to the Reporter

While the Oak Mountain Eagles saw their season end to Huntsville in the Class 7A state playoffs for the second year in a row, they went into the locker room proud of how they fought against one of Alabama’s top programs.

Now, the Eagles are carrying that optimistic outlook into the 2024-25 season, relying on their large senior class to continue the good standing that the team has had for the better part of the last decade.

“We couldn’t have been any more proud of ourselves and felt like we did an amazing job in that Sweet 16 game last year against Huntsville, we just didn’t quite score enough,” Oak Mountain coach Joel Floyd said. “This is the third year for us taking over the program, and we’ve been with these guys now, we’ve had them since they were sophomores and so we’re excited about the potential for the season with some veteran guys that are very experienced just on and off the court.”

The next chapter of the program is now laying before it, and Oak Mountain is looking to make it back to the postseason once again, this time with a large senior class led by Chase Lamey and Chris Kunard.

While both guards play at the top of the team’s rotation, Floyd speaks highly on what Kunard brings to the court with his play style as he is a key component to how the Eagles play.

“He really impacts the game in multiple different ways defensively,” Floyd said. “He’s a point guard that distributes well and creates for his teammates but also scores as well, rebounds. He just does a little bit of everything, and an energy guy and a leader, he does a great job with that.”

While both Lamey and Kunard played a number of roles for Floyd’s squad last year, the team also has other veteran leaders who, while they did not necessarily see the floor the most, will be depended upon this year.

Will Patterson and Gray Plaia are two other seniors playing at small forward who the staff believes can pick up some of the scoring that the team lost due to graduation.

Both players have the ability to score inside and outside on the court, and serving as two of the taller players on the roster, will be looked at to fight for some rebounds as well.

The Eagles also bring back senior Will O’Dell. He brings the intangible communication skills to the floor that he gains from playing both football and baseball.

O’Dell has put in a lot of work in the offseason getting both stronger and faster, utilizing that in all three sports he plays. As a big man inside for Oak Mountain, his versatility brings a lot of different scheming that Floyd can use him in.

Having all of these seniors being able to lead his team on the court, plus more in the rotation, Floyd believes that the versatility his team possesses could be key on the scoreboard, making the Eagles a team to watch out for each game.

“I think a great benefit that we have is that there is not one guy that you can focus on and stop,” Floyd said. “Really that ability to have multiple guys be able to score so that we’re not just dependent upon one or two guys that are doing it all for us. We could have six, seven different guys throughout the season that are leading us in scoring on any given night, and I think that is a great thing for us because you’re not going to be able to key on just trying to stop one or two guys.”

Oak Mountain will desperately need that asset to pan out in each contest it plays in, as the new reclassification in Class 7A gave it a tough draw.

The Eagles will see two-time defending state champion Hoover, as well as Vestavia Hills and Hewitt-Trussville twice this season, making that six games on the schedule where the work will be cut out for them.

Despite that, Floyd embraces the opportunity, knowing these games will be marked on his schedule this year and ones that should be fun to play in.

“We relish the opportunity to play great competition,” Floyd said. “We’ve got three other teams that are coached extremely well and just run great programs and have great community support as well so I think that’s going to be really nice to be in an area that they’re student body and community supported.”

While Class 7A is always one of the gauntlets to run through in the state of Alabama, this is something that Floyd is no stranger to, even before he came to Oak Mountain.

Even though the schedule holds a number of challenges, Floyd believes that with the intangibles this team has, there is opportunity for the Eagles to make some serious noise.

“Our chemistry and playing together as a unit is going to be a calling card for us this year, and if we’re doing that both defensively and offensively, I feel really good about our chances against anybody,” Floyd said. “That’s all you could ask for is having that opportunity and then you’ve got to go out there and play your best, and then let the chips fall where they may.”