The Mississippi Sports Awards premiered on Thursday night. Here is a full list of all of the winners.
Baseball
Braden Montgomery, Madison Central
The Stanford signee proved to be dangerous on the mound this season and at the plate. Montgomery led the way on one of the top teams in the country to a Mississippi High School Activities Association 6A Championship.
ALL HONOREES:Meet the nominees for Thursday’s Mississippi High School Sports Awards, and how to watch
THE PRESENTERS:NBA Champion and MVP Kevin Garnett joins list of celebrity athletes announcing the winners of the Mississippi High School Sports Awards
Boys basketball
Daeshun Ruffin, Callaway
The McDonald’s All-American led the Chargers to a 10-1 record and the Class 5A state quarterfinals. He averaged 33.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 steals and finished his career with 2,337 points. Ruffin will continue his playing career at Ole Miss next season.
Girls basketball
Madison Booker, Germantown
The sophomore averaged almost 19 points and is already getting looks from some of the top colleges across the country. One of her best performances of the year came in the 6A state tournament when she had 25 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists in a 65-32 victory over Harrison Central.
Boys bowling
Devin Coghlan, East Union
The senior was the highest scorer in the state and led East Union to the Class 1 state title. He was named first-team All-State.
Girls bowling
Mackenzie Conway, Hancock
In her first year in high school, she was All-State and a Class 3 state champion. Conway also led the state with the highest score.
Boys cross country
Christian Balcer, East Central
He won the 5A individual state championship. The East Central High School star blew away the rest of the competition by a whole minute. He did not lose a race in 2020.
Girls cross country
Brooklyn Biancamano, Long Beach
The three-time Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year won the 5A individual state championship. The junior won the event by almost 20 seconds. Biancamano led Long Beach to a fourth place finish overall at the state meet.
Offensive Football Player of the Year
Ty Keyes, Taylorsville
The Southern Miss signee passed for over 1,500 yards and 16 touchdowns during the regular season. He was named Mr. 2A Football and helped Taylorsville win a state title.
Defensive Football Player of the Year
Ty Cooper, Louisville
The Mississippi State signee was Mr. 4A Football. Cooper finished the regular season with 88 tackles and nine sacks.
Boys golf
Walter Wise, Tupelo
The junior medaled in multiple events, won the SJGT Gulf Shore Junior Classic and earned a place on the All-Tournament team.
Girls golf
Caroline King, New Albany
The junior medaled in every tournament she competed in this season. She also led New Albany to multiple championships.
Boys powerlifting
Jayden Lowe, Okolona
Lowe earned the 165-pound weight class state championship. In his first year after winning the 148-pound state title, Lowe moved up to 165 and led the state with the highest total score.
Girls powerlifting
Alisha McKinney, South Pontotoc
McKinney earned the highest girls’ state total score. The junior put up the highest deadlift score of 480 pounds and tied a state-high bench press of 195 pounds, earning the 242-plus Class 2 State Championship.
Boys soccer
Nolan Owens, Adams County Christian Academy
The senior led Mississippi in goals and points. He scored 49 goals and scored in every game except one.
Girls soccer
Kate Smith, Gulfport
The junior led Gulfport to a a second straight state title in 6A. She also had the game-winning goal in the title game.
Softball
Paige Kilgore, Houston
The Southern Miss signee went 19-0 with a 1.36 ERA on the mound. She had over 200 strikeouts and only gave up two home runs. She posted over 90 career wins and a career ERA under two. She also hit over .400 and had 21 RBIs.
Boys swimmer
Haden Cuevas, Pass Christian
Cuevas won two individual state championships, which concluded a high school career where he improved every season.
Girls swimmer
Amber Bounds, Pearl River Central
Bounds won two individual state championships. The Pearl River Central High School star won the 200-meter freestyle and the 500-meter freestyle.
Boys tennis
Walker Ellis, Madison Central
Ellis led his team to back-to-back Class 6A state titles. Ellis had been one of the top players in the state for years.
Girls tennis
McKenna Wheatley, St. Andrews
Wheatley led St. Andrews to another Class 3A state team title. The junior has been in the spotlight for years, ranking in the Top 200 USTA rankings and Top 200 nationally.
Boys track
Christian Balcer, East Central
The Mississippi College signee won 15 competitions this season, including first at the 5A South State Championships. The nationally-ranked senior captured first in three separate events at the 5A South State Championships.
Girls track
Brooklyn Biancamano, Long Beach
Biancamano medaled in several events at the MHSAA 5A South State Championships.
Volleyball
Julia Dyess, Hartfield
The Ole Miss signee was named AVCA All-Region. She had almost 400 kills and led her team to the state final.
Female Athlete of the Year
Brooklyn Biancamano, Long Beach
Biancamano ran an individual time of 18:15.60 at the MHSAA 5A championship, which is the fastest all-class clocking of the postseason. A four-time state champion and All-State selection, Biancamano ran the state’s top 5K girls time (a personal-best 17:41.18), which was 24.77 seconds faster than her next-closest competitor.
Male Athlete of the Year
Ty Keyes, Taylorsville
Keyes led the Tartars to his third football state championship in addition to being a starter on the school’s baseball state championship team.
Team of the Year: Neshoba Central Softball
Ranked first in the USA TODAY Sports/NFCA High School Super 25 Poll, the Neshoba Central softball team completed its 32-0 season with a 14-2 win over East Central on May 14. The victory marked the Rockets’ eighth straight 5A state championship. This season’s title team was led by Elleigh Willis and Tenly Grisham. Going into her senior year, Grisham has been a member of the Clarion Ledger All-State softball team for each season since she was in the seventh grade. With the 2020 season ending after 11 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Neshoba Central hasn’t lost a game since April 26, 2019.
Coach of the Year
Herbert Davis, Madison-Ridgeland Academy
Davis led the Patriots to a 12-0 record this season and his squad had several memorable moments. One of the best came when Madison-Ridgeland Academy took down then-nationally ranked Trinity Christian of Texas. Coach Davis led his team to a MAIS 6A state championship. The victory marked the second straight state title for the Patriots. Madison-Ridgeland Academy won its playoff games over Jackson Academy and Presbyterian Christian by an average of 27.5.
I AM SPORT Award:
Alice Williams
Williams is currently working on her gold star award with the Girl Scouts which involves working with the Rankin County school district teaching the importance of dental hygiene. She also actively serves her church community each week as a discipleship group student leader at Christ United Methodist Church.
Contact Rashad Milligan at 601-862-6198 or Jmilligan@gannett.com. Follow @RashadMilligan on Twitter.
