The 2025-26 high school sports season was one for the books across the local area. For my first year covering high school sports, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. 

From historic championship runs to breakout programs making their marks, here’s a look back at the top 15 highlights.

Thanks for a great season!

– Travis

1. South Walton baseball wins state title

Nick Borthwick‘s crew knew what the state title game felt like. That’s why, after two straight years of heartbreak, the Seahawks wanted nothing more than to return and win it.

And return to it and win it they did.

Behind two-way phenom Coleman Borthwick anchoring a Division I-laden rotation that included Denton Lord, Griffin Loy and Lyndan Flanary, and a hitting corps featuring Vaughn Howard, Parker Granse, Nathan Whitney, Jace Cunningham, Hudson Quinn and Carter Hawk, the Seahawks went 30-4.

But the postseason was a work of art — South Walton went 9-0 throughout the playoffs, capped by a walk-off, 6-5 win over North Broward Prep to capture the first state title in program history and the first baseball state championship in area history.

2. Choctaw football makes Final Four run

After years of coming up short in the Elite Eight, Frank Beasley‘s squad finally captured the elusive regional title.

Behind dual-threat quarterback Tamen Zabetakis, 1,000-yard rusher Von’Tavious Keller, a balanced core of skill talent in Carter Marracco, Zion Legree and DJ Spence, plus a defense that pitched four shutouts and allowed a staggering 10.9 points per game, the results spoke for themselves. A 9-1 record. A sweep of in-county rivals and district opponents. Defeating Niceville for the first time since 2012.

That defense was loaded with playmakers — Mario and Ellis Alloway, Amir and Alante Reese, Jabari Weeks and Jordan Figueroa.

But the playoffs were the cherry on top. Choctaw went to St. Augustine and defeated the Yellow Jackets to advance to the program’s first Final Four since 2014. There, the Indians fell to eventual state champion American Heritage, but this Choctaw team looks built for more deep runs into November and December in the coming years.

3. Niceville softball finishes as runner-up for second straight year

It was another banner year for Niceville softball, led by coach Danny Hensley, who never fails to bring pride to the area.

Chloe Bailey was a two-way force all year, anchoring a stacked lineup that included Briana Noles, Annabelle Shackelford, Carnley Summerlin, Molly Mayfield, Natalie Miller, Quinn Graham and Krissa Troutman. The Lady Eagles went all the way to the state championship game, where they fell to Winter Springs once again, but the program looks poised for another strong year heading into 2027.

Perhaps the real highlight of the year, though, was Hensley reaching a remarkable milestone: win No. 500, in a 17-3 rout of Tate on April 9.

4. Niceville girls soccer experiences state runner-up campaign

The Lady Eagles had firmly established themselves as a regional powerhouse in recent years. But this year, they kicked down that door and cemented themselves as a state-level force.

Behind an elite attacking corps of Jezlyn Nelson, Michelle Melancon, Abbey Kuritz, Payten Hart, Delaney Diehl and Molly Johnson, plus a stout defense anchored by goalkeeper Eden Shaw that allowed only eight goals all year, Niceville made it all the way to the state title game. Nobody in the area looked even close to its level.

While the Lady Eagles fell to the gold standard for girls soccer in Florida — St. Thomas Aquinas — in the championship game, Niceville is now firmly a force to be reckoned with.

5. Fort Walton Beach boys soccer makes another Final Four run

Mario Rodriguez‘s squad began the year with sky-high expectations but struggled through an up-and-down 6-4-2 start that included being swept by Choctaw and trying to figure out how to proceed after losing a very impactful senior class.

But after a loss to Choctaw on Jan. 5, the Vikings flipped the switch. The only blemishes down the stretch were a tie against defending 5A state champion Arnold and a district title loss to Wakulla — a loss they would avenge in the Elite Eight.

With a balanced attacking corps of Juanma Cotes, Brian Velazquez, Wilmar Munoz, Issac Holbrook and Oscar Gallardo, and a stout defense anchored by Christopher Reyes, Isaiah Esparza and goalkeeper Wesley Markoch, Fort Walton Beach made it back to the Final Four, where it fell in penalty kicks to American Heritage.

6. South Walton volleyball makes first Final Four in program history

Meghan Allen turned South Walton into a regional powerhouse, but for the past three seasons, the Lady Seahawks’ seasons always ended the same way: in the Elite Eight at the hands of Bishop Kenny.

The 2025 season proved to be different. While South Walton had to face adversity in the form of a 3-6 start, the Lady Seahawks promptly turned it around, losing only to Niceville down the stretch, and once again setting up a date with Bishop Kenny in the Elite Eight.

This time, South Walton won — advancing to the program’s first Final Four, where it fell to Merritt Island.

7. Choctaw flag football makes another Final Four run

Jim Bay‘s squad has never failed to bring pride to the area in recent years, and this season was no exception.

Despite facing the stiffest competition in a while — including Niceville having its best season in years and Paxon School for Advanced Studies making it to where a Final Four berth wasn’t guaranteed — it was still another Final Four appearance for the Lady Indians. They came up short against the Robinson dynasty in the semifinals.

8. Fort Walton Beach girls basketball makes Elite Eight run

The Lady Vikings lacked the go-to alpha scorer that defined their teams in recent years. Instead, behind walking double-double Alexis Smith, do-it-all floor general Anyiah Boyd, three-and-D wings Anecia Stallworth, Harmony Lee and Abria Jackson, and sharpshooting sixth player Chloe Burgos, Fort Walton Beach embraced the motto “D Up” and carried it all the way to the Elite Eight.

There, the Lady Vikings lost by one point to eventual state champion Bishop Kenny. With Burgos being the only member of the core graduating, Fort Walton Beach is set up as one of the preseason favorites for a state title in 2026-27.

9. Fort Walton Beach boys basketball experiences best season in years

At the end of last year, something felt different for the Vikings. They had made the playoffs for the first time since 2016, but looked up-and-down. As it turns out, that was merely the appetizer for what was to come.

Behind do-it-all forward Rodric Starks, three-and-D floor general Xy Childress, elite rim protector Kyle Jones and sharpshooters Jordan Lee, Sean Simon and Leo Ivison, Fort Walton Beach had its best season since the 2011 Final Four run.

The Vikings posted their first winning record since 2014, their first district title and playoff win since 2013, and made it to the Sweet 16, where they fell to Godby.

10. Destin and Rocky Bayou experience monumental sports seasons

Nobody saw this coming.

Destin was finally getting through FHSAA restrictions. Rocky Bayou had successful teams, but not successful at the scale it was about to reach. Both schools delivered historic seasons that will be remembered for years.

For Rocky Bayou, the Knights won their second straight football title to start what turned out to be an outstanding year. The boys soccer team made the Final Four. The boys basketball team, under new head coach Garrett Ruppel, made a Sweet 16 run while capturing the program’s first winning record and playoff appearance since 2016 and its first district title since 2014.

The girls basketball and girls soccer teams, already playoff contenders, once again lived up to that standard. Both the baseball and softball programs made the playoffs. And the girls 4×800-meter relay team made history as the first relay team in program history to win a state title.

For Destin, the season might have been even more historic. The girls basketball team became the first team in school history to win a district championship and make the playoffs.

But the flag football team is what people will truly remember. The Lady Sharks not only made the playoffs for the first time in program history, not only captured the school’s first-ever playoff win in any sport, but made a Cinderella run all the way to the Elite Eight. Despite coming up short against Bolles, the Lady Sharks now look like a Final Four contender for the foreseeable future.

In wrestling, Veronica Madrid placed fifth statewide, while Parker Jones qualified for state in boys weightlifting.

11. Niceville track and field dominates state meet

At Hodges Stadium for the 3A track and field state championships, there may not have been a school as dominant as Niceville.

The boys team won the state championship. The girls team finished as runner-up. In boys shot put, four of the top five finishers were Eagles. Countless individual and relay state championships and runner-up finishes followed. The Eagles’ performance was simply on another level.

12. Niceville and Choctaw baseball reach the Elite Eight

Historically, Niceville and Choctaw had not seen much success on the diamond. But both were changing that narrative.

Niceville made the Elite Eight in 2025 and had another solid year behind Deacon Avery, CJ Bolden, Ethan Thomas, Remington Crum and Ryder Hodgkinson. The Eagles’ season once again ended in the Elite Eight at the hands of Lincoln, which went on to win the state championship.

Choctaw’s run was even more impressive. Behind the Marracco brothers — Carter, the team’s leadoff hitter, and Jack, the two-way ace — along with Jordan Figueroa, Trevor Camden, Seth Young and Isaiah Rohn, the Indians earned the first No. 1 seed in program history, won 25 games and made the program’s first Elite Eight since 1999.

With Rohn, Figueroa, Blake Peters and Parker Powell being the only players graduating, Choctaw baseball looks like a state title contender in 2027.

13. Crestview softball has best year in program history

When John Toolan was hired as Crestview’s head softball coach in 2023, he inherited a program well in the shadows of many of its rivals, including Navarre, Fort Walton Beach and especially Niceville.

But slowly and surely, Toolan turned the program around, and 2026 was a year to remember.

Behind Cambell Toolan being a force in the circle and a deep lineup of Anna Parker, Ava Secor, Riley Copeland, Presley Houser, Taeia Schriner, MacKenzie Toth and Makenzie Muse, the Lady Bulldogs won a program-record 19 games, made the playoffs for the first time in the fast-pitch era and advanced to the Sweet 16, where they came up short against Pace.

14. Matt Brunson named to FHSAA Hall of Fame

Matt Brunson has a legacy of winning at both Crestview and Baker.

He led the Bulldogs to the 2002 3A football state championship game, where they fell to Rockledge, 22-0. But his stint at Baker was even more impressive — five straight Final Four appearances, with the Wing-T offense turning the Gators into a force in Florida small-school football. That run culminated in a state championship in 2020 that broke a 25-year title drought for the area.

With more than 250 career wins, Brunson’s legacy of winning has now been recognized at the highest level. He was named to the FHSAA Hall of Fame as part of the 2026 class.

15. Scores of area athletes take their talents to the next level

The class of 2026 produced a deep crop of athletes headed to the Division I level, especially in football.

From Choctaw, Zion Legree signed with Wisconsin, Mario Alloway signed with Jacksonville State and Ellis Alloway signed with Liberty. At Niceville, Robert Oliver is headed to West Virginia, while Justus Donahoo is now at Northern Illinois. Harper Campbell signed with Samford, while Max Roche will continue his career at James Madison. At Crestview, two-way star and multisport athlete Sean Johns signed with Davidson. Fort Walton Beach’s Austin Bouck signed with Jacksonville State. Meanwhile, Julius Miles, after anchoring Freeport’s receiving corps, is headed to Louisville.

The area also produced DI athletes beyond the gridiron. Niceville star shortstop Deacon Avery, after helping lead a renaissance of Eagles baseball, is headed to Coastal Carolina, while Carson Fayard, after leading a resurgence of Niceville girls basketball, is taking her talents to Air Force. In soccer, Jezlyn Nelson signed with Nicholls State.

In track, star thrower Kimah Allen is off to Hawaii, while state champion shot putter Nunu Krider is headed to Troy. State champion pole vaulter Asa Loicano is headed to Grand Canyon, while Caleb Hurtado is headed to South Alabama.

South Walton is sending a wave of athletes to the DI level, especially in baseball. After a generational high school career, Coleman Borthwick is headed to Auburn, with Parker Granse joining him on the Plains. Lyndan Flanary is headed to Florida State, Griffin Loy to Virginia and Denton Lord to Mississippi State. Multisport star Tatum Kreinus is headed to UAB to continue her softball career after leading a resurgence of Lady Seahawks softball.

Elsewhere, Choctaw track record holder Saniy Lindsey is headed to Alabama State.

See you in the fall….