The Texas High School basketball season came to a close, and it was a great season for the Texas Panhandle. Here’s a look at the 2025 Press Pass Sports Boys Basketball Team. Compiled by Lee Passmore, Craig Sperry and Kale Steed.
Coach of Year
Aaron Green, Valley
Heading into the season, Valley had high hopes of making a deep run in the playoffs.
After all, this team went 22-13 last year and made the second round of the playoffs and was adding a talented freshman in Corbin Taylor. However, Valley has never been known as a basketball hotbed having never made the state title game and only making the semifinals once in 41 years (1983).
“I just wanted to see this program take off and grow” Valley head coach Aaron Green said. “It was very cool to see just how far we came this year.”
The season took off like a rocket and reached heights never before seen. The Patriots made a memorable run through the UIL Class 1A Division I playoffs all the way to San Antonio before falling to Perrin-Whitt in the finals, 65-46.
Despite the loss, it still was a historic season at 34-4 and for that head coach Aaron Green is tabbed with the 2025 Press Pass Sports Coach of the Year honor.
Looking at the box score from some games this year, some may have wondered how they made it as far. After losing in the football playoffs on a Friday night they turned around and squared off with perennial power Texline on a Tuesday with one day of practice. After staying within 13 at half the sea legs for the Patriots gave out and they ended up losing by 49.
Green and the Patriots recovered and started looking at the potential playoff path. Green knew if his team could grow and gel and not beat themselves, they had a chance to make a run.
That belief and a trip to the Garden City tournament midway through December helped bring this team together.
A big piece of that run was the Taylor brothers, Kanyon a junior and the freshman Corbin. In five of their six playoff games one or the other Taylor boys registered a double-double in points and rebounds with the high-water mark for the pair being 48 points and 20 boards against Wildorado in the regional finals.
“The senior group was also a huge reason for our success,” Green said. “Evan Meyer, Taevion Ramos, Leo Cruz and Tailor Green brought hard work, drive and a lot of heart to our squad. Damian Valdes became our floor general, and Carson Tucker was pivotal coming off the bench. That combination will really led to a lot of positives this year.”
The cherry on top for Green was making this run with his son, Tailor. Tailor started and made a meaningful contribution to the team.
“That was such a great experience,” Green said. “I’ve been coaching him since second grade in all sports. We have our moments where I’m hard on him and gets mad at me, but he knows I love him to death. It’s just part of the journey and you just want to win but you also want to coach them just one more time. To be able to coach him in as many games I did was super special to me and I wouldn’t trade that for any accolade out there.”
Player of the Year
Zach Brown, Amarillo High, 6-3, guard, Sr.
There weren’t a lot of familiar faces on the court for Amarillo High’s Zach Brown when he began this past fall in his third year as a starter for the Sandies.
In the previous two seasons on highly successful Amarillo High teams, Brown was joined by people on the court like Cooper Pillion, Braden Hausen and his older brother T.J., all players who were sons of experienced coaches whose knowledge showed up on the floor. Brown wasn’t lonely so much as he was untested in terms of how to respond as his team’s leading returning player.
Talent has never been a question with Brown, but stepping up his game as a team leader became his emphasis going into his final high school season.
“My expectations coming in were to be a leader and we had a lot of new guys who were going to play,” Brown said. “I had to make it fun for them and enjoy it. The Hausens were great and when they left we had to fill a hole but we all did that together.”
Brown did get help from players like Will Williams, Creed Barnes and the Von Netzer brothers, Brodie and Bristol, but there was little doubt that Brown was the one to watch.
It was no surprise that Brown led the Sandies with 14.7 points a game, shooting 41.7 percent from 3-point range in the process while averaging 4.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists a game. Those numbers were a big reason Amarillo High rolled to a 16-0 record and easily won District 3-5A, finishing with a 31-6 record and reaching the area round of the playoffs.
Brown was named 3-5A MVP, and for his efforts, is also the 2025 Press Pass Sports Boys Basketball Player Of The Year.
“I thought he gave us virtually everything on the offensive end,” AHS coach Jason Pillion said of Brown. “He’s our leading scorer and brought the ball up at times playing the point. He was our best creator, best shooter and best passer, just a hack of all trades. He also got our best defensive assignment.”
Pillion likes to point out Brown’s basketball IQ, which he comes by naturally. His father is West Texas A&M men’s coach Tom Brown, whom Zach will join next year along with brother T.J. on the Buffs.
Zach Brown has always known that basketball is a team game, a less he learned to apply more and more as this season progressed.
“In the last couple of games people tried to take me away so I had to make a couple of more passes, set a couple of screens and get guys open,” Brown said. “Coming into my senior year we lost a lot and I knew I was going to have to step up. I thought we had a great year even though it didn’t end the way we wanted it to.”
As much as Brown likes to talk team, he was probably as close to an indispensable player as the Sandies had, and finished his career as the second leading scorer in school history with 1,396 points behind Brendan Hausen, now at Kansas State.
“Because he did so many things, when he wasn’t there it was obviously noticed,” Pillion said. “His emotions were always even keeled. He never got too high or too low.”
Newcomer of the Year
Mason Lankford, Gruver, 6-3, forward, Fr.
Before the basketball season even started the name Mason Lankford was already met with high regard from his phenomenal junior high days and what he did on the gridiron the previous weeks to basketball season by helping the Greyhounds football team to the UIL Class 2A Division II state semifinals.
Lankford has had whispers of greatness since his first no-look pass in second grade and his highlight dunks on social media in junior high. Lankford scored 20 points with two dunks in his first varsity basketball game this year and the rest is history. That’s why the 6-foot-3 freshman is garnered with the 2025 Press Pass Sports Newcomer of the Year.
Lankford is the son of Gruver girls’ basketball coach, Trent Lankford, and he plays like a coach’s kid is expected. This season Lankford came on the hoops scene in a hurry helping the Greyhounds to a 19-2 record and a run to the UIL Class 2A Division II regional championship game. Lankford adjusted well averaging 14.5 points a game shooting 54 percent from the field. Lankford also averaged 4.5 rebound and three steals. For his incredible season, he was named the District 1-2A MVP as well as TABC All-Region and All-State honors.
“Coming into the season you never know how a freshman is going to adjust,” Gruver head coach Brittin East said. “It didn’t take Mason long to adjust at all. He was a big-time player for us and he got the game down fast. He’s always well prepared and he’s been around the game for so long being a coach’s kid. He has those IQ things in basketball a lot of kids his age doesn’t have. We just can’t wait to see what the years to come hold for him.”
FIRST TEAM
Tayesen Combs, Randall, 6-2, guard, Sr.
Combs picked up the offensive slack left by the graduation of UTEP freshman K.J. Thomas with big time flair for the Raiders, establishing himself as the new go-to guy and all-around standout, averaging 20.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals a game to lead Randall to a second straight unbeaten District 4-4A championship and a third straight trip to the region finals. He was named the district MVP in leading the Raiders to a 31-6 record.
Victor Juarez, Palo Duro, 6-0, guard, Sr.
Juarez kept up the tradition of outstanding guard play for the Dons, proving his outstanding junior season was hardly a fluke . In fact, he was just getting started, as he averaged 23.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game this season in leading Palo Duro to a 29-6 record and a second place finish in District 3-5A. Juarez was PD’s go-to player just about every night and was voted the district’s offensive player of the year.
Jaxon Toniolli, Randall, 6-0, guard, Sr.
Toniolli was a contributor as a role player as a junior, but he took on a bigger role as a starter for the Raiders this year and proved more than up to the challenge. He became the most viable scoring alternative to Combs on a talented team, especially as a 3-point shooter, averaging 12.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists a game, as he was named the 4-4A
Jenner King, Bushland, 5-10, guard, Jr.
King came into his own as the basketball season progressed and by the time district play rolled around not many players were playing on his level. Behind King, Bushland finished the year 16-12 but the Falcons went 8-2 to win the outright District 1-3A title. King was named the district MVP averaging 18 points a night to go with five boards and four assists. For his incredible year, King was also named to the TABC All-State team.
Joe Clay, Texline, 6-2, guard, Sr.
The maestro of the Tornadoes offense, Clay contributed in every way possible. The senior averaged 19.4 points per game while racking up over four boards and four assists a game from the point guard position. Most impressively he had less than two turnovers a game for a team that constantly plays teams in higher classifications and averaged 73.5 points per game. Clay shot 89 percent from the free throw line as well and ended the year earning a TABC All-State and All-Region selection for his consistent play.
SECOND TEAM
Kaden Hooker, West Plains, 5-11, guard, Jr.
Hooker didn’t take long to establish himself as a leader on the floor for the Wolves after helping lead the football team to the state semifinals. He led West Plains with 15.1 points a game and averaged 5.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.8 steals. Hooker was a key in the Wolves finishing second in 4-4A and he was named the district’s defensive player of the year.
Jaemon Palacios, Tascosa, 5-9, guard, Sr.
Palacios provided a major cog for the Rebels as they finished third in 3-5A and made the playoffs. He was a prolific outside shooter for Tascosa, averaging 13.5 points a game, shooting 44.4 percent from 3-point range and hitting 84.2 percent of his free throws, as he was named a first-team all-district selection, averaging 2.3 assists and 1.9i steals.
Cayde Winters, West Texas High, 5-9, guard, Jr.
Winters showed his true versatility and how his electricity from the football field could translate to the basketball court. Finally healthy this year, Winters shined for a West Texas High team that advanced to the second round of the playoffs. Winters posted a team-best 18.4 points a game to go with 5.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists. Winters was named the District 1-2A Offensive MVP and a TABC All-Region selection.
Brock Butler, Gruver, 5-11, guard, Jr.
Butler was a tremendous compliment to a talented backcourt that helped the Gruver Greyhounds go 19-2 and advance to the UIL Class 2A Division II regional championship game. Butler was dynamic on defense which earned him District 1-2A Co-Defensive MVP honors. Offensively, Butler scored 9.4 points a game with four assists and three steals. Buter was tabbed a TABC All-Region selection.
Kanyon Taylor, Valley, 6-foot-9, post, Jr.
Leading the way to the Patriots first state title appearance, Taylor was a matchup nightmare for opponents with his 6-foot-9 frame. Averaging 15.5 points per game to go along with seven boards, the imposing force in the middle also showed a nice touch around the rim shooting 62 percent from the field and nailing 52 shots from behind the arc. The TABC All-Region player was an intimidator on the defensive end with 128 blocks on the year.
HONORABLE MENTION
(Alphabetical order)
Collin Alston, McLean, 6-1, forward, Jr.
Caden Armes, Panhandle, 5-9, guard, Jr.
Willy Atak, Holy Cross Catholic Academy, 6-3, forward, Jr.
Maddix Blanco, Dalhart, 5-11, guard, Jr.
Dalton Booth, Pampa, 5-9, guard, Jr.
Cuda Clayton, Palo Duro, 5-9, guard, Jr.
Hunter Corman, Wildorado, 6-0, guard, Jr.
Hadley Crisp, Texline, 6-7, post, Jr.
Braddek Darnell, Wildorado, 6-3, forward, Sr.
Hector Diaz, Spearman, 6-4, post, Sr.
Tyi Duque, Hereford, 5-6, guard, Sr.
Jacorey Fields, Tascosa, 6-0, guard, Sr.
Braddock Foster, Farwell, 5-10, guard, Jr.
Cash Fulton, West Texas High, 6-2, guard, Jr.
Brenden Garcia, Wellington, 6-3, forward, Sr.
Talon Garcia, Dalhart, 6-2, guard, Jr.
Ethan Gilliam, West Plains, 6-5, post, Soph.
Dawson Heider, Randall, 6-8, post, Sr.
Caysen High, Nazareth, 6-3, post, Sr.
Wesley Kuehler, Panhandle, 6-6, post, Sr.
Zaiden Jalomo, Tulia, 5-7, guard, Jr.
Julius Johnson, Tulia, 5-9, guard, Fr.
Ayden Lara, West Plains, 5-11, guard, Jr.
Reid Macon, West Plains, 6-0, guard, Jr.
Ryder McElroy, Farwell, 6-3, forward, Sr.
David Meeks, Follett, 5-9, guard, Sr.
Evan Meyer, Valley, 5-7, guard, Sr.
Caleb Moore, Childress, 5-10, guard, Jr.
CJ Moore, Happy, 6-4, guard, Sr.
Tim Perez, Randall, 6-2, guard, Sr.
Tripp Purcell, Bushland, 6-0, guard, Sr.
Kayle Rogers, Nazareth, 6-2, forward, Sr.
Briggs Satterfield, Gruver, 5-11, guard, Jr.
Corbin Taylor, Valley, 6-7, post, Fr.
Tagg Thrash, Bushland, 5-10, guard, Sr.
Hunter Trusler, Dalhart, 6-2, forward, Jr.
Raine Walsh, Childress, 6-4, guard, Soph.
Jordan Webber, Canyon, 6-4, forward, Jr.
Will Williams, Amarillo High, 5-11, guard, Sr.
