Ash will miss six seniors from Batesburg-Leesville boys basketball team
Panthers will have junior standout Braylen Davis returning next season
Batesburg-Leesville – There was a lot of anticipation surrounding the Batesburg-Leesville High School boys basketball team coming into the 2025-26 season. The Panthers had a lot of players returning from a team that went 17-8, won the school’s first region championship in 19 years and reached the quarterfinals of the state playoffs for the first time in 36 years.
So when Batesburg-Leesville finished this season with a 14-12 record, a third-place finish in Region 2-AA and had a first-round exit in the state playoffs, well, there’s just no other way to describe it.
“As for our season, the word that comes to my mind is disappointment,” said Panthers head coach William Ash.
Now, wait a minute before you go getting upset. Surely, Ash thought the season could have gone much better, but his disappointment came from the knowledge of the players he’ll be losing.
“That is not just in results, but in the end of the line for six seniors that have meant the world to me and this program,” Ash said. “I coached this group of seniors when I was our middle school head coach and they were seventh-graders. We knew then they had potential to be special. I'm disappointed we didn't achieve all of our goals. I'm disappointed that I won't be coaching these guys anymore. I'm disappointed that I didn't enjoy the ride enough this season.
“However, I'm also incredibly proud of this group. Every athlete is challenged to leave a program better than they found it. These guys did that. I owe so much to them.”
The six seniors are Naesean Stewart, KD Whitt, Amadr’e Wooden, Cameron Martin, Ta’Maj Gilliam and Jaden Millhouse. Two of them, Gilliam and Stewart, were selected to the All-Region team along with junior Braylen Davis.
Gilliam, who was also chosen to play in the North-South All-Star Game, averaged 17.2 points per game along with 2.9 rebounds and 2.0 steals. Stewart led the Panthers in rebounding with a 6.9 average while scoring 4.5 per game.
Davis had a big junior season, leading the team in scoring with a 19.2 average. He also led in assists at 2.5 and steals at 2.1 while grabbing 5.9 rebounds.
Millhouse had a solid senior season with a 7.6 scoring average and 5.8 rebounds. Martin averaged 5.0 points and 3.6 boards.
With Davis back in the fold for one more year, Ash is looking forward to what the 2026-27 campaign might bring.
“As for the state of the program, I'm excited,” Ash said. “We have a major contributor returning in Class of '27 guard Braylen Davis. We got several young guys lots of experience this year. We've made the playoffs five straight seasons for the first time in about 20 years.
“We're building in the right direction. There’s plenty of work to be done. The job's not finished, but we are going to work hard to keep it going in the right direction.”
Some of the younger players who saw lots of action were sophomore Marshon Chaney and freshmen Terrance Cook and Jordan Hall. Chaney aveage 3.5 points and 2.3 rebounds in 23 games, Cook 3.8 points in 21 games and Hall 2.8 points in 19 games.
