Beaufort Girls Basketball Off To Great Start

By David Shelton

Senior Writer

Beaufort – With the non-region schedule completed, the focus for basketball teams in the state turn to region play in January.

Playoff berths and seedings are determined by region finish, making region play the most important part of the regular season.

To that end, the Beaufort girls basketball team is off to a great start, posting wins in their first two region 7-AAAA contests and winning 11 of their first 15 games overall this season. The team is on track to bettermg last year’s win total of 16 while contending for the region title.

Among the top performers early on this season are junior Amiyah Brown, sophomore Jania Hayward, freshman Da’Leah LaBoard, and freshman Zaria Coaxum. Hayward is leading the team in scoring, averaging 19.4 points per game. She also averages nearly five rebounds and three assists per contest. Brown adds 13.7 points per game, adding 3.7 boards, while Coaxum is scoring 7.9 points per game. LaBoard is adding just over five points per game.

Coming off a 1-19 season of a year ago, the boys basketball team is looking to improve but has found it to be a tough road. The Eagles managed just one win in their first 11 contests, including an 0-2 start to region play. But coach Jeremy Huff is optimistic about his team showing marked improvement in the 2025-26 season.

“The sky is the limit for these young guys,” Huff says. “They have been working hard, but with our schedule and region, the competition is tough. We are expecting to be middle of the region and contend for a playoff spot.”

Huff has several returning players and the playing experience gained last season, despite the record, should lead to improvement overall. As the season begins, Huff lists only one senior, guard Austin Miles, as starting. Miles is a returner from last season and is a team captain averaging 4.1 points per game.

Junior guard Kobe Hernandez averages 4.0 points per game and junior guard Willis Watson is averaging 7.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Junior Qualeek Isnar is the starting center and averages 7.3 points per game. Freshman Keaton Layman averages 5.2 points per game. season. Sophomore forward PJ Davis rounds out the starting lineup.

The wrestling season also is heavy into region competition and Beaufort has several grapplers ranked among the best in AAAA in their weight class.

Colton Freeman is the second-ranked wrestler in the 215-pound weight class and Santino Communale is ranked fifth in AAAA at 120-pounds. Jaden Proctor is ranked sixth at 285 pounds and Jessob Paris is ranked seventh at 157 pounds.

Another key performer is Cameron Posey in the 144-pound weight class. Among female wrestlers, Olesya Mullins is the top-ranked wrestler at 105 pounds.