By David Shelton Senior Writer Walterboro – With some key veterans returning this spring, it is not surprising to see the Colleton County softball team racking up wins in 2025. The Cougars won 13 of their first 14 games overall this season, which included a 5-1 start in the region 7-AAAA schedule. Colleton County has a chance to win the region and earn some home games in the postseason, which could propel them to bigger and better things in the Lower State playoffs. Tavara Edwards is in her 11 th season as a coach in the program and has built a solid winning program with her veteran players. One of the team’s strengths is how well they get along and play together. “I think we’re gelling really well,” reports the coach. “They work hard because they want to win. We still need to improve on some things but overall we are doing well. We’re an improved defensive team and that has been a big key for us.” Though Edwards, like every coach, would like to see her team be more consistent offensively, it is hard to look at some of the numbers and not see a very capable lineup. Four players posted batting averages of at least .500 in the first 14 games. The leading hitter this season has been junior infielder Brooklyn Holmes , who is hitting .615 with 23 runs batted in. Senior Lanasia Sanders is hitting .561 with three homers and 24 RBI while eighth-grade infielder Brea Gerard is hitting .528 with 13 RBI. Junior Alex Eversole is hitting .512 with 13 RBI and sophomore McKenzie Cochran , who plays first base, is hitting .395 with 16 RBI. Seniors Madison Miller and Kristina Rheam are hitting .375 and .308, respectively. Sanders does more than hit for the Cougars. She also is the team’s No. 1 pitcher, sharing duties inside the circle with Gerard. Sanders is 6-1 with a 1.94 earned run average, striking out 60 hitters in 36 innings. Gerard is 5-0 with a 1.36 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 36 innings of work. The duo share duties at shortstop as well. Rounding out the roster this season are Miya Gant, Timayah Believe, McCayla Shaffer, Caroline Herndon, Janay Manigo and Xiomara Oxner , who is injured this season. The baseball team has had some tough luck this spring, managing just two wins in their first 16 games with a pair of ties. The Cougars are winless in the region with three-game region series against May River and Beaufort remaining after spring break.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Walterboro – As a former player and graduate of Colleton County High, Jermale Paige is very committed to building a successful baseball program as head coach. Paige is in his ninth season as the head coach and has been able to make his teams competitive overall. The wins and losses (24-53 in last four years), do not tell the entire story. The Cougars have lost a bevy of close games and opposing teams have to show up and play to earn their victories. The last winning season for the program came in 2019 when the Cougars won 12 games. Paige is hopeful that his 2025 team can win more than they lose. The early season has looked promising as Colleton County posted early wins over Woodland and Hampton County, a loss to Berkeley, and ties in tournament play against Goose Creek and Andrews. “Honest expectations are to compete every day, while striving for a playoff spot,” Paige says. “I would like for those guys on my team who aspire to go to college to get the exposure that is needed. We have good senior leadership and more internal drive from our players.” The biggest senior leader, Da’Veon Varner , is also the team’s best player. He is now three-year starter and has batted .350 combined in the last two years. He also is a quality arm on the mound. “He plays the game at a high level,” Paige said. “He is hungry to go to the next level and I am looking forward to him showcasing his talents this spring, while always placing the team first.” Another third-year starter is centerfielder Xavier Oxner , who also is expected to work as the closer on the mound.  Junior catcher Brinton Jerel is back for his third season as a starter. “He has physically grown and is more mature this year. He will command our staff and the defense overall.” Varner and Oxner will hit one-two in the batting order this spring. Sophomore leftfielder Michael Witkin will hit third while sophomore third baseman Galil Frazier hits cleanup. Senior RJ Adams is slated for rightfield and senior Alejandro Marin will play first base. After Jurel, the batting order ends with freshman shortstop Conner Desassure and junior second baseman Kyle Linder . Paige expects Varner, Witkin and Adams to be the top three arms on the mound, with Oxner and Marin filling in their roles. Colleton County will face quality opposition every night of the region 7-AAAA schedule. Perennial state title contender and multiple state champion Bishop England is new to the region. May River and Beaufort also rate as strong contenders. “Every team in our region is going to be able to compete,” Paige predicts.

By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer  Walterboro – This year’s Colleton County boys basketball team is young, but has a good shot at a successful season with the play of its two seniors and some juniors. The Cougars finished 17-11 overall and 7-3 in Region 7-4A last year, but lost nine seniors from that team. Now in Region 6-4A, Colleton County is 5-6, and after weathering a tough early start in non-region play, the Cougars won three straight games going into their non-region game at Stratford Friday. “We’re pretty much a whole new group,” Cougars head coach Dominic Kahee said. “We have four returning seniors this year, and pretty much a whole new group. They’ve struggled to find their identity early in the season, but I think they’ve caught on.” The Cougars lost two of their first three games, but battled Stratford in a 61-58, two-overtime victory Dec. 3. After that gut check, Colleton County dropped losses to Hampton County , Ashley Ridge , Fort Dorchester and Battery Creek . Colleton County generally plays an up-tempo game that gets its points in transition, from steals to other turnovers. When they play their game, the Cougars can turn the tables fast on an opponent, but there have been moments where they play too fast, and “We like to let our defense create our offense, but we do get a little ahead of ourselves and I have to take it down a notch, slow it down and get them back into their headspace.” A 59-51 win over Bamberg-Ehrhardt Dec. 18 marked the team’s turnaround. Two days later the Cougars played Hampton County—which beat them 65-44 Dec. 6—and won a defensive battle 49-41. Their most recent win came as a 45-38 victory over Ridgeland Dec. 23. Senior guard Da’Veon Varner leads the team in scoring with 18.4 points per game. He also averages 3.7 rebound and 2.7 assists per game. Senior forward Amauri Sanders averages 14.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, and senior guard Robert Parks averages 5.9 points and 2.2 boards per game. Junior center Xavion Green is the team’s leading defender with 6.0 rebounds per game. Junior forward Jaqueas Martin averages 4.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. “Sanders and Varner are getting a lot more help from our big guys, Xavion Green and Jaqueas Martin,” Kahee said. “It’s been a gradual process, but they have stepped up a lot.” After Friday’s game at Stratford, Colleton County opened Region 6-4A play at May River Tuesday. The Sharks were 8-2 going into their Saturday game against Benedictine and look to be one of the better teams in the region after 10-1 Bluffton , Kahee said. “We were preseason ranked No.5 in the region, and Bluffton is the team to beat,” Kahee said. “They’ve got a pretty good core of players down there, and for right now they’re at the top of the mountain. Behind them is May River, and with the addition of Bishop England (up from 2A) and Beaufort (up from 3A), they’re going to make a little noise along with us.”

By David Shelton Senior Writer Walterboro – The 2024 season is off to a rough start for the Colleton County football team as they continue to work on building a foundation for future success under second-year coach Adam Kinloch . While the team has shown improvement and has competed well at times, the early schedule was a lot to handle this fall. The Cougars enter a region game against Beaufort on Oct. 11 with a 1-5 overall record, 0-1 in region play after a loss to May River on Oct. 4 in the region opener. Colleton County’s other losses in the non-region schedule came to Hampton County , Woodland , Lower Richland and Stratford . Two of the first five losses came to top 1o ranked teams – Hampton County in AA and May River in AAAA. After the region game against Beaufort, the Cougars have remaining league contests against Bluffton (Oct. 18), Hilton Head (Oct. 25) and Bishop England (Nov. 1). Senior Sean Williams and sophomore Galil Frazier have shared playing time at quarterback. Cameron Greyson has been the leading rusher in most games. Kinloch says the anchor on the offensive line is sophomore center Chase Jones , who started as a freshman. Carter Stevens , a senior, also returns with experience and Carter Segura will play a prominent role up front. Senior Kendal Farmer is the top returner on defense. The 6-0, 195-pounder is a key returner at linebacker and has added about 25 pounds of muscle since last season. Another key returner on defense is senior Amari Williams , who will be used at several positions because of his versatility but is primarily an outside linebacker. The Colleton County girls tennis team experienced some early season success in their non-region schedule, getting off to a 4-0 start. The road has been more difficult in region play as the league is very strong from top to bottom. The volleyball team also has struggled against the region schedule, losing their first six contests. The team did pick up two early non-region wins. Seniors on the volleyball team this season include Nykeria Gibson , captain Akeelya Daniel , Lanasia Sanders and TaiAnna Fuller . The cross country program has run a full competitive schedule with the boys team leading the way. Philip Michael Witkin is the top runner for the boys team, followed by LaShombre Johnson and Samuel Witkin . All three runners placed among the top 25 finishers at the recent Hampton County Hurricane Invitational with Philip Michael running sixth overall. The only girls participating this fall on a regular basis are Allyson Scott and Madison Scott , who continue to run in competitive meets as newcomers to the sport.