Hartsville Boys Basketball Looks To Be Improved This Season

By David Shelton

Senior Writer

Hartsville – Now in his third season, Hartsville High boys basketball coach Jason Earle feels his rebuilding project is starting to see positive results.

The Red Foxes won four games in Earle’s first season and improved to six wins last season. The 2025-26 season saw Hartsville win their first three games, giving Earle a reason to be optimistic about the chances of improvement.

“Most of these guys have been playing for me now for three years,” reports the coach. “We have continued to get better each year. The expectation that I have for this team is to play really hard and make the playoffs.”

Most of the heavy lifting this season comes from seniors and juniors who have gained experience while taking their lumps. Junior guard Kayson Dawson and junior forward Derion Gattison are setting the early pace as scoring leaders. Dawson is averaging 14.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game early on while Gattison is at 13.5 points and nearly five boards per game. Dawson averaged 11 points per game a season ago while Gattison scored 5.1 points per game.

Senior Zaries Huggins is a starting guard, averaging 7.5 points early on. Senior Tristian Spann also starts as a wing and senior Dorian Mason starts at forward and contributes 5.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in the early going. Earle says the leadership this season comes primarily from Dawson, Gattison and Mason.

Sophomore CJ Hickmon is first off the bench and can play guard or forward. Remaining players include junior Kelly Price, junior Zi’yon Mason, junior Karmelo Pooler, junior Jamyari Scipio-Bishop, junior Justin Hines and junior Eli Lynch.

Hartsville competes in region 6-AAAA, a highly competitive basketball league. Earle sees Crestwood and Wilson as two of the top teams and is hopeful his team can join in the mix for the region title.

“The region should be a real battle every night,” the coach said.

The girls team opened the season at 1-1 and also looks to contend for a playoff berth this season. The top returning player this season is junior guard Nay Gibson, who is averaging 17.4 points per game early on. Senior Sha’Niyah Richardson contributes offensively as well, along with junior Ariel Leatch, each better than six points per game.



The only other senior on the girls roster is Kamori Williams. Juniors are Aniyah Robinson, Zariyah Spann, Makayla Chapman, Brianna Watson and Chaniyah Thompson. Rounding out this year’s team are sophomores Zanaya Blakney and Trinity Thomas, and freshman Chassidy Johnson.