Kingstree’s Naydia Shaw named All-State, Region Player of the Year

Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor • March 31, 2025

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Blazers reach quarterfinals of AA girls basketball playoffs for 3rd straight year

Kingstree – The Kingstree High School girls basketball team didn’t have quite the amount of success this season for which the Blazers and head coach James Price had hoped. However, when your ultimate goal is playing for a state championship, what KHS accomplished isn’t all that bad.

“To go 22-6 (overall) and 8-4 in the toughest region (7-AA) for girls basketball and get to the third round (of the state playoffs) for a third year in a row shows we are trending in the right direction,” Price said.

The Blazers actually finished third in the region behind Lake City and Marion, so to be one of the final eight teams playing in AA speaks to the difficulty of Region 7.

KHS was led by sophomore center Naydia Shaw. Not only was Shaw selected as the Region Player of the Year, she was also selected to the South Carolia Basketball Coaches Association AA All-State team.

Shaw averaged a double-double of 18.6 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. She also led the team in assists at 3.1 to go with 3.4 steals.

Joining Shaw on the All-Region team was junior Demia Mosley. She averaged 11.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.4 steals.

Other key contributors were sophomore Jaiden McKnight, who led in blocked shots with 4.2 to go with 5.7 rebounds and 3.9 points. Sophomore Kamarie McCrea led in steals at 3.6 to go with 5.2 points and 4.1 rebounds, while junior Nyla Wallace averaged 6.2 points.

Kingstree is losing just one senior in Harmony Mosley, who played in all 28 games. That has Price excited about the future.

“We will lose only one senior, so my expectation is with a great offseason ahead, my 2025-26 team should get us to our ultimate goal of competing for a state championship,” he said.

MAL’AKI MATTHEWS ALL-REGION

Senior point guard Mal’Aki Matthews was selected to the All-Region 7 boys team.

Matthews was the lone double-figure scorer for the Blazers, averaging 12.1 points.

KHS finished with a 5-21 record.

KINGSTREE STILL WITHOUT A FOOTBALL COACH

Kingstree is still without a football head coach after Brian Smith was fired on January 11 by Williamsburg County School District.

Smith was fired after three seasons as head coach, first getting the job with the merger of C.E. Murray into Kingstree. Smith had been a successful head coach at C.E. Murray.

Smith’s firing touched off a major backlash in the community with the district announcing on January 21 that it would rehire Smith. However, Smith has yet to take the district up on that offer.

Smith was 15-20 in his three seasons at Kingstree. The Blazers went 5-6 the first season, losing in the first round of the AA state playoffs. The record was 5-7 the next two years but included wins in the first round of the playoffs. Kingstree had just one playoff victory in the 18 previous seasons and just four 5-win campaigns.

Smith was the head coach at C.E. Murray twice covering seven years, posting a 43-30 record. He led the War Eagles to a Class A state championship game in 2015 and to a Lower State title game in 2021 in its final year of existence.

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First Baptist Hires New AD and Football Coach

By David Shelton • July 30, 2025

By David Shelton Senior Writer Charleston – First Baptist School has new leadership within its football program and athletic department for the coming 2025-26 school year. Kevin Mapp was hired as the new head football coach in the early spring and Jay Godbolt was hired as the new athletic director at the start of the summer. Mapp has extensive coaching experience on both the college and high school levels while also working in law enforcement. First Baptist is his first head coaching position. Mapp last coached defensive linemen at James Island Charter High and has had coaching stints at James Madison, Hampden-Sydney, Georgetown, Marshall, Missouri State and Coastal Carolina. Mapp graduated from James Madison and was a defensive lineman on the 2004 Division I-AAA (now FCS) national championship team. “Coaching has always been my passion,” Mapp said. “Ever since I was playing, I wanted to be a coach. I have always found a way to coach while working in law enforcement. I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunities to do both.” Mapp has been with the Charleston County police department for the last 10 years. He took some time away from coaching to start a family. “I felt like First Baptist was the perfect fit for me and my family,” Mapp says. “It’s a great opportunity at a great place. The kids here work hard and there is a lot of support from the administration. I’m excited to be the head football coach at First Baptist.” Mapp has hired coordinators on both sides of the ball. Will McCombs , once the head coach of the program, will call the offensive plays. Chris Hart comes over from James Island as the defensive coordinator. “Our numbers are improving and the kids are working hard,” Mapp said. “I feel like we can be a competitive team. It’s year one of the building process.” Godbolt has been a coach and athletic director in the Charleston area for nearly two decades. As the boys basketball coach at Charleston Collegiate, Godbolt coached three state championship teams. He also has been a coach and athletic director at Lowcountry Leadership Academy. Godbolt has more than 450 career victories as a head basketball coach. Current First Baptist basketball coach Antoine Saunders was Godbolt’s assistant at Charleston Collegiate.