Hilton Head Christian's Brown believes future is bright for boys basketball team

Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor • March 10, 2026

Eagles' Wood selected to SCISA Region 3-AAAA All-Region team

           Bluffton – The Hilton Head Christian Academy boys basketball team only won a quarter of its games, posting a 6-18 overall record. That is something that second-year head coach Bryan Brown isn’t satisfied with, but he’s sees progress being made.

 

           “It was an up-and-down year,” Brown said. “We had a lot of problems with injuries. But the guys fought hard and had a season with measurable growth.”

 

           The Eagles finished with a 2-8 record in SCISA Region 3-AAAA. That was good enough to get them in the state tournament, but they lost to Hammond 70-58 in the first round.

 

           Hilton Head Christian had two players selected to the Region 3 All-Region team. They were junior Jake Wood and senior Finn Ussery.

 

           Wood almost averaged 20 points a game, coming up just short at 19.7 points per game. Along with leading the Eagles in scoring, Wood also led in rebounding at 5.9 and steals at 2.0.

 

           Ussery also scored in double figures, finishing with a 12.2 average. He also averaged 3.6 rebounds.

 

           Ussery is joined in the senior class by Thomas Gehm, Killian Gibson, Maddox Norcross and Ethan Maloney. Each of them made significant contributions, at the very least in terms of minutes played. Norcross averaged 4.9 points and Gibson 3.5.

 

           A couple of sophomores who played well this season are Brennan Steiner and Sam Strum. Steiner led Hilton Head Christian in assists with a 2.4 average,, and he scored at a 3.6 clip. Strum averaged 5.4 points and 4.4 rebounds.

 

           Two other sophomores who saw significant time were Chase White and Davis Taylor. White averaged 4.0 points and 2.9 rebounds, while Taylor averaged 2.5 points and 3.6 rebounds.

 

           With a good corps of young players returning who saw plenty of minutes, Brown feels HHCA has the opportunity to get good really quick.

 

“I feel like we’re in a good spot,” Brown said. “If our young guys and our returners stay bought in and trust the process, their time is coming.”

 

           SISSY THOMPSON GIRLS HOOPS ALL-REGION PICK

 

           Hilton Head Christian girls basketball player Sissy Thompson was named to the All-Region team. The sophomore averaged 12 points and nine rebounds a contest.

 

           It was a long season for the Eagles, who finished with a 1-19 overall record. However, first-year head coach Matt Payton believes better things await, sooner rather than later.

 

           “We had a really young team this year,” Payton said. “Over half of our team were freshmen (six of the 13 along with one eighth-grader). We are looking to rebuild our program and there will be some bumps along the way.

 

           “The girls worked hard and improved throughout the year.”

 

           Before winning just four games in the 2024-25 season, Hilton Head Christian had won six consecutive state championships. The first four were under Kenny Conroy while the final two came under the tutelage of Bobby Thompson.

 

           RECLASSIFICATION DOESN’T EFFECT HILTON HEAD CHRISTIAN

 

           While SCISA had its biannual reclassification shakeup, it will have no effect on what level the Hilton Head Christian athletic teams will be playing.

 

           The school’s football team will continue to compete at AAA while all of the other sports will be part of the AAAA classification.

Varsity Football Players from around the state are invited to the Jeri and Steve Spurrier Indoor Practice Facility from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

By Staff Reports • July 21, 2026
Teams from around the state attended the HSSR Media Day in 2025.

Kephart Takes Charge Of AR Boys Soccer Program

By Roger Lee • July 21, 2026
Andrew Kephart has been hired to head the Ashley Ridge Boys Soccer program.

Beasley To Be Inducted Into SCACA Hall of Fame During Coaches Clinic In Greenville

By Billy Baker • July 21, 2026
Coach Beasley will become the 7th high school coach from Barnwell County to be inducted into the SCACA Hall of Fame at a ceremony in conjunction with the annual Coaches Clinic being held at the Greenville Convention Center between July 24-26.

Abbeville Athletics Looks To Build On Successful 2025-26

By David Shelton • July 20, 2026
Several Panther teams advanced deep into the postseason, demonstrating the competitiveness and determination that have become hallmarks of Abbeville athletics.

The Annual SCACA Clinic Presents Opportunities For All Coaches Across South Carolina

By Billy Baker • July 20, 2026
The state's coaches will gather in Greenville July 24-26 for the SCACA Clinic.

High School Sports Report 40th Annual Prep Football Media Day set for Wednesday, July 22, at USC's indoor practice facility

By Staff reports • July 15, 2026
Players from around the state are invited to the Jeri and Steve Spurrier Indoor Practice Facility from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Saluda Football Uses Spring To Build Depth

By Dennis Brunson • July 3, 2026
By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Saluda – The Saluda High School football team will have a good amount of experience returning for the 2026 season. The Tigers have six starters back on offense and eight on defense from a team that went 6-6 and reached the second round of the AA state playoffs. However, they didn’t get a lot of work in during spring practice because many of them were on the school’s baseball and track and field teams that made deep runs in the postseason. Saluda head coach Greg Woerner found a silver lining in that though. “We were only able to get eight days of spring practice in and made the most o it and got better learning the offense and defense and developing some depth with the younger guys,” said Woerner, who will be in his second season as head coach. “A lot of our returning starters were making playoff runs in baseball and track, so we got a good luck at our depth.” Saluda returns four players who were selected to the All-Region 2-AA team last year. They are rising junior placekicker Ericson Vasquez , senior running back Tristan Daniels, senior tight end Jahmeer Myers and junior defensive back Ceddion Springs . Vasquez was named the Region 2 Special Teams Player of the year. Woerner is hoping the Tigers can be productive in the month of July leading into the start of fall practice. “For the remainder of the summer we’re really just looking forward to continuing to get stronger but also focusing in more on football,” Woerner said. “We had a good June competing in 7-on-7s (competitions) and getting better at our passing game and pass defense. July will focus more on getting better at the whole game.” The Tigers completed their 7-on-7 competition in June. Their first scrimmage will be on August 6 at Woodland before coming home to scrimmage Gilbert on August 10. Saluda is scheduled to open its season on August 21 at home against Abbeville . The Tigers will be part of a new region in Region 4-AA. The region will include two old Region 2 foes in defending state champion Strom Thurmond and Pelion to go with American Leadership Academy , Orangeburg-Wilkinson and Silver Bluff . MILLER MARTIN SELECTED TO AA ALL-STATE SOFTBALL TEAM Sophomore pitcher Miller Martin , a key figure for Saluda’s AA state championship softball team, was selected to the AA All-State softball team announced by the South Carolina Association for Women’s Sports . Martin had a 15-3 win-loss record and struck out 248 batters in 139 2/3 innings while posting a 0.70 earned run average. At the plate, Martin had a .308 batting average with five home runs and 32 runs batted in. Martin was also named the Region 2 Co-Player of the Year. Martin was joined on the All-Region team by Amy Sorcia , Zoey Springs and Nyla Jordan . Tigers head coach Hannah Towery said the program’s first ever state title sets a precedent for the future. “Future players will walk on to that field knowing a championship can be achieved because this team proved it,” said Towery, who guided Saluda to a 29-3 record. “The banner will hang, the trophy will be displayed, and the record books will always show who did it first. “History remembers champions, but it especially remembers those who paved the way. This team just didn’t win a state championship – they built a legacy.”

Jefferson Davis football focusing on the basics over the summer

By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor • July 3, 2026
Raiders return everyone along the line from 8-4 team that reached 8-man semifinals

OCA Football Sets Sights On Four-Peat

By David Shelton • July 2, 2026
Oceanside's rising senior QB, Aiden Manavian is nearing 10,000 career passing yards and threw 42 touchdown passes last season.

W W King Holds Spring Athletic Banquet

By Gerald Doolittle • July 1, 2026
By: Gerald Doolittle Contributing Writer, HSSR Batesburg-Leesville, S.C. -W.W. King Academy held its Spring/Winter Athletic Banquet in mid-May to honor their 2025-26 athletic efforts. All the Knight teams were very competitive in their SCISA Class A region where they competed against Wardlaw Academy, Newberry Academy, Cambridge Academy, Richard Winn Academy and Anderson Christian . The Varsity Baseball team won the SCISA Class A Title . The Varsity Softball team was very competitive in the playoffs. Coach Jessica Anderson presented the Varsity Girls Basketball Awards . Blythe Buzhardt won the All-Around Excellence Award. Kenzie Morse won the Defensive Player-of-the-Year Award. Coach Dennis Gibson presented the Varsity Boys Basketball Awards. Spencer McCormick received the Most Outstanding Player Award. Brady Goff received the Sharp-Shooter Award. Coach Allen Guy presented the Varsity Softball Awards. Blythe Buzhardt received the Most Outstanding Player Award. Abby Aull received the Leadership Award and Kenzie Morse received the Iron Athletic Award. Coach Zach Matthews presented five awards to his Varsity Baseball State Champion players. Elijah Hutto received the Offensive Player of the Year Award. Luke Harvey received the Defensive Player of The Year Award. Wyatt Burbank, Zed Watkins and Smith Kirby shared the Team Leadership Award. Athletic Director Kathy Gibson assisted in presenting the Senior Awards. Smith Kirby and Abby Aull received the Senior Student Athlete of the Year Award. Wyatt Burbank and Kenzie Morse received the Athlete of the Year Award. Spencer McCormick and Abby Aull received the Christian Leadership Award. Wyatt Burbank and Kenzie received the Varsity Year-Round Athletes Award.
More Posts