10 schools represented on 2025-26 All-Area boys basketball team

Brown had big shoes to fill with the graduation of Player of the Year Jared Haskiell and second-teamer Brayden Upole, and the senior did so admirably.

The 6-foot guard finished tied for 11th in the area averaging 15.3 points and ninth in assists at 3.4 a night, and his 73 3-pointers were third locally and 3.04 3s per game were second.

Brown also continued the tradition of Southern’s foul shooting excellence, making 76 of 91 free throws to lead the area at 83.5%.

An All-Western Maryland Athletic Conference first-team performer, Brown was nearly unstoppable when he heated up front deep. The senior made at least four 3-pointers in nine games.

Brown has offers to continue his career at Waynesburg and Juniata.

“Jacob was our team leader,” Southern head coach Hunter Broadwater said. “He put a lot of work in during the offseason to become our point guard since he has been a guard off the ball the past two seasons. He worked hard to increase his scoring ability. We are excited to see him continue his career at the next level.”

Braylon Ward, Union, Jr.

It’s hard to imagine a player who meant more to their team than Ward did to Union, a school with fewer than 100 high school-aged kids.

Ward, a 6-foot-1 guard, finished in the top 10 locally in every statistical category, posting averages of 24.8 points (second), 3.9 assists (tied for fifth), 7.6 rebounds (10th), 2.1 steals (10th) and 1.87 3-pointers (10th) per game.

His 570 points ranked third, his 147 for 179 effort at the foul line, good for 82.1%, was second, and his 34.7% 3-point shooting percentage was fourth.

Ward, who was honorable mention All-Area last year, appeared on the Class A All-State first team and All-PVC Division 3 squad.

“He is the type of player who makes every player around him better,” Union head coach Walt Ward said. “He can see the floor, has great court vision. He’s got a nasty mid-range shot. He improved his 3-point shooting from last year to this year, and he’s continuing to work on that.

“He’s also one of the hardest-working kids that I’ve ever been around. We’ll have a two-hour practice, and then he sticks around for an hour shooting on the machine, or we may leave, and two hours later, we’re back in the gym. He’s putting up shots, constantly working on his ball handling.”

Liam Hamilton, Fort Hill, Sr.

Above all else, Hamilton will be remembered at Fort Hill as a winner.

The 6-foot-4 forward won two region titles, made a Final Four berth and went 49-22 in three seasons in the Fort Hill starting lineup.

A point forward, Hamilton was second in assists locally at 4.3 per game and added 13.9 points (17th in area), 7.1 rebounds (tied for 11th) and 2.0 steals (tied for 13th) a night.

The senior also established a reputation for being one of the area’s top defenders.

Hamilton is a repeat member of the All-Area and All-WestMAC first teams, and he is a back-to-back All-City performer.

“Liam had a great career at Fort Hill. If you look at how much we won the last three years, it speaks highly about his involvement and his impact on the game,” Fort Hill head coach Thad Burner said.

“His size and his athleticism, his speed. Liam’s really good at getting downhill. He could beat his man one-on-one a lot. But I think Liam is a much better passer than he gets credit for.

“He’s the best defensive player in the area, and I don’t think it’s really close.”

Gideon Good, East Hardy, Jr.

The 6-foot-7 big man was a model of consistency for East Hardy, which advanced to its third straight Class A state semifinal with Good in the lineup.

Good posted 22 double-figure games in 26 outings and 16 double-doubles, including a 21-point, 11-rebound, 11-block triple-double against Tucker County on Jan. 31.

Good averaged a double-double at 17 points and 11.7 boards a night, figures that ranked 10th and third, respectively. His 5 blocks per game were an area-high.

An honorable mention All-Area player last year, Good was selected Class A first-team All-State and All-PVC Division 3.

“Gideon had a tremendous year,” East Hardy head coach Chris Hahn said. “He got so much bigger and stronger. When I say bigger, he played bigger. He just got really skilled off the ball.

“His ability to stretch defenses was really helpful this year. We were able to get him kind of moving at the basket rather than just playing with his back to the basket. He did a really good job of staying on the court this year, not getting in foul trouble.

“He was dominant all season and definitely drew everybody’s best defenders every night. We rarely saw a night where he got to play straight up against somebody one-on-one.”

Cam Breighner, Mtn. Ridge, Sr.

A skilled forward who was a matchup nightmare with a perimeter game at 6-foot-7, the future Frostburg State Bobcat made the All-Area first team for a second consecutive campaign.

Breighner averaged 14.8 points (14th locally) and 5.7 rebounds (tied for 22nd) and shot 62.5% from the charity stripe.

The senior also finished his high school career with a pair of All-WestMAC first-team appearances.

“Cam was a strong player for us. He was kind of the foundation for us,” Mountain Ridge head coach Tim Nightengale said. “He used his height well. He could play inside or out. He worked on his game continuously, and he was a great leader for us.

“He worked on his outside game, worked on his mid-range game. Really developed into a player who could really attack the rim from the outside, could take smaller guys into the paint and score in paint and score well around the basket.”

Second Team Jayden McNally, Northern, Sr.

The do-it-all McNally was in the top 10 in the area in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and 3-point shooting.

McNally, a 6-foot-1 senior guard, was fourth in 3s per game (2.45), fifth in 3-point percentage (34.5%), fifth in scoring average (21.1 points per game), sixth in stealing average (2.7 spg), seventh in rebounding average (8.3 rpg) and 10th in assists average (3.2 apg).

McNally was also voted to the All-WestMAC first team.

“Jayden really tried to transform his game this season,” Northern head coach Jeremy Johnson said. “For so long he was needed to be the sole scorer. We wanted him to use all his tools, and he really did that. Started to pass the ball more, focused on getting rebounds, playing harder defense. Proud of him for trying to develop into a more rounded player.”

Kaleb Kuhn, Petersburg, Sr.

When Kuhn caught fire, there was little opponents could do to stop him.

The 6-foot senior guard poured in an area-best 49 points in one game against Pendleton County on March 2, and he finished his career with 1,255 points.

Kuhn was fifth locally in points (504) and averaged 21 points (sixth), 6.5 rebounds (16th), 3 steals (second), 2.7 assists (tied for 14th) and 2 3-pointers (eighth) per game. He made 74 of 104 free throws, and his 71.2% ranks 15th.

Kuhn was also an All-Area second-teamer as a sophomore, and he made the All-PVC Division 2 squad.

“Kaleb’s been a kid throughout his career that always wants to take the last shot,” Petersburg head coach Stacey Berg said. “He’s a competitor. His court awareness, understanding the situation of the game, knowing what’s going on (is what sets him apart).

“Kaleb was the kind of kid that if he saw one go in, look out, there could be five go in real quick. And one of the things that we worked through his career was understanding that when it’s not going in, we’ve got to take a step back and try and get something simple.”

Kycin Waites, Frankfort, Jr.

Waites took a significant step from his sophomore season, becoming one of the area’s top players on both ends of the floor as an upperclassman.

The 6-foot-2 junior guard was seventh in points (430) and eighth in points per game (17.2). He added 6.5 rebounds (16th), 2.0 assists (tied for 28th) and 1.64 3-pointers (13th) per game.

Waites made 87 of 124 foul shots, and his 70.2% was 18th locally.

Waites was also selected to the All-PVC Division 1 squad.

“Excited for him because we still have another year for him to improve and get even better,” Slider said. “His game has improved tremendously, gets to the basket extremely well, could go against bigger defenders and get to the basket, as well as even shoot the ball pretty well from the perimeter.

“He could break the defense down, get around them, get to the bucket. Not only was he strong offensively, but defensively, he could step up and guard the other team’s No. 1 or No. 2 offensive player any given night.”

Jameson Powell-Morris, Fort Hill, Jr.

Powell-Morris was a steadying force on a Fort Hill squad that struggled offensively for stretches this year, scoring double figures in 20 of 22 games.

A 6-foot-2 guard, Powell-Morris averaged 15 points (13th locally), 5.7 rebounds (tied for 22nd), 2.2 assists (tied for 24th) and 1.27 3s (19th) locally.

The junior was also All-City and All-WestMAC first team.

“Jameson showed a lot of maturity this year,” Burner said. “He had some really, really good games. His ability to attack the basket has greatly improved. His shot greatly improved. He made some big shots for us this year throughout the season.

“I thought his mid-range game got a lot better. And a lot of times he might have been drawing the team’s best defender. ... I think we’re in store for some more improvement again next year. We’re excited about the things that Jameson did, and we’re really excited about ... how much more he can grow.”

Graham Harvey, Southern, So.

The sky is the limit for the lone underclassman voted to the All-Area squad.

The 6-foot-6 sophomore guard/forward showcased his skill around the perimeter and athleticism throwing down dunks, and his passing acumen allowed him to finish seventh locally at 3.8 per game.

Harvey posted averages of 14.6 points (15th), 6.3 rebounds (tied for 19th), 1.6 blocks (tied for fifth) and 1.58 3-pointers (15th). His 71.3% free-throw shooting mark (82-115) ranked 14th.

Harvey, who was also voted to the All-WestMAC first team, was an All-Area honorable mention last year.

“He was great for us this year,” Broadwater said of Harvey. “He led us in every category except for points. We are excited for his future with us. He worked hard last offseason to increase his offensive production, becoming a better shooter from 3 and from the free-throw line.”

Braylon McGreevy, Keyser, Sr.

McGreevy established himself firmly in the conversation for the area’s premier forward.

He was a consistent scorer, garnering 18 double-figure games, and his 15.3 ppg tied for 11th locally, 8.0 rpg tied for eighth and 1.9 blocks were good for fourth.

The 6-foot-5 senior, who was All-Area honorable mention last year, was named to the All-PVC Division 1 unit.

“Braylon is the type of player that coaches dream of,” Keyser head coach Scott Furey said. “He loves and studies the game. His size is an obvious benefit, but our style requires him to run the floor like no other big has to. He and we both benefit from his willingness to just outwork his competition. He will be sorely missed.”

Honorable Mention

Landon Holliday (Allegany), Evan Hamilton (East Hardy), Matt Medina (Hampshire), Trey Dawson (Keyser), Taylor Carder (Paw Paw), Payton Metheny, Caden Ours (Petersburg), Braden Lucas (Southern), Corbin Streets (Union).