11 Gastonia, Shelby Athlete of the Week nominees. Who gets your vote?

Who did enough to be recognized as the top athletes over the past week in Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties? Here’s your chance to decide the area’s boys and girls Athlete of the Week for April 6, 2026. The polls close Friday at 11:59 p.m. Multiple votes are allowed.

Piedmont Community Charter baseball’s Danny Romero and East Gaston softball’s Molly Kuproski were voted the area’s top athletes during the last round of voting prior to spring break.

Nominations are compiled courtesy of information obtained by The Gaston Gazette and Shelby Star by coaches, athletic directors and statisticians through emails, MaxPreps, game results or highlights posted to social media. If a top performer’s name doesn’t appear on the list, encourage their coach to email submissions to jhughes@gastongazette.com or sports@gastongazette.com.

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Boys Athlete of the Week

Braden Brotherton, East Lincoln baseball: Was 3-for-3 with two doubles, a triple, three RBIs and a run scored in a 7-0 win over Highland Regional (New Jersey).

Brian Buttrick, Burns baseball: Allowed one run (none earned) on three hits with 10 strikeouts in a 2-1 win over Kings Mountain.

Brody Crawford, South Point baseball: Hit .625 during the Gaston County Easter Tournament with a double, an RBI and two runs scored, in addition to allowing one run on five hits with four strikeouts in the tourney finale against Highland Tech.