Sports
May 27, 2026 by Jake Nichols
MURFREESBORO — They say two things in life are inevitable: death and taxes.
At this point, the Farragut baseball program might as well be added to that list.
It would only be right after the festivities last Friday, May 22, as the Admirals overcame two three-run deficits, a six-hour delay and even a change of venue to beat Houston 11-5 in the 2026 Class 4A championship at Siegel High School.
The victory gave the Admirals five straight state titles with 15 in their rich program history.
“It’s awesome,” said senior pitcher Travis Brummitt Jr., tears streaming down his face. “When Farragut comes to the state tournament, we just win. It’s weird. No matter what, we win.“
Last Friday morning, though, things weren’t quite that simple when the Ads trailed Houston 3-0 in the top of the first inning at Oakland High School.
Vanderbilt signee Collin Bland led off with a tone-setting single that sizzled into centerfield, then he and two other Mustangs scored in a flurry.
Undeterred, Farragut drew two walks in its first three at-bats before Brummitt knocked an RBI single. Two batters later, Mason Shelton smoked an RBI single of his own to make it 3-2, giving Brummitt a boost as he trotted out to the mound.
“I think it was really the bottom of the first inning, and I gave up three,” Brummitt reflected later. “But when we scored two and had good at-bats, that kept my confidence going. If I wasn’t here last year, I probably wouldn’t understand it. But I saw (Cole) Draper give up two in the first, so I knew it would happen. Just had to stay the course and stay confident.”
Little did he know how long that confidence would have to remain, though.
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May 27, 2026 by Jake Nichols
MURFREESBORO — On a rainy and disappointing afternoon for Bearden soccer, Ryan Radcliffe’s perspective cut through the clouds.
Moments after the Bulldogs lost the Class 4A state championship to Ravenwood, falling 3-1 in a tense penalty kick shootout, the Bearden head coach chose to look at the silver lining. His team just completed its 12th state championship appearance in program history, having blitzed through its 20th state tournament with a 2-0 record to reach the title game, and Radcliffe wanted to give credit where it was due.
“I think you try to keep a hindsight picture of where we got to, and the work it took to get to this point was pretty crazy,” Radcliffe said. “There are teams that don’t get here any or really good teams that haven’t been here in decades, so to get here and have the opportunity to play should be at the top of your mind, even though it stings a bit right now.”
That approach will stick with his Bearden team, though the sting may last well after their Friday, May 22, loss, too.
And how could it not, given the way it unfolded?
After a scoreless 80 minutes, two 10-minute overtime periods and a slew of penalty kicks left the Dawgs trailing 3-1, BHS needed two goals in as many tries to force a second set of PKs. Tim Styles was the natural choice for the first shot, as he scored a combined five goals against Cleveland and Franklin to lead the Dawgs into the season finale.
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Lady Ads see bitter end at state
May 27, 2026 by Jake Nichols
MURFREESBORO — After going winless at the 2025 Class 4A state softball tournament, the Farragut Lady Admirals arrived in middle Tennessee with redemption on their minds this year.
Instead, they experienced the familiar sting of another 0-2 stint and had to endure a rain delay to get there.
Tuesday, May 19, brought a 5-3 loss to Stewarts Creek — the same team that knocked Farragut out last year — in their opener at McKnight Park. Then on Wednesday, May 20, the Lady Ads were one of just a few teams to get in a game after rain and lightning muddied fields for almost five hours.
When it finally subsided, FHS took the field but lost 4-3 to Lincoln County in an elimination battle at the Murfreesboro Starplex to close their 2026 campaign.
“We ended where we wanted it to be. Just didn’t end how we wanted it to,” head coach Nick Green lamented. “All the things we did really great this year, unfortunately we did not do the past two days. And when you’re playing good teams, that’s the difference in how you win.”
In both games, Farragut grabbed momentum with early leads — 1-0 over Stewarts Creek on Tuesday and 3-0 over Lincoln County the following day.
Those evaporated as 11 Lady Admiral runners were left stranded through their two-day stay. They also gave up a combined nine runs through the final five innings of both games.
But even after giving up each advantage, FHS put the tying run on base or at the plate in the final inning — yet proved unable to cash in on the momentum.
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May 27, 2026 by Ken Lay, Correspondent
Several area high school track and field athletes closed out the 2026 outdoor season at the TSSAA Class AAA Championships Thursday, May 21, at Tom Black Track at University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
Farragut High School’s boys had three relay teams post top finishes at the meet.
The Admirals’ 4x400-meter relay team finished second with a time of 3 minutes, 18.36 seconds. Farragut’s 4x800-meter relay team took fourth with a time of 8:00.82 seconds. The
Ads’ 4x200-meter relay team took eighth with a time of 1:29.11.
Distance specialist Sam Shagan finished sixth in the 3200-meter run as he crossed the finish line in 9:30.56.
The Lady Admirals’ 4x400-meter relay team finished seventh (4:01.63). Their 4x200 team was 11th (1:45.04).
Peyton Edmunds was sixth in the pole vault with a mark of
9 feet, 6 inches, while
Zoi LeCours was seventh in the girls 3200 (11:11.63).
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May 27, 2026 by Jake Nichols
SMYRNA — Haden Roberts pulled the Knoxville Catholic softball players into a huddle in their Cedar Stone Park dugout.
As the Irish co-head coach spoke, one word stood out from his brief speech: “fight.”
KCHS players showed exactly that this season, navigating a midseason coaching change to reach their first state tournament berth in 42 years. But that historic run came to a close Thursday, May 21, as Catholic lost 11-1 to Baylor in six innings to end its 2026 season in the Division II-AA state softball tournament.
A 9-0 loss to Girls Preparatory School the previous day put the Irish on the brink of elimination before Thursday’s loss to the Red Raiders.
“Just us being proud of them,” Haden Roberts said of what he and co-head coach Heather Roberts (no relation) told the team. “That was the biggest thing is how proud we are. It didn’t turn out like we wanted it to, but they fought and competed until the end of the season, and it showed.”
Against GPS on Wednesday, the Irish held the Bruisers in check en route to a 3-0 deficit after the first three innings. But a fifth-inning explosion put GPS ahead 9-0, marking the final margin after two more scoreless frames.
Bruisers starter Christianna Marshall delivered a complete-game shutout against Catholic, which saw 12 strikeouts with just three hits in 24 at-bats.
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May 27, 2026 by Ken Lay, Correspondent
On the final day of the 2026 high school tennis season, Hardin Valley Academy had a pair of players competing for TSSAA Class AA state singles championships.
Not only are they among the Knoxville area’s top players, they’re also siblings.
And, HVA head coach Seth Rayman had high hopes for both Madison and Jaymeson Huffman.
Both were undefeated heading into the state championships at the Champions Club in Chattanooga, but both lost in their respective title matches.
Madison, a senior, lost her first match of the season in the state final, falling to Page’s Emma Baker 7-5, 6-1.
She defeated Blackman’s Jordan Krise in straight sets to open the state tournament and downed Autumn Gunter of Hendersonville in the semifinals.
Also for Hardin Valley, Jaymson, a freshman, reached the state title match during his freshman year. He fell to Emery Corpstein (Tennessee High) in three sets 6-2, 3-6, 10-6.
Like his sister, Jaymeson won in straight sets in both the first and second rounds.
HVA coach Seth Rayman was pleased with the effort of both his players.
“Unfortunately, it was very close today,” Rayman said. “We just fell short. Jaymeson took his opponent the distance and forced a third set 10-point tie-breaker. Jaymeson is only a ninth grader and he definitely surprised the older kids.”
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