<\/p>\n
Westlake Chaparrals Bo Ogden (5) drives to the basket past defense from Lake Travis Cavaliers Alex Jacob (10) in the second quarter of the game between the Lake Travis Cavaliers and the Westlake Chaparrals, Jan. 9, 2026 in Lake Travis.<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
It was another successful year on the boys basketball court<\/a> for Austin-area UIL schools. Westlake<\/a> made it to the Class 6A Division II state championship game, Glenn<\/a> reached the Class 5A Division I semifinals, Wimberley advanced to the Class 4A Division II regional finals and Westwood, Vandegrift, Hendrickson, Weiss, LBJ and Manor New Tech all reached the third round of the playoffs<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the following, we’ll present our all-Central Texas UIL boys basketball team for the 2025-26 season, honoring the best of the best of local public schools. These players come from a range of schools across the Austin American-Statesman’s coverage area and represent numerous positions on the floor.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Player of the year: Bo Ogden, Westlake\u00a0<\/p>\n Ogden\u2019s lone year in UIL was an impressive one. Transferring after leading St. Michael\u2019s to the 2025 TAPPS Class 6A state title, the Texas signee helped the Chaps to a share of the District 26-6A title and reach the Class 6A Division II state title game by averaging 21.6 ppg, 9.2 apg and 1.5 spg.\u00a0<\/p>\n Other candidates: Hayden Brannan, Vandegrift; Luke Carpenter, Westwood; Dallas Hernandez, Glenn\u00a0<\/p>\n Defensive player of the year: Skyler Elliott, Hendrickson\u00a0<\/p>\n A lockdown guard who excelled in both fullcourt and halfcourt pressure, the junior averaged 2.2 steals and 3 deflections per game. He was a big reason Hendrickson went 30-7, won District 23-5A and advanced to the regional semifinals of the Class 5A Division I playoffs. \u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Other candidates: Trey Block, Vandegrift; Dylan Howard, Hays; John McNair, Westwood; Braeden Terrell, Akins<\/p>\n Newcomer of the year: Max Lipnisky, Round Rock<\/p>\n The electric sophomore guard averaged 14.7 ppg, 3.6 apg and 3.5 rpg for a Dragons team that overcame multiple key injures to win 24 games and advance to the area round of the Class 6A Division I playoffs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Other candidates: Cason Davis, Austin High; Christian Hawthorne, LBJ; Aaron Mathis, Lake Travis; Hudson Roberts, Glenn; Legend Samuel, Hendrickson<\/p>\n Coach of the year: Brad Hastings, Westwood\u00a0<\/p>\n Guiding Westwood to its first district title since 2001 despite losing his top two players from a year ago, the longtime Central Texas coach led the Warriors to a 31-3 record, which included a 28-game winning streak and a perfect run through the nine-team District 25-6A. \u00a0<\/p>\n Other candidates: Kennon Dvorak, Hendrickson; Robert Lucero, Westlake; Jon Ortiz, Glenn; Brandon Shaver, Lake Travis\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n First team<\/p>\n Joshua Baskin, Bowie: A unanimous first-team all-District 26-6A pick, the dynamic junior guard averaged 16 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.1 apg and 2.5 spg in helping the Bulldogs to the playoffs. He\u2019ll be one of the top three players in Central Texas next year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hayden Brannan, Vandegrift: A nightmare matchup in the post for most opponents, he led a Vipers team that went to the third round of the Class 6A Division II playoffs and finished 29-8 with 13.2 ppg and 6.5 rpg.<\/p>\n Luke Carpenter, Westwood: The senior forward was the ultimate inside-out player who averaged 16 ppg and 6 rpg for a Warriors team that went a perfect 16-0 in District 25-6A, advanced to the regional semifinals of the Class 6A Division I playoffs and finished 31-3.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Dallas Hernandez, Glenn: Brilliant in running the Grizzlies offense as a point guard, the senior averaged 16 ppg, 4 rpg and 2 apg for a team that went undefeated in winning District 25-5A, finished 30-10 and advanced to the semifinals of the Class 5A Division I playoffs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bo Ogden, Westlake: Unquestionably the top player in Central Texas, the future Longhorn and our player of the year guided Westlake to the Class 6A Division II state championship game\u00a0<\/p>\n Second team<\/p>\n DJ Gardner, Rouse: There are few things the junior guard can\u2019t do. Averaging 15.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg and 2.1 apg, he helped the Raiders back to the playoffs and was the District 25-5A offensive player of the year.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n DJ Hardge, Hendrickson: The District 23-5A MVP is one of the area\u2019s better all-around players who averaged 10.9 ppg, 4.7 apg, 4.4 rpg and 3 spg. He set the school record for assists in both a game and season and helped the Hawks go 30-7, win District 23-5A and reach the regional semifinals in Class 5A Division I.\u00a0<\/p>\n John McNair, Westwood: A do-it-all senior guard, he averaged 13 ppg, 4 rpg and 4 spg in playing an integral part in the Warriors going undefeated in District 25-6A, advancing to the regional semifinals of the Class 6A Division I playoffs and finishing 31-3.\u00a0<\/p>\n Orden Roberts, Glenn: Dangerous off the dribble or on the wing, the senior guard averaged 15 ppg, 6 rpg, 2 apg and 2 spg in helping Glenn go 30-10 and advance to the Class 5A Division I semifinals. \u00a0<\/p>\n Will Slyker, Lake Travis: One of the area\u2019s more prolific scorers, the junior guard averaged 18.1 ppg, 4.1 apg and 3.4 rpg for a Cavs team that shared the District 26-6A title with Westlake and won 25 games.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Third team\u00a0<\/p>\n Nabil Ismail, Cedar Park: The senior guard\/forward was key in the Timberwolves finishing second in a tough District 25-5A by averaging 15.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg and 3.5 apg.<\/p>\n Mack Martin, Westlake: Someone who will likely be one of the area\u2019s top five players next year, the junior forward shot 43.1% from behind the arc and averaged 13.5 ppg and 4.5 rpg for the Class 6A Division II runner-up. \u00a0<\/p>\n Ethan Plummer, McCallum: The District 24-5A MVP averaged 23 ppg and 6 rpg in helping the Knights to a strong second half of the season and playoff appearance.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Cameron Sanford, East View: An impressive defender, the senior also averaged 14.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg and 2.6 apg for a Patriots team that reached the second round of the Class 5A Division I playoffs and finished with 25 wins. \u00a0<\/p>\n Adonis Wright, Weiss: Exceptional athletically, the 6-3 junior combo guard led the Wolves to the third round of the playoffs averaging 14 ppg, 7 rpg and 2 spg.\u00a0<\/p>\n Honorable mention\u00a0<\/p>\n Preston Alexander, Bastrop<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Bryson Batton, Cedar Ridge<\/p>\n Rushton Budge, Dripping Springs<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Kingston Colter, Manor New Tech\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Cason Davis, Austin High\u00a0<\/p>\n Nolan Embry, Cedar Park\u00a0<\/p>\n Paul Gumbert-Mendoza, Wimberley\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Cayden Hinderman-Close, East View\u00a0<\/p>\n Sumner Holland, Westwood\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Gavin Howard, Vista Ridge<\/p>\n Alex Jacob, Lake Travis\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Jayden Johnson, Pflugerville<\/p>\n Isaiah Kinard, Manor New Tech\u00a0<\/p>\n Aaron Mathis, Lake Travis<\/p>\n Jacob McLeod, Liberty Hill<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Legend Samuel, Hendrickson<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Westlake Chaparrals Bo Ogden (5) drives to the basket past defense from Lake Travis Cavaliers Alex Jacob (10)…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":240258,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[52646,33522,2291,1227,27,29,28],"class_list":{"0":"post-240257","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-texas","8":"tag-boys-high-school-basketball","9":"tag-high-school-basketball","10":"tag-high-school-sports","11":"tag-high-schools","12":"tag-texas","13":"tag-texas-headlines","14":"tag-texas-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240257\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n