Several of the spring sports teams had stellar seasons. Some stood above the rest. Here are the Spring Sports Teams of the Year for 2026.

BASEBALL

FRANKLIN COUNTY LIONS

Coach: Ryan Phillips
Record: 21-17
Accomplishments: 2A Final 4/Semifinals; #2 State Ranking

The Lions were the State Runner-Up in 2025. After graduating program GOAT Ty Peeples, who now shines at UGA, many thought Franklin County couldn’t make a similar run. They dashed that notion, and really came on in the second half of the season. Despite etching out a 4th-place finish in a tough region, the Lions made the most of their playoff draw. The Lions beat Union County in a 3-game thriller, then swept past Thomson before needing a third game to put away Appling County. In the Semifinals, they fell to Morgan County to end their season.

JEFFERSON DRAGONS

Coach: Kyle Hardy
Record: 27-10
Accomplishments: 3A Elite 8; #5 State Ranking

The Dragons reeled off 27 wins in yet another fantastic year. Jefferson held a top-5 state ranking for most of the year. Kyle Hardy’s team won the region title, and made a run to the Elite 8. The Dragons were anchored by seniors Ryan Reed and Jackson Sims, and also freshman outfielder Landry Boling, junior OF Eli Primm, and sophomore ace Jackson Beasley.

GIRLS SOCCER

JEFFERSON LADY DRAGONS

Coach: Molly McCarty
Record: 17-2
Accomplishments: 3A State Champions; Region Runner-Up; #1 State Ranking

Molly McCarty guided her program to back-to-back state title games, and the third in five years. The Lady Dragons went 17-2. After coming in Runner-Up in their region, Jefferson rolled through the playoffs with ease, going back up against Oconee County in the title game for a second straight season. This time, Jefferson prevailed in PKs, with Isabel Ikirt coming up with some stellar saves to earn MVP honors. Sammy Suppes was one who stood out and broke a school record during the playoffs with goals in a game, and everything about this team was unbelievable. The final goal count for Jefferson was 109-14.

BOYS SOCCER

TALLULAH FALLS INDIANS

Record: 17-2
Coach: Jeremy Stille
Accomplishments: GIAA 4A State Final 4; Region Champions; #3 State Ranking

The Indians reeled off a program-record 17 straight wins after dropping the season-opener. Several of those victories were against top-10 programs, and Tallulah Falls used a bevy of players to do the scoring, which made it so difficult to pin down just one or two players. TFS won a fourth consecutive region championship, then played their way into the Final 4 for the first time, and got to host that game before dropping a tight 2-1 decision. They scored 100 goals exactly, and gave up just 17 on the campaign.

GIRLS TENNIS

TALLULAH FALLS LADY INDIANS

Record: 14-6
Coach: Anthony Cox
Accomplishments: GIAA 3A State Runner-Up; Region Champions; #2 State Ranking

The Lady Indians won 14 games and played for a state championship. During the season, coach Anthony Cox reached 100 career wins. The girls won yet another region title, and all-time program GOAT Jaeda-Lee Daniel-Joseph set a new school record for single-season wins with 24, finishing with 75 for her career. It was the fourth straight region title, and Daniel-Joseph was also the individual state runner-up. Doubles combo Ava Carnes and Charlotte Stafford set the school’s all-time doubles combo record, and they also were the state runner-up at doubles.

BOYS TENNIS

RABUN COUNTY WILDCATS

Record: 19-3
Coach: Bryan Getty
Accomplishments: 1A DI State Runner-Up; Region Champions; #2 State Ranking

The Wildcats just steamrolled the competition throughout 2026. Rabun County advanced to a region championship before going all the way to the state championship match for the first time in program history. Lleyton Phillips, Brady Darnell, Jack Getty, Cobe Smith, and others played a huge role in the historic season. Rabun County tallied a 19-3 overall record, and finished as the State Runner-Up!

GIRLS GOLF

BANKS COUNTY LADY LEOPARDS

Coach: Josh Shoemaker
Accomplishments: 1A DI State Champions, Area Champions, #1 State Ranking

The Lady Leopards made history with their first-ever State Championship. They won by a large margin of 12 strokes, just weeks after winning their second straight Area Championship. Tenley Maney (3rd at state, Area Champion) and Morgan Sparks led this team to its historic finish.

BOYS GOLF

JEFFERSON DRAGONS

Coach: Matt Sims
Accomplishments: 3A State 6th Place; Area Runner-Up; #6 State Ranking

The Dragons got huge contributions from both Zachary Moore (State 11th, Area 12th) and Kane Bute (State 18th, Area 12th). Jefferson was the Area Runner-Up, and went on to a 6th-place finish at the State Championship tournament.

GIRLS TRACK & FIELD

JEFFERSON LADY DRAGONS

Coach: Llonisha McElhaney
Accomplishments: 3A State Runner-Up; Region Champions; #2 State Ranking; 1 Individual State Champ; 6x Event Top-5

The Lady Dragons won the Region Championship, and that was a launching pad. Jefferson would go on to secure a State Runner-Up finish, as Teah Gales won individual gold in the shot put to propel the team. Three relays took Runner-Up, and Hannah Howard had three top-10 performances. Others such as Rileigh Harrison, Savannah Reynolds, Hannah Schroeder, Violet Patton, Lily Whitmire, and Posy Halley all came up clutch for the Lady Dragons.

BOYS TRACK & FIELD

FRANKLIN COUNTY LIONS

Coach: Ann Bowman
Accomplishments: 2A State 3rd Place; Region Champions; #3 State Ranking; 3x Individual State Champions; 12x Event Top-10

The Lions leaned heavily on distance star Will Gipson, who won a pair of state titles in the 1600 and 3200. Franklin County cruised to a Region Championship, and came in 3rd at state behind 12 top-10 finishes overall. Aside from Gipson, Candler Stone was the state champ in the shot put, and Kamorrian Barnes had three top-10 performances.

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