By Parker Gillam Sports Editor parker@gulfcoastmedia.com
A plethora of basketball programs from Baldwin County took part in a preseason Media Day on Monday at the United States Sports University in Daphne.
From the local area, 18 teams were represented at the event, with players and coaches fielding questions from reporters and posing for photos.
Baldwin County Athletics Supervisor Spencer Segrest, who just started the job 11 days ago, got things started at 8:30 a.m. with an opening address before teams took to the podium throughout the morning and afternoon. He notably talked at length about the formal addition of shot clocks into the game this year, with all area schools having them already installed.
Here are some of the notable quotes and notes from what was said ahead of the season beginning in early November:
*Part 2 of 3*
Daphne Girls
Representatives: Kimyatta Perry (Head Coach), Nyah Montoya (JR, CG), Kiara McGivney (SR, PF), Madisyn Williams (SR, G)
Perry is entering her eighth season at Daphne, and she’s been in the head-coaching game for 13 years now and 20 years as a coach overall.
“I was working in banking initially, but I took a job at UMS-Wright as an assistant and quickly realized that the finance degree was the wrong degree. I was a financial consultant while being an assistant, and then I transitioned fully into basketball.”— Kimyatta Perry, Head Coach
Daphne girls head coach Kimyatta Perry speaks at Baldwin County Basketball Media Day on Monday, Oct. 12, in Daphne.
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“I love Coach Perry. She gives us her best and is always there for us.”— Nyah Montoya, Junior Combo Guard
“We’re bringing back two seniors this year after graduating seven from the last team. Madisyn Williams transferred from Baldwin County but didn’t get to play last year, and we have Kiara McGivney, who’s been with us for the past four years.”— Kimyatta Perry, Head Coach
The rest of the roster is made up of eight juniors and a host of underclassmen. Perry emphasized that the program is “revamping, not rebuilding” after six departed stars landed collegiate scholarships.
“It [playing varsity as a freshman] was great. I was able to play with a lot of those seniors who graduated, and they were really competitive.”— Nyah Montoya, Junior Combo Guard
A former Baldwin County Tiger, Williams is on the cusp of reaching 1,000 points in her career.
“You gotta work to be where you want to be. You can’t just sit around and try to be what you want.”— Madisyn Williams, Senior Guard
Daphne senior Madisyn Williams speaks at Baldwin County Basketball Media Day on Monday, Oct. 12, in Daphne.
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“We started coining the phrase ‘humble, hungry and hustle’ this year, so much so that we put it everywhere in our locker room. We had it branded on the walls because we want to have that identity at all times.”— Kimyatta Perry, Head Coach
“I handle the adversity down low through my aggressive play. I don’t foul…well, I try not to foul.”— Kiara McGivney, Senior Power Forward
“We want to be under control and composed, but we definitely want to play fast.”— Kimyatta Perry, Head Coach
“My focus this offseason was on a lot of strength building because I’m an undersized post, as well as my moves on the block.”— Kiara McGivney, Senior Power Forward
Daphne senior Kiara McGivney speaks at Baldwin County Basketball Media Day on Monday, Oct. 12, in Daphne.
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Daphne hosts a Jubilee Tip-Off Tournament to begin its season, with the likes of Auburn, Dothan, Decatur, Biloxi, St. Paul’s and Theodore taking part.
“Right now I’ve got The Mentalist as my favorite TV show, but I like The Rookie a lot too.” Madisyn Williams, Senior Guard
Daphne Boys
Representatives: Garreth Trawick (Head Coach), Fred Bradley Jr. (SR, PF), Ryen Fos (SR, SF)
Trawick is beginning his first season as head coach at Daphne after spending over a decade in Mobile County. He worked on the Trojans staff as an assistant the past two years.
“Ever since he’s [Trawick’ been here, he’s definitely been a morale guy, makes sure everybody has a good time. But whenever it gets time to actually get to work, he can get us straightened out.”— Ryen Fos, Senior Small Forward
Daphne senior Ryen Fos speaks at Baldwin County Basketball Media Day on Monday, Oct. 12, in Daphne.
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“Ryen [Fos], little does he know, echoes me as the coach, especially in practice. He’s just a guy that will give you the energy, both in the gym and classroom.”— Garreth Trawick, Head Coach
“The strength of our team is being there for each other. We’re always looking out for the next person, not just ourselves.”— Fred Bradley Jr., Senior Power Forward
Daphne senior Fred Bradley Jr. speaks at Baldwin County Basketball Media Day on Monday, Oct. 12, in Daphne.
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“Similar to our girls program, this is a retooling, not a rebuild. We know what we’re going up against, so energy and toughness will be big things for us.”— Garreth Trawick, Head Coach
Daphne is one of many Baldwin County teams that will likely be without multiple contributors to start the season due to playoff football. Rangy junior Chris Wrightington and fellow junior John Hill are two of the players within that category.
“I always tell them in close games, where else would you rather be? You’re in a dogfight on Friday night with a packed-out gym.”— Garreth Trawick, Head Coach
Daphne boys head coach Garreth Trawick speaks at Baldwin County Basketball Media Day on Monday, Oct. 12, in Daphne.
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“I’m kinda a facilitator. I don’t look to score too much, just get my teammates open.”— Ryen Fos, Senior Small Forward
“If somebody ever told you basketball wasn’t a contact sport, they lied to you. I’ve got the injuries to prove otherwise.” — Garreth Trawick, Head Coach
“Naturally, seniors control the aux. And usually we’ll listen to some NBA Youngboy to get us hyped before the game.”— Fred Bradley Jr., Senior Power Forward
Culliver is entering his second year as head coach with the Tigers and his 12th overall.
“We’ll be hard-nosed, get up and down and be in your face defensively. We want to be one of those teams that you don’t want to play every night.”— Jordan Culliver, Head Coach
Baldwin County boys head coach Jordan Culliver speaks at Baldwin County Basketball Media Day on Monday, Oct. 12, in Daphne.
Parker Gillam / Gulf Coast Media
“I feel like we’re based on community and faith. A lot of us are Christian, and we believe in God and what he can do. So we’re just pretty prominent with that.”— Roan Wallace, Senior Wing
“Last year was a growth process for all of us. We started off the year really hot, then had some key injuries and lost some close games through the middle. But then the end of the season saw us bring everything together and make some noise.”— Jordan Culliver, Head Coach
“I learned a lot last year from Coach Culliver, especially with being disciplined. He also talked a lot about not laying down, instead fighting back with life in general.”— Kanye McCants, Sophomore Small Forward
Baldwin County sophomore Kanye McCants speaks at Baldwin County Basketball Media Day on Monday, Oct. 12, in Daphne.
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“We developed a good base for the culture last year, and now we have everybody coming back except for one player. So everybody knows what I want and the direction we’re headed in.”— Jordan Culliver, Head Coach
“We spent the summer getting up at 5 a.m. and practicing, and the city of Bay Minette is getting back into basketball. We even had a bunch of middle schoolers come out with us in the morning to do their own work.” — Jordan Culliver, Head Coach
“As a glue guy, you’ve got to show up every day even if you don’t feel like it. There’s a lot of times that I’ll get a little aggravated with the team, but I’ll remember that I have to keep myself together because the group depends on me.”— Roan Wallace, Senior Wing
Baldwin County senior Roan Wallace speaks at Baldwin County Basketball Media Day on Monday, Oct. 12, in Daphne.
Parker Gillam / Gulf Coast Media
“One of the biggest things we want to do is put ourselves back on the map. Baldwin County basketball has been kinda dormant for a long time, but we hope that by running our social media pages and things like that, we can showcase what these kids are doing off the court as well.” — Jordan Culliver, Head Coach
“They’re [Baldwin County’s standout sophomores] dawgs. They’re always working, and all I care about is if we win. So if they want to take over, run our offense and take good shots, I’m here for it.”— Roan Wallace, Senior Wing
“This year, my confidence is way higher, and I just want to score more.”— Kanye McCants, Sophomore Small Forward
According to Culliver, the Tigers will be hosting a Christmas tournament for the first time in many years.
“I listen to worship music before games because I feel like that’s what really gets me locked in,” — Roan Wallace, Senior Wing
Gilson is entering her seventh year at Fairhope and fifth as head coach of the girls program.
The 2026 varsity roster will feature four seniors, six juniors and three sophomores.
“We’re kinda veteran loaded. We did graduate three seniors last year, so we’re hoping to just pick up where we left off.”— Gabrielle Gilson, Head Coach
Fairhope girls head coach Gabrielle Gilson speaks at Baldwin County Basketball Media Day on Monday, Oct. 12, in Daphne.
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“Our team motto we talk about is ‘lead, love, effort, attitude and discipline.’ That’s our focus as a program, and we really try to attack those pillars.”— Gabrielle Gilson, Head Coach
“This offseason we really wanted to get out and play as much as possible in June, so we ended up playing 28 or 29 games all over the state. We also had an opportunity to play with the shot clock, so that was really beneficial for us.”— Gabrielle Gilson, Head Coach
“Having the new gym this year has given us more opportunities to be on the court, and so we’ve been able to actually play basketball alongside our conditioning.”— Campbell Anderson, Senior Guard
Fairhope senior Campbell Anderson speaks at Baldwin County Basketball Media Day on Monday, Oct. 12, in Daphne.
Parker Gillam / Gulf Coast Media
“Our major sophomore contributors are twins Reese and Claire Byrd and Zoe Martin, so we call them our triplets.”— Gabrielle Gilson, Head Coach
“I’ve never been part of such a close-knit team before, and I feel like that really helps us play for each other and be successful.”— Nylah Loukides, Senior Forward
“We have to be ready to go given the area’s history, so that’s why I’m so big on scheduling heavy, especially in November and December.”— Gabrielle Gilson, Head Coach
“If coach isn’t getting onto someone about their effort, I will. I want to play hard, I want to win, you know what I mean? It’s the most fun way to play anyways.”— Nylah Loukides, Senior Forward
Fairhope senior Nylah Loukides speaks at Baldwin County Basketball Media Day on Monday, Oct. 12, in Daphne.
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“I kinda joke around a lot that we’ll either score or turn the ball over within 35 seconds, so the shot clock won’t impact us that much. But on the defensive end, I did see more buy-in because players know they only have to defend for a certain time.” — Gabrielle Gilson, Head Coach
“I’ve been trying to expand my game, being more of an outside threat so I can take the ball up and handle pressure, as well as shoot from the perimeter.” — Nylah Loukides, Senior Forward
Fairhope will also be hosting its own Thanksgiving tournament and will take part in Orange Beach’s Christmas tournament. Then, Gilson is taking her team up to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, for a 58-team tournament in late December.
“I would say either Aubrey [Warner] or Nylad [Loukides] will have aux before games. And we always have this one song, “You stole the show,” that we play in the locker room. It’s kinda slow and depressing, not gonna lie.”— Campbell Anderson, Senior Guard
“Our coach has this thing where she says you’ll get a steak if you get a charge. It won’t be me though, definitely Aubrey [Warner].”— Nylah Loukides, Senior Forward
Fairhope Boys
Representatives: Ralph Watson (Head Coach), Cooper Gardner (SR, G), Knox Lawson (JR, Wing)
Watson is entering his 38th year of coaching.
“I just love it, it’s fun and what I’ve been called to do. I knew when I was 16-years-old as a high school sophomore that this is what I was going to do one day, and here I am, still enjoying it.”— Ralph Watson, Head Coach
Fairhope boys head coach Ralph Watson speaks at Baldwin County Basketball Media Day on Monday, Oct. 12, in Daphne.
Parker Gillam / Gulf Coast Media
“You’ll see a team that’s going to play really hard with great effort. And I hope that we live by our five core values: go 1-0, max effort, mental toughness, strength in numbers, and the other is a term I stole from Patrick Murphy with Alabama softball. It’s ‘Mudita,’ which is a Hindu word that means to celebrate the success of somebody else.”— Ralph Watson, Head Coach
“We lost a lot of offensive firepower from last year, so we’re having to play fast and force a lot of turnovers. We’re not looking to slow it down, especially with the shot clock now.”— Knox Lawson, Junior Wing
Fairhope junior Knox Lawson speaks at Baldwin County Basketball Media Day on Monday, Oct. 12, in Daphne.
Parker Gillam / Gulf Coast Media
The Fairhope boys will notably be competing in a Thanksgiving tournament up in Huntsville, and the team will also head over to Hoover for the Big Orange Classic and take part in the Gulf Coast Classic. In addition, Watson and company will play in the Missississippi-Louisiana-Alabama Challenge at Harrison Central High School (MS).
“My toughest teammate to guard…me and Trey Garnder go at it a lot and like to bump into each other. We had a three-on-three fundraising tournament earlier this year, and he had a wide-open layup but I tackled him into the goal. A lot of dads from the football team didn’t like that, and I realized maybe I shouldn’t have tackled our quarterback right before the season started. But I wanted to win.”— Knox Lawson, Junior Wing
“Cooper Gardner is a senior guard who tore his ACL after three games last year but has great work ethic and can really shoot it. And Knox Lawson is a junior who is just an energizer bunny.”— Ralph Watson, Head Coach
“I think I’m feeling good and ready to play coming off the injury. I did physical therapy about four times a week and just worked out in my garage during the day. Then I got to the point where I could play by myself, then I started going one-on-one before getting back to five-on-five.”—Cooper Gardner, Senior Guard
Fairhope senior Cooper Gardner speaks at Baldwin County Basketball Media Day on Monday, Oct. 12, in Daphne.
Parker Gillam / Gulf Coast Media
“A lot of my teammates’ dads would yell things about Kevin Heurter, or even refs would talk about it.”— Knox Lawson, Junior Wing, talking about his resemblance to Detroit Pistons’ guard Kevin Huerter
“We’re gonna come out to ‘Hooked on a Feeling’ this year. That’s the song we have going in the weight room.”—Cooper Gardner, Senior Guard
Elberta Boys
Representatives: Jeff Robertson (Head Coach), Sam Smith (SR, Wing), Drew Cole (SR, Guard)
Robertson is entering his 37th year of coaching, with this being his fifth year at Elberta and fourth season leading the boys program.
“We have five seniors that are all returning from last year, and we’re pretty much going to be all juniors and seniors outside of a couple of freshmen who’ll see some time.”— Jeff Robertson, Head Coach
Elberta boys head coach Jeff Robertson speaks at Baldwin County Basketball Media Day on Monday, Oct. 12, in Daphne.
Parker Gillam / Gulf Coast Media
“Zarek Johnson is a beast. He’s big and a real hard worker, and I have to guard him all the time, and so I know he’s hard to defend and score against.”— Sam Smith, Senior Wing
“We graduated Sam Harrison, who was a four-year starting point guard for us. So we’re going to be looking to fill that role with probably a freshman or a senior splitting time in that role.”— Jeff Robertson, Head Coach
“We want people to come to our games and see a team that’s working well together and having fun, because this is gonna be one of the better teams that the program has had. Being able to grow up with these guys has been really fun.”— Sam Smith, Senior Wing
Elberta senior Sam Smith speaks at Baldwin County Basketball Media Day on Monday, Oct. 12, in Daphne.
Parker Gillam / Gulf Coast Media
“This is the first time since I’ve been at Elberta that I’ve had an assistant coach (Ben Daniel), and I also coach volleyball. So he was able to get our schemes put in early this semester while I was doing that.”— Jeff Robertson, Head Coach
“We definitely want to win our area. We think that’s a big possibility, and we also want to win as many home games as we can. If we can set the tone at home, then we think that will translate to the away games.”— Drew Cole, Senior Guard
Elberta senior Drew Cole speaks at Baldwin County Basketball Media Day on Monday, Oct. 12, in Daphne.
Parker Gillam / Gulf Coast Media
“We’ve got a junior who’s a really good shooter in Corban Rockstall, so we’re looking for some big things out of him.”— Jeff Robertson, Head Coach
“I just think the overall talent excites me with this team. We’ve had pockets of really good players here and there in the past, but when I look at these five seniors, what we’re going to put on the floor each night should eclipse prior years.”— Jeff Robertson, Head Coach
“They [teammates] make it easy on me to get everybody involved, especially Sam. He’s such a freak athlete, so having the ball in my hands a lot won’t be as much pressure with those kinds of guys around me.”— Drew Cole, Senior Guard
“We don’t really mess with low effort at practice because that carries over into the game. You practice how you play, so if effort is low, somebody is going to say something.”— Drew Cole, Senior Guard
“Braydon Hastins has aux pregame, he’s had it for a bit now. And he’ll play some NBA Youngboy and a mix of other artists.”— Sam Smith, Senior Wing
Robertson has also made an annual promise to his team that whoever takes a charge will get a WaWa gift card, likely to be used on a milkshake.
