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Boys high school basketball: Top 10 power rankings for Central Texas

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Boys high school basketball: Top 10 power rankings for Central Texas


Nolan Barkley of St. Michael's powers his way up for a shot during the 2025-26 high school basketball season. 

Nolan Barkley of St. Michael’s powers his way up for a shot during the 2025-26 high school basketball season. 

Provided by Edgar Coll

Central Texas boys basketball teams are in the thick of district play as the calendar enters 2026.

Though teams finished tournament play last week, most schools are at least two games into district play, which is the most important time of the season. While teams have been in action since mid-November, these are the games that truly count, with the goal being to qualify for the state playoffs in the last week of February. 

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In District 25-6A, the lone nine-school district in the Austin area, most teams have already played five games.

Here’s the American-Statesman’s top 10 power rankings entering Jan. 5: 

1. St. Michael’s

Though the Warriors (20-5) lost to two teams from California early last week, they bounced back to knock off Bowie, our previous No. 1 team, 77-66. Nolan Barkley’s double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds and Sun Jinkal tallying 24 points and six rebounds paced St. Michael’s, which begins TAPPS District 3-6A play this week. 

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2. Westlake

The Chaps (17-5) went 3-1 at the Strake Jesuit tournament and beat Hays in nondistrict play. Mack Martin tallied 23 points in a 92-70 win over Stratford, Bo Ogden scored 23 points and Blake Cannatti finished with 20 points during a victory over Jordan, Martin and Ogden combined for 42 points to defeat Cy-Park, and Cannatti, Ogden and Martin all hit double figures in the win against Hays. 

3. Bowie

The Bulldogs (20-3) finished 3-1 at the Pride of Texas tournament in Corpus Christi before losing to St. Michael’s. Joshua Baskin averaged 18 ppg, 4 rpg and 4 apg and Lamin Jabbi tallied 8 ppg and 4 rpg in Corpus Christi to earn all-tournament honors.  

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4. Westwood

The Warriors (17-2) won their division at the Hays tournament by defeating Connally 92-26, Austin High 52-42, Dripping Springs 60-50 and the hosts 63-47. Luke Carpenter and John McNair both averaged 16 ppg to pace Westwood to the title. 

5. Vandegrift 

The Vipers (18-4) went 3-1 at the Glenn tournament and beat Cedar Ridge 52-40 in district play. Trey Block poured in 21 points and Hayden Brannan added 12 points in the win over the Raiders. 

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6. Lake Travis

The Cavs (15-7) finished 2-1 at the Allen tournament with wins over San Antonio Pieper and Tyler Legacy. Lake Travis coach Brandon Shaver noted that Tate Tapken, Aaron Mathis, Alex Jacob and Will Slyker all played well in the three-day event. 

7. Cedar Park

The Timberwolves (14-4) only played once, but they made it count with a 59-50 win over Lampasas. 

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8. Hendrickson 

The Hawks (17-6) won the rugged Glenn tournament by defeating Vista Ridge 64-58, Copperas Cove 83-76, Houston Memorial 68-44 and the hosts 65-57. Legend Samuel earned tournament MVP honors after averaging 17 ppg, including going off for 28 points against Vista Ridge. DJ Hardge (11 ppg, 5 apg, 4.5 rpg, 2.5 spg) and Ryan Longoria (13.5 ppg) were also voted to the all-tournament team, while Tristan Thomas averaged 9 ppg, 4 rpg and 3.5 apg. 

9. Round Rock

The Dragons (15-5) went 3-1 at the Hays tournament with wins over Liberty Christian, Weiss and Killeen Ellison and defeated Hutto 64-52 in District 25-6A play. Luke Reeve tallied 18 points and seven rebounds, Max Lipinsky had 13 points and seven assists, Matthew Holland recorded 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists and Teyo Barnett finished with 10 points to lead the win over the Hippos. 

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10. East View 

The Patriots (17-5) finished 3-1 at the Hays tournament with wins over Rockdale 64-32, Austin High 76-47 and La Joya 82-55. Cayden Hinderman-Close averaged 16 ppg to lead East View, including pouring in 26 points against La Joya. Cameron Sanford (13 ppg) and Isaiah Villegas (11.5 ppg) also played well for the Patriots. 

Just outside: Wimberley

The Texans (20-2) went 3-1 in tournament play, including wins over Liberty Hill and Lockhart, to continue a scorching start to the season. 

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Tip-ins

Glenn (13-9) finished second at its own tournament, losing to Hendrickson in the final after beating Texas Lions Academy 74-55, Hutto 78-77 and Vandegrift 84-77. Dallas Hernandez (21 ppg, 5 rpg, 3 apg, 2 spg) and Hudson Roberts (20 ppg, 5 rpg, 2 apg, 2 spg) earned all-tournament honors. 

Dripping Springs (12-9) went 3-1 in the gold division of the Hays tournament with wins over Rockdale, East View and El Paso Pebble Hills. Rushton Budge averaged 26.5 ppg and 5 rpg in the tournament to lead the Tigers. He also passed 1,000 career points during the event. 

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Vista Ridge 53, McNeil 49: Gavin Howard scored 21 points and Cayden Sneed finished with 18 points as the Rangers (15-7, 2-2) picked up a District 25-6A win.

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Anderson 65, Cedar Creek 42: The Trojans (8-14, 1-0) opened District 24-5A play with a win as Miles Rickards tallied 12 points and four rebounds, Austin Haywood had nine points and six rebounds and Luke McReynolds finished with nine points. 

McCallum 65, Crockett 34: Ethan Plummer poured in 27 points and both Darby Roldan and Ben Cook finished with 12 points as the Knights (7-11, 1-0) started District 24-5A play with a dominating victory. 

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LBJ 72, Lago Vista 37: Marquis Murry II tallied 27 points, eight rebounds and five steals, Tre Riley had 16 points and DJ Johnson added 10 points to lead the Jaguars (9-12, 1-0) to an easy win in their District 25-4A opener. 

Manor New Tech 48, Northeast 29: Kamerion McBride finished with 16 points and nine rebounds and Legend Williams recorded 11 points and five boards to pace the Titans (17-3, 1-0) to a win to begin District 25-4A play. 

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Texas A&M Forward Transfer Seemingly on Visit to See Lady Vols Basketball | Rocky Top Insider

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Texas A&M Forward Transfer Seemingly on Visit to See Lady Vols Basketball | Rocky Top Insider


fatmata janneh lady vols basketball
Photo via Texas A&M Athletics

Lady Vols basketball is looking to add more pieces to its 2026-27 roster with high-level experience. After completing her junior season at Texas A&M, Fatmata Janneh has emerged as a Tennessee target for her final year of eligibility. According to her Instagram story on Sunday night, she is in Knoxville.

With the Aggies a year ago, the 6-foot-2 forward averaged 11.4 points per game on 43.3% shooting from the field. She also showed off an ability to hit from range, posting 1.1 makes per game on 33% shooting from three.

Perhaps Janneh’s biggest strength is her rebounding, though. She ripped down 9.7 boards per contest, good for the fifth-most in the SEC. This featured 2.6 rebounds on the offensive end per outing.

Janneh also averaged 1.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.4 blocks per game. She appeared in 27 games, starting in each.

More From RTI: How Watching The NCAA Tournament Drew Terrence Hill Jr. To Tennessee Basketball

Janneh started her career with a pair of seasons at St. Peter’s. As a sophomore, she averaged a double-double, posting 18.2 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. This made her a sought-after transfer in the portal before landing at Texas A&M as the nation’s leading defensive rebounder. As a freshman, she averaged 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds.

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The forward is from London, England, attending Barking Abbey Sixth Form for her prep ball. She would be the second player from England to join the Tennessee roster if she committed. UT also added the commitment of incoming freshman and former Boston College signee Irene Oboavwoduo this offseason.

So far, Caldwell and the Lady Vols have landed five transfers in this portal cycle. This features Liberty guard Avery Mills, Northern Arizona guard Naomi White, Stanford forward Harper Peterson and Georgia forward Zhen Craft and guard Rylie Theuerkauf.

Tennessee will also roster a pair of incoming freshmen. Four-star recruit and top-50 prospect Gabby Minus is staying true to her signing despite the roster overhaul and assistant coaching changes, along with the addition of Oboavwoduo.





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Texas needs at least $174 billion to avoid water crisis, state says

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Texas needs at least 4 billion to avoid water crisis, state says


AUSTIN (Texas Tribune) — Texas communities will need to spend $174 billion in the next 50 years to avert a severe water crisis, a new state analysis revealed Thursday. That’s more than double the $80 billion projected four years ago, when the Texas Water Development Board last passed a state water plan.

The three-member board presiding over the agency authorized the highly anticipated draft blueprint Thursday, the first administrative step toward adopting the water development board’s plans for the next 50 years. The plan, released every five years, encompasses the projects that 16 regional water planning groups in Texas said are the most urgent, water development board officials said. 

The board’s latest estimates come as the state’s water supply faces numerous threats. Growing communities across Texas are scrambling to secure water, keep up with construction costs and cope with a yearslong drought. This week, Corpus Christi officials said the city may be just months away from declaring a water emergency. Meanwhile, other rural cities by the Coastal Bend are rapidly drilling wells to avoid a crisis. Residents in North Texas have also been bracing for groundwater shortages.

In an effort to restrain the crisis, lawmakers last year called an election in which voters approved a $20 billion boost for communities to use on water-related expenses. The water development board’s estimate shows that what lawmakers proposed on the ballot falls dramatically short of the needed cash, experts said.

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“What this number tells me at the end of the day is if we don’t get serious about (funding water projects), there are going to be serious consequences for Texas,” said Perry Fowler, executive director of the Texas Water Infrastructure Network. “Even with the billion-dollar-a-year plan kicking in, it’s not going to be enough to offset the costs of the projects that are going to have to be executed.”

The new estimate accounts for 3,000 projects, from regional infrastructure upgrades to smaller endeavors such as drilling new water wells. Texas’ water supplies are expected to drop by roughly 10% between 2030 and 2080, according to the water plan. In that same time frame, the maximum amount of water communities can draw is also expected to decline by 9%.

The 80-page plan notes approximately 6,700 recommended strategies that would add water to the state’s dwindling portfolio. The recommendations — which are not accounted for in the cost — include developing new supplies from aquifer storage and recovery, brackish groundwater, desalination and recycled water. It also calls for water conservation.

The report suggested that if Texas does not implement the plans and recommendations, the state is one severe drought away from an estimated $91 billion in economic damages in 2030.

The state’s plan attributes a variety of reasons for the bigger price tag, such as higher costs of construction due to inflation, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on supply chains, and a growing backlog of water supply projects.

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“There’s a plan that can meet our needs,” said Matt Nelson, deputy executive administrator for the Office of Planning at the water development board, adding that they take their cues from the regional planning groups. “These are local projects that folks need to implement; they’re needed regardless of how they’re funded. It’s important to remember these are not top-down projects or state projects.”

Experts told The Texas Tribune that the board’s estimate is only a fraction of what Texas communities will need to ensure they have water in 50 years’ time, saying growth and development are outpacing the state’s ability to keep up.

“This is a bigger water plan in terms of volume strategies and capital costs compared to anything we’ve ever seen before,” said Jeremy Mazur, the director of infrastructure and natural resources policy at think tank Texas 2036.

Mazur suggested that the $174 billion only covers water supply projects and does not account for updating aging infrastructure, adding that the actual price could amount to a quarter of a trillion dollars.

“There’s a substantial magnitude with regard to the capital investment needed to both fix our aging and current systems and potentially develop the water infrastructure, water supply projects that we need.“

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The report largely confirmed what many water experts have warned regarding threats to the state’s water supply, said Sarah Kirkle, director of policy at the Texas Water Association.

“Population growth, extreme weather, and economic development needs are all increasing demands on our infrastructure, and the state is going to need more water, sooner,” Kirkle said. “This is all while water projects are becoming more costly and complex because the easiest and cheapest local projects have already been developed.”

Fowler, with the infrastructure network, said he expects the Texas Legislature to take up the issue next year, when lawmakers meet for the 90th legislative session. He said the state should take a bigger role in ensuring that communities can afford their respective water projects.

“It’s going to have to be a top-down priority, there’s no way around it,” he said. “The challenges are so immense that it’s going to take all hands on deck.”

Texas residents have until the end of May to comment on the proposal. Water development board officials must adopt it by January 2027.

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Alejandra Martinez contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at www.texastribune.org. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans – and engages with them – about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.



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Co‑worker confesses to killing missing North Texas man and stealing his car, police say

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Co‑worker confesses to killing missing North Texas man and stealing his car, police say



A North Texas man reported missing earlier this week was found dead Friday, and police say a co‑worker has confessed to fatally shooting him and stealing his car.

The suspect, Gregory D. Lewis, 34, remains in custody and faces a forthcoming capital murder charge, according to the Fort Worth Police Department. 

Lewis is accused of killing 31‑year‑old Thomas King, who had been last seen in his Taco Casa work uniform. King was reported missing on Tuesday after failing to return home Monday from the fast‑food restaurant in the 1100 block of Bridgewood Drive.

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Car found at Arlington motel 

Police said King’s car was found at the Quality Inn on I‑20 in Arlington, and surveillance video showed Lewis arriving in King’s vehicle shortly after King left work. 

Detectives identified the man in the video and arrested him on unrelated charges.

  Gregory D. Lewis, 34

Tarrant County Jail

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Body discovered on Fort Worth’s East Side 

King’s body was located on Friday in an open field on Fort Worth’s East Side, authorities said. 

According to police, Lewis confessed to shooting the victim and stealing his car. 

Medical examiner review pending 

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death. 

CBS News Texas has reached out to Taco Casa for comment.

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