Three BCAT Teams on the Rise

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>BCAT will host dozens of teams, but these three are ascending with many great Class of 2027 players.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>McCallie</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2024-2025 Record</strong>: 13-17</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ryan Wingard </strong>leaps off of the page and above the fray. Standing 6-foot-6 Wingard looks like the loftiest prospect and yet <strong>Ernas Valauskas</strong> turned heads in the fall. Multiple coaches rave about sophomore-to-be <strong>Tony Burton Jr.</strong> Burton Jr. excels at both football and basketball and apparently leaps like The Incredible Hulk.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Heady guard <strong>Garrison White </strong>and rebounding forward <strong>Artrell Knight </strong>are critical pieces to the puzzle too.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wingard looks like a D1 athlete. His shooting range will probably dictate level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://prephoops.com/2025/05/introducing-the-prephoopstn-combine-3/","type":"wp-embed","providerNameSlug":"prep-hoops"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-prep-hoops wp-block-embed-prep-hoops"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://prephoops.com/2025/05/introducing-the-prephoopstn-combine-3/ </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Kirkwood</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2024-2025 Record</strong>: 25-6, 7-1</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kirkwood's Cobras enjoyed a program-best season this year. Alas, KHS is only two basketball seasons old. The school was founded to deal with the surging population of Clarksville, Tennessee. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last February Kirkwood Head Coach John Stigall spent some time <a href="https://prephoops.com/2024/02/the-big-interview-kirkwood-head-coach-john-stigall/">discussing the challenge and the excitement </a>accompanying the birth of a program.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Armani Smith</strong> is the real deal.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"He has been the best player on every team he has played on since sixth grade," said Head Coach John Stigall of <strong>Armani Smith</strong> in 2024. "Maybe younger than that. He is physically gifted. He has a great feel for the game. And he works at it. I think his ceiling is unlimited. Shooting is something that he has worked on. Last time I checked he was our best three-point shooter percentage-wise. He is like 6'1″ right now. He is so strong. Not bench press strong. Basketball strong. He is sturdy."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Center <strong>Anthony Goring</strong> now stands 6-foot-9. Austin Peay offered Goring this month and they are trying to get in early...but many, many D1 programs are sure to follow. Can the hometown team keep him in Clarksville? </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Former recipient of PrepHoopsTN Combine Young MVP <strong>Bryce Garnett </strong>provides the team with elite handle and wonderful composure.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Nolensville</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2024-2025 Record</strong>: 18-15, 5-9</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nolensville competes in a brutal district against opponents like Brentwood, Franklin, Independence, Page, and on and on. The last two years the district featured State Tournament-qualifying squads and Independence won it all in 2024. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What can Nolensville do in 2025-2026? </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Challenge for the District Championship thanks to <strong>Chris Johnson</strong> and <strong>BJ Hall Jr</strong>. Twin brothers <strong>Kael Barney</strong> and <strong>Kyson Barney</strong> can really play, but could devote their senior years exclusively to baseball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2338577' first='Ryland' last='McKelvy'] </strong>transferred into the program and he will start right away.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Chris Johnson</strong> scored 14 points against McCallie<em> last </em>June. He dropped 11 points on Cascade the same month. Johnson plays his AAU with [program_tooltip program_id='2361111' first='Shockers' last='2026']. He plays under the rim for Nolensville High.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->