2025-26 Team Preview: Highland Hornets

2025-26 HIGHLAND HORNETS PREVIEW   OVERVIEW   Overcoming the absence of its top scorer for about half the season, Highland made a surprising run to the Class 4A state championship game against Artesia last March. The Hornets were seeded No. 8 and knocked off the No. 1 seed and No. 4 seed in back-to-back games to advance to the title game.   The Hornets lost 3-point ace Jesus Licon (signed with Eastern New Mexico) and three other meaningful contributors to graduation. That means Highland will have new yet experienced leadership on the court. The Hornets won the Class 4A state championship in 2024 and 2022 and reached the title game in 2020. That's four state championship game appearances in six seasons. The standard has been cemented.   “We believe we've built a winning culture here at Highland,” Hornets head coach Juston Woody told Prep Hoops New Mexico. “The challenge is sustaining it. We've established a culture of this is the way we do things. We go into every game expecting to compete and win.   “Last season, we experienced a lot of injuries and unforeseen things happening. We played without three starters for a large portion of the season. When we got them back, it allowed us to make a run in the tournament. That's the culture and expectation of winning.”                      PLAYERS TO WATCH   [player_tooltip player_id='2693635' first='Juan' last='Limas'] (Sr., 6-0, G): The new leader of the Hornets. Averaged 15.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game in 2024025. First-Team All-District. “I challenged Juan in the off-season to take on more of a leadership role because that's out of his comfort zone,” Woody said. “He's more of a come in and work hard everyday type of guy. But we need our top players to be our leaders. He had some big games for us both before and after Jesus came back from his injury last season.” Made 29 3-pointers last season and expect him to shoot more from long range. But he's also excellent at driving to the basket and getting fouled. He attempted 224 free throws in 2024-25. “He's improved his 3-point shooting a lot,” Woody said. “That's been an emphasis for him. Last season he was more of a driver. He does a good job of attacking the basket. He's hard to stop when he gets going downhill.”   [player_tooltip player_id='2402829' first='Jerry' last='Moody'] (Jr., 6-8, F/C): Averaged 7.4 points and 8.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore in 2024-25. Brings great size to the Hornets. Suffered a hairline fracture in his knee during the offseason. Scheduled to have the knee examined in December. Likely to return in January when district play starts. “Jerry is still raw,” Woody said. “He's been playing basketball only since the eighth grade. He's getting better. His biggest challenge has been to put on weight and improve his strength. He's doing that. He also has to work on his consistency. He will command attention around the basket.”          NAMES TO KNOW   Lenyn French (Sr., 6-2, G): Averaged 1.5 points in limited action with the varsity last season. Expected to have a much bigger role on the Hornets this season. Good catch-and-shoot scorer from 3-point range. Hit a key 3-pointer in the state championship game vs. Artesia. Worked on improving his defense and ball handling skills during the off-season.   [player_tooltip player_id='2553912' first='Treavon' last='Carter'] (Jr., 5-9, G): Limited action off the bench last season for the varsity. Excellent defender. Takes care of the basketball. Another role player expected to see his playing time increase this season.   [player_tooltip player_id='2842697' first='Curtis' last='Ryan'] (Jr., G): Played football. Recently joined the basketball team after the Hornets lost in the quarterfinals of the 5A playoffs last weekend. First task is to get into basketball shape. His role for 2025-26 is still undefined. Solid player. Good ball handler. Floated between JV and varsity in 2024-25.   [player_tooltip player_id='2842944' first='Darian' last='Trujillo'] (So., 6-1, G): Limited action of the bench as a freshman in 2024-25, Plenty of potential. Will likely float between JV and varsity this season with the expectation that he becomes an impact player in 2026-27.           KEY NEWCOMERS   Nico Sanchez (Sr., 6-0, G): One of the top players on Highland's JV team that went undefeated (20-0) in 2024-25. Excellent scorer. Good shooter from the outside and can drive to the basket. Scored 40+ points in four JV games last season. Very athletic. Will compete for a starting job. Outstanding on-ball defender and ball distributor.   Federico Nunez (Jr., 6-3 G): Played mainly JV in 2024-25. Ability to score from all three levels. Huge potential. Expected to be an impact player for the varsity this season.   Edwin Montelongo (Sr., 6-3, G): Competing for a starting job during preseason camp. In  fact, he's expected to be the fifth starter. Brings nice size to the backcourt. Good rebounder and passer.   Daniel Sixtos (Sr., G): Played JV last season. Good shooter. Competing for playing time at guard.         FINAL THOUGHTS   Highland opens the 2025-26 season Nov. 25 at home against Rio Grande. The following week, they host Carlsbad face St. Michael's in the opening round of the Capitol City Classic (Dec. 4-6) in Santa Fe.   Highland competes in District 4A-5 with Belen, Grants, St. Pius X and Valencia.

2025-26 HIGHLAND HORNETS PREVIEW