For years, every Tennessee boy could dream of playing in one of only three 100,000 seat football stadiums and every Tennessee girl could dream of playing for Pat Summit and the top basketball program in the country.
From Lake County High School (photo of Stavonski Wilkes) to Blackman High School (Crystal Dangerfield) to Dickson County (Chassity Carter), it was all about beating Alabama on the third Saturday in October and winning another title.
We ran the Value Add Sports calculations on all returning Tennessee athletes and emailed sports writers and other experts in the state to help rank the 25 state players to watch on a list we will update here.
Former Vol Reggie White is the all-time great, and, while he will not be matched, the Vols expect a big comeback this season. On the basketball front, Dangerfield and Carter await one final year playing at the Tennessee high school level before going to UConn and Vanderbilt. The Commodores also boast the best men’s hoop players in the state.
Here are the top 25 to watch:
- Baldwin, Wade, Vanderbilt, Basket, PG
- Cierra Burdick, Tennessee, Women’s basketball
- LaChance, Riley, Vanderbilt, Basket, SG
- Crystal Dangerfield, Blackman High School, Girls Basketball
- Kyle Wright, Vanderbilt, Baseball, RP
- North, Marquez, Tennessee Volunteers, Foot, Rec
- Chassity Carter, Dickson County, Girls Basketball
- Isabelle Harrison, Tennessee
- Tarrant, Ricky 2, Memphis, Basket, SG
- Carlyn Baldwin, Tennessee, Soccer, Midfielder
- Wertman, Cassie, Tennessee, Track/Field, Shot PutMen
- Moore, Armani 4, Tennessee, Basket, SF
- Champion, Erin, Tennessee, Track/Field, Pole VaultMen
- Williams, Michael, East Tenn. St., Track/Field, 400m Intermediate HuMen
- Stavonski Wilkes – Football – RB/DB – Lake County High School
- Jeren Kendall, Vanderbilt, Baseball, OF
- Lydia Simmons, Vanderbilt, Soccer, Midfielder
- Sydney Kingston, Memphis, Soccer, Midfielder
- Christin Stewart, Tennessee, Baseball, OF
- Bradshaw, Craig 23, Belmont, Basket, SG
- Brandhoff, Vivian, Memphis, Track/Field, Shot PutMen
- Pryor, Greg 1, Chattanooga, Basket, SG
- Hughes, Amber, Tennessee St., Track/Field, 200m DashMen
- Will Toffey, Vanderbilt, Baseball, 3B
- Johnson, Darius, Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, Foot, OLine
Other Receiving Votes
Wilson, Damien, Memphis, Basket, SF
Talbert, Madelin, Lipscomb, Track/Field, 5,000m RunMen
Bradds, Evan 35, Belmont, Basket, C
Odia, Loveth, Mid. Tenn. State, Track/Field, 400m DashMen