(Story by Panhandle News Network Sports Reporter Parker Stone)
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Another year has ended in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle with eyes set for 2026. As a final goodbye to the year that was, we ranked our top ten stories of the year in the world of sports for the listening area.
No. 10– Shepherd Women’s Soccer reaches NCAA Sweet 16; Head Coach Sam O’Dell departs for D1 ranks
After being the number two story of 2024 with a run to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, Shepherd Women’s Soccer had sights for a shot at the national championship in 2025. The Rams battled with tough results of mainly draws that saw them drop from the Top 25 rankings and having to play the entirety of the PSAC conference tournament on the road. The Rams would catch fire in the conference tournament by beating two nationally ranked teams to go win their second straight PSAC title and for a second straight year host the Atlantic Region of the NCAA tournament as the top seed. Lead by first team All American junior midfielder Reagan Ackermann, the Rams would best ranked Gannon for the second time in two weeks before falling in the Sweet 16 by a score of 1-0 to West Chester. Shortly after the Rams exited the postseason, Head Coach Sam O’Dell announced his departure from the Ram program to become the new head coach at USC Upstate.
No. 9– North Berkeley Knights Post 60 win first Area Legion Baseball Tournament and play in first State Legion Tournament
The North Berkeley Knights Post 60 American Legion Baseball team was created in 2023 as another team for baseball players of the area to play for in the summer under the ALB league. The Knights up to the 2025 season had mixed results but were unable to get past the area tournament and advance to play in the state tournament. 2025 was the year the breakthrough came for the Knights. Spearheaded by Trenton Knieriem collecting four hits in four at-bats including a home run shot in the 6th inning, North Berkeley Post 60 would best Berkeley Post 14 12-8 to capture their first ever Region 4 title. The Knight would win their first ever state legion tournament game against Beckley Post 32 before eventually being eliminated from the tournament by Berkeley Post 14.
No. 8– Jefferson High School Softball plays in WV Class AAAA State Championship
For as many competitive rivalries there are between high schools in the area in different sports, it is hard to find a rivalry that is yearly competitive and high stakes as Washington and Jefferson High in softball. After a season ago that saw Jefferson succumb to Washington in route to the Patriots making the state title game in 2024, the Cougars returned the favor in 2025 by sweeping Washington and then Spring Mills to advance to the state softball tournament. The Cougars powered by All-State selections Becca Munslow, Chloe Cowan, and Jersey Rummel would drop their opening game of the tournament to defending state champion University before winning over St. Albans and University to advance to play eventual state champion Cabell Midland in the final.
No. 7– Jefferson High School Football goes from 0-4 to state semifinal appearance
13 combined points, 4 losses, 0 wins. Jefferson High Football was in a difficult position before the calendar turned to the month of October this past football season. Needing an offensive spark, Head Coach Craig Hunter turned to wide receiver Jackson Rockwell to make the move back to quarterback for his team. The result turned Jefferson into the Cardiac Cougars, winning four one scores game while the offense averaged 36 points per game in that stretch. The Cougars second win over George Washington in the playoff quarterfinals would make history for the program as they would play in their first ever state semifinal, where they would lose to eventual state champion Morgantown.
No. 6– Hedgesville Baseball alums shine with MLB debut of Chase DeLauter and impactful season at WVU from Kyle West
The wait for the call to the show would finally be over for Hedgesville Baseball alum Chase DeLauter as he would become the 6th player ever in Major League Baseball history to make his Major League debut during the playoffs. DeLauter started in centerfield for the Cleveland Guardians in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series helping Cleveland to a 6-1 victory. In the collegiate ranks another Eagle alum shined for WVU Baseball in Kyle West. In his second season since transferring from the University of Charleston, West led the Mountaineers in home runs with 11 and placed second in batting average at .399 while WVU would make it to the Super Regional of the NCAA tournament. West would be drafted this summer by the New York Yankees in the 13th round of the MLB Draft.
No. 5–Martinsburg Football wins 10 straight after 0-2 start, falls in Class AAAA State Championship in final seconds
After winning their final Class AAA state football title in 2023 and besting EPAC rival Spring Mills in the first ever Class AAAA state championship, Martinsburg football looked to get another title for one of the state’s premiere football programs. Two roadblocks early in the season raised eyebrows with a shutout loss to Camden High School out of New Jersey and a two-point road loss to Huntington. The Bulldogs would then dominate through the rest of the regular season and into the postseason winning 10 straight games, the biggest of those a regular season win over top ranked Morgantown at home. The Bulldogs would advance to the Class AAAA state championship game for the second straight season and would battle Morgantown in a regular season rematch. Early turnovers and standout play by Mohigan quarterback Maddox Twigg forced Martinsburg to rally in the 4th quarter. Trimming the lead to a touchdown, the Bulldogs got inside the 15-yard line when quarterback Brian Dick hurried the Bulldogs to the line and spiked the football with the team out of timeouts. Then, a look at the scoreboard saw that the previous down was 4th down and hopes of Martinsburg repeating as state champions evaporated. Bulldogs Head Coach Dave Walker said postgame “I’m proud of our guys. Our guys are resilient, and they will bounce back.”
No. 4–Spring Mills Football standout Xavier Anderson flips from Cincinnati to West Virginia for on National Signing Day
Before the start of the 2025 high school football season, Spring Mills tight end/ defensive end Xavier Anderson weighed his college football offers and decided on his future in football. Offers from Virginia Tech, Appalachian State, Liberty, West Virginia and more were there for him, but Anderson landed on committing to the Cincinnati Bearcats ahead of his senior high school campaign. Anderson would go on to win the Sam Huff award as the state of West Virginia’s best high school defensive player, and Spring Mills would fall in the state quarterfinals in an overtime thriller to Morgantown. During the late part of the season, Anderson would announce his decommitment to Cincinnati and would reopen his recruitment. This led to this year’s National Signing Day where Anderson announced his commitment to play at West Virginia. Anderson said on his commitment “It’s going to mean something because everybody coming in wants to work with Rich Rodriguez and he’s a hard-working guy.”
No. 3– Martinsburg High and Shepherd University alum Tyson Bagent signs 10 million dollar contract extension with Chicago Bears
The story of Tyson Bagent is one that continues to be written but is marveling to look at its current state. An under recruited high school quarterback who wins a state championship carves the record books as a four-year starter at a Division II powerhouse that is located in his backyard, wins the highest honor a player can receive in Division II College Football, and even after his success he has to fight for a roster spot as an undrafted free agent to the Chicago Bears. Now in year 3, Bagent has solidified himself as one of the better backups at quarterback in the NFL and the Bears rewarded Bagent with a two-year contract extension worth 10 million dollars. Bagent became the first Bears quarterback to sign a contract extension with the franchise since Jay Cutler over a decade ago and his appearance with Chicago media at the Bears podium made national news. A teary eyed Bagent discussed how his father Travis is his right-hand man and how his father didn’t grow up with running water until he was in high school. Bagent added “It’s certainly a weight off my shoulders and my family’s shoulders and it means a lot.”
No. 2– Shepherd Men’s Basketball hosts PSAC semifinals and finals; achieve best season under Justin Namolik
Shepherd Men’s Basketball for the past few seasons leading into the 2024-25 campaign was stuck in a purgatory of sorts. Good enough to make the conference tournament in the PSAC, but not able to get past the opening round of the tournament. The narrative around Rams basketball was turned upside down in the early part of the year as the powerful point guard and center combo of All-PSAC second teamer Marcus Banks and All-PSAC first teamer Chase Paar set the tone for the best season of Rams basketball of the decade. A suffocating defense that ranked top ten in the nation in Division II helped the Rams secure their first home tournament game since joining the PSAC where they would defeat Shippensburg behind six made three-point shots from senior Carson Poffenberger. The Rams magical run continued as they bested perennial basketball power East Stroudsburg on the road to advance to the conference semifinals. In the aftermath of this monumental win, the east division’s top seed in West Chester was upset by Millersville, which made Shepherd the highest remaining seed in the division and therefore the host sight for the conference semifinals and finals. The Rams would beat California (Pa.) to advance to the conference finals. There the Rams played in front of their largest crowd in recent memory and battled a nationally ranked Gannon team tight, but the Rams season would unfortunately end that day as they were left out of the Division II NCAA tournament field. Nevertheless, it is a season that will be remembered forever, and the 21 total wins that season set a new single season record for Rams Head Basketball Coach Justin Namolik.
No. 1– Spring Mills Boys Basketball wins first state championship in boys basketball with interim Head Coach Shannon Layton at the helm
The Spring Mills Boys Basketball team going into the 2024-25 seasons were looked at as one of if not the strongest title contenders in Class AAAA. A roster that had every key contributor coming back after a narrow loss in the title game a year ago to Morgantown was primed to be the standard, especially after beating the Mohigans by 17 in the month of December. The Cardinals continued to dominate heading into the month of February when things took a turn after the Battle of the Springhouse tournament at the Greenbrier Resort. The Cardinals would lose their first and would end up being their only game of the season against Morgantown in the tournament, but no one saw what came next. In a decision made by Spring Mills High School, Head Coach Luke Samples was placed on administrative leave with pay as an investigation began on conduct at the Greenbrier Resort during the tournament. Assistant Head Coach Shannon Layton was named interim head coach for the Cardinals, and the team would rally around him. The Cardinals continued to win, including an impressive overtime win over VSHL 4A state quarterfinalist John Handley from Winchester, Virginia. In the break of time between the end of the regular season and the start of the regional tournament, there were still questions on the status of Luke Samples with little answers to them. This led to eleven people speaking at a Berkeley County Board of Education Meeting on March 3rd for support to Samples and push to the administration to give answers on the situation. The situation would remain the same through the postseason as the Cardinals led by EPAC Player of the Year Caleb Thomas, Akwasi Opoku-Achampong, Max and Xavier Anderson, Loakkhae Uth-Smith, Tyler Jones, and Chayse Shipley would earn the top overall seed in the Class AAAA bracket for the state basketball tournament. The Cardinals defeated EPAC rival Martinsburg in the first round, set multiple three-point shot records in their dominant victory over Spring Valley in the semifinals, and would survive to win 41-38 over an excellent George Washington team to secure the school’s first state title in boys basketball. Layton gave credit to George Washington saying “This game will not be a runaway. It will come down to the last shot, and it definitely did. These guys were prepared for it.” In the offseason Luke Samples would officially resign from his position to take a head coaching job in Ohio as Layton would shortly have the interim label removed and be promoted to the team’s head coach
The role Shannon Layton played to keep a talented basketball team focused in the face of adversity and uncertainty while also winning a state championship is why this is the top pick for Panhandle Sports Live’s Top 10 Eastern Panhandle sports stories of 2025.
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