Adams County basketball players earn District 14 all-district honors, Arey coach of year

District 14’s postseason boys basketball honors put Adams County in the middle of the regional conversation again, with 11 local players spread across Peebles, North Adams, Manchester and West Union and Peebles coach Josh Arey named Division VI Coach of the Year. The county’s schools were spread through Divisions V, VI and VII, a sign that the area’s basketball success reached well beyond one roster or one class.

The total marked a clear step up from 2023-24, when Adams County had six boys recognized by the District 14 Coaches Association. That increase matters because the 2025-26 awards covered a large regional field, with 114 players and six coaches selected across Divisions III through VII. In other words, the county’s representation was not just strong in isolation. It held up in a wide district pool that included schools from across southern Ohio.

Peebles led the county’s list. Bo Johnson and Josh McClary were named second team Division VI, Keegan Puckett and Paxton Ryam earned third team Division VI, and Connor Gross received honorable mention. North Adams added three honorees of its own, with Carson Davis chosen first team Division VI, Jesse Kennedy earning second team Division VI and Thaddeus Moore taking honorable mention. Manchester’s Parker Hayslip landed first team Division VII and Braylon Rickett received honorable mention, while West Union’s Tegan Knox rounded out the Adams County group with honorable mention in Division V.

Arey’s coach-of-the-year honor gave Peebles a second headline in the district release and underscored the program’s standing beyond player awards alone. The district’s own awards archive and historical selection pages show that these honors are part of a long-running recognition system, and Arey’s name has appeared there before, reinforcing a pattern of sustained coaching respect.

For Adams County, the bigger story is depth. One season after six boys made the district list, 11 local players earned postseason recognition while the county also added a coach of the year. That kind of spread across multiple schools and divisions is the clearest measure of a basketball county that kept producing top-tier talent when the regular season ended.