Owsley County Owls selected for 13th, 14th Region All-Star Games

Harley Dooley, Kiley Taylor, Erica Mason and Kelten Smith put Owsley County basketball back in the all-star spotlight, a notable moment for a Booneville program that keeps turning a small enrollment into big-stage recognition. Owsley County High School and Owsley County Schools said they were proud of the selections, which place local student-athletes among the 13th and 14th Region’s standout players.

That matters in a county where the high school is listed by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association with only 187 students in grades 9-12 and a gym capacity of 1,500. In that setting, every regional honor lands with extra weight, especially for the Owls and Lady Owls, whose names now come with another round of postseason recognition.

The selection also fits the recent arc of Owsley County basketball. The Lady Owls reached the 2024 Sweet 16 in Lexington and finished 26-10 after a 46-44 loss to Bowling Green on March 13, 2024, inside Rupp Arena. That run gave the program a statewide profile and showed how far the team had climbed in the 14th Region, where Owsley County has been one of the smaller schools chasing larger gym programs for years.

The local momentum has not stopped with that Sweet 16 appearance. Owsley County High School also posted on its live feed that some young Lady Owls and Owls played in the 14th Annual JET2Sports Ky Prep All-Star Games at Jackson City. The post identified the Lady Owls participants as eighth graders Harley Dooley, Kiley Taylor and Erica Mason, and the Owls participant as seventh grader Kelten Smith.

For Booneville, the selections offer a clear snapshot of where Owsley County basketball stands right now. The school is still small by Kentucky standards, but the names coming out of its program continue to carry regional and state relevance. With Harley Dooley, Kiley Taylor, Erica Mason and Kelten Smith now tied to all-star recognition, Owsley County has another reason to point to its court at 177 Shepherd Road as a place where local talent keeps breaking through.