Panhandle Conference honors highlight Hooker, Laverne, Texas County talent

Hooker and Laverne set the pace in the Panhandle Conference, and the postseason honors showed how much Texas County talent shaped the winter season. Hooker won the boys title, Laverne claimed both girls championships and both junior high crowns, and Hooker senior Keilan Robinson was named boys most valuable player while Balko/Forgan’s Brya Appellhans earned girls MVP.

The honors, published April 8, also underscored how much depth Hooker carried beyond Robinson. The Bulldogs had multiple names on the boys all-conference and honorable mention lists, including Hunter Ray, Cy Bentley, Gannon Hill and Shase Redmond. On the girls side, Hooker was represented by Rubi Hernandez, Allie Metcalf, Yedelin DeHerrera, Josie Davis and Dulce Rios, a sign that the program’s success came from more than one lineup spot. Hooker finished the 2025-26 boys season 22-5 and was ranked No. 9 in Oklahoma Class 2A, then beat Fairview in regionals and Fairland in area play before running into Dale and Fairland in the next round.

Robinson’s selection carried extra weight because his profile has stretched well beyond basketball. In September, he was described as a senior quarterback and safety and also an all-state basketball and track athlete, the kind of multi-sport resume that often defines a small-town standout. His MVP nod fits with a season in which Hooker was not just winning, but earning notice from conference coaches and observers across the Panhandle.

Laverne’s sweep on the girls and junior high side points to a program with real pipeline strength, not just one strong team. Brady Bailey’s junior high boys and Tanner Woods’ high school girls and junior high girls all finished as conference champions, a combination that suggests the Tigers are building from the bottom up. That kind of repeat recognition matters in a rural conference, where depth in the lower grades often becomes the difference between a short run and a sustained one.

Texhoma also stayed in the conversation. The Red Devils placed Sam Audrain, Zariah Strickland, Katey Yates, Tatum Boyd, Aven McDaniel, Dayanara Orozco, Zyliah Strickland and Brighton Beckley on the girls lists, while Braylon Kimball, Rowdy Powers, Max Garza, Sal Alvarado and Kelvin Marquez appeared on the boys side. Even with a 5-7 girls record, Texhoma still put enough names on the board to show the conference was paying attention, and that is the kind of foundation that can shape next season’s race from Hooker to Laverne and beyond.