Wetin dey happen for Alabama high school basketball don show say human spirit fit overcome any kain wahala. BJ Evans, wey be assistant coach for Alma Bryant boys team, just collect Coastal Alabama Major Girls Basketball Coach of the Year award for 2026. But dis award story no be ordinary one o.
Evans take over di girls program after just one game for di season. Di reason na serious family medical emergency wey force di original coach, Alaina Peacock, to step away. Peacock husband and assistant coach, John, suffer traumatic brain injury after e fall from ladder. Both Peacocks miss di rest of di season.
“It was a pretty easy transition,” Evans yarn. “We had talked basketball a few times. Di team just wanted to play. Dem accept me in and adjust well and still play with Alaina and John for dia minds.”
Under Evans leadership, di Hurricanes win 24 games and reach di school first ever Class 7A final four. Dem defeat Fairhope 78-75 to win di Class 7A South Regional before losing to eventual champion Hoover for di state semifinals. Evans also collect Class 7A girls coach of di year award from di Alabama Sports Writers Association.
For player side, senior guard Madi-Marie Grayson from Alma Bryant shine well well. Di girl wey average 19.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game lead di Hurricanes to di final four. She also get 107 steals for di season. Evans talk say Grayson na focused player wey dey apply coaching instructions immediately.
“She is laser focused on what she wants to do,” Evans explain. “She want to be successful and no dey fear to do di small things wey go make am happen. It also help say she super athletic.”
For di regional final against Fairhope, Grayson hit six 3-pointers on her way to 40-point game for di 78-75 victory. She be second-team Class 7A All-State selection. Both Madi-Marie and her sister Mari-Margret don sign to play college basketball at William Carey University.
Another standout na Hadley Kelly from Mobile Christian. Di 6-foot-1 junior center become talk of di state when she post triple double for South Regional final win over Thomasville. She block 23 shots – dat one na AHSAA record – plus 14 points and 13 rebounds.
For di Class 3A semifinals against Glencoe, she score 19 points with 18 rebounds and 6 blocked shots as di Leopards reach di state championship game against top-ranked Saint James. For di whole season, she average 10 points and 14.6 rebounds per game. Kelly commit to play volleyball at Liberty University and plan to enroll early next year after her high school volleyball season.
Mobile Christian head coach Kenny Wright Jr. talk about Kelly confidence. “We teach confidence. And how we teach that is putting in work,” Wright say. “Putting in over and over, hours of just hard work and intensity. Hadley take it on. She just say, ‘Coach, we have di will to win, and I just go give you all I got.'”
Di Coastal Alabama team selection come through consultation with area coaches, AL.com staff insights and opinions of experts for di area. It include players from Mobile and Baldwin Counties plus four counties wey border dem: Escambia, Monroe, Clarke and Washington.
All three Coastal Alabama major award winners participate for di Alabama High School Athletic Association final four dis season. AL.com don release di Coastal Alabama first-team players earlier today. Di Player of di Year and Breakout Player of di Year also dey considered first-team players. Di second and third teams plus honorable mention list go release later today.
For history sake, past Coastal Alabama Player of di Year winners include Jamonica Chambers from Vigor (2025), Jenice Adjessom from Davidson (2024), Naomi Jones from Jackson (2023), Kelsey Thompson from Davidson (2022), and Nya Valentine from McGill-Toolen (2021 and 2020).
Breakout Player of di Year winners include Jayde Palmer from Orange Beach (2025), Jamonica Chambers from Vigor and Reagan Burroughs from McGill-Toolen (2024), Kei Knight from Foley (2023), and Madi-Marie Grayson from Alma Bryant (2022).
Coach of di Year winners before Evans include David Offerle from St. Michael and Andrea Powell from Vigor (2025), Brad Newton from Cottage Hill (2024), Emily Flanigan from Foley (2023), Amanda Niehoff from St. Paul’s (2022), and Brian Sexton from Gulf Shores (2021).
Evans say im current plan for 2026-2027 season na to return to helping with di boys team. But di mark wey e leave for di girls program no go fade quick. From stepping into crisis situation to leading team to historic final four appearance, dis season show say sometimes di most unexpected coaches fit produce di most remarkable results.
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