By Michael Lindsay
Cumberland County Lady Jets
The Cumberland County Lady Jets are less than one week from taking the floor for the 2023-’24 season, and with the new season comes a new look following the graduation of four key seniors.
“We had a positive summer and know what we have to work with,” said Lady Jet head coach Kim Cram-Torres, who is entering her third season with the Lady Jets. “We’ve got a lot of young, talented players and a few key kids coming back. Our schedule is tough, so there’s not a lot of room to be young.”
The Lady Jets went 23-9 last season and 8-4 in District 7-3A play before falling in the Region 4-3A quarterfinals in overtime at Tullahoma. Cumberland County seniors from last season include Emery Baragona, Abby Houston, Jorja Anderson and Grace Baldwin.
The Lady Jets are anchored by returning senior forward Jalynn Baldwin, a second-team all-district selection last season. Also returning is all-district honorable mention point guard Aliyah Hawkins for her junior year.
“Aliyah is primed to have a good season,” Cram said. “She had she opportunity to come off the bench the last few years, but this year we’re going to ask her to do a lot more. She’ll be handling our point guard obligations, and that will be really important.
“Jalynn is coming back after 3 years of being a big, big part of our success,” Cram added. “She’s ready for a great senior year.”
Junior Lexi Carroll is also expected to step into a starting role this season in Crossville.
“Lexi executes her role perfectly and understands her responsibilities,” Cram added.
Two new faces will find themselves in the lineup for the Lady Jets as freshmen Sydney Wilhite and Lauren Clark are expected to start.
“Lauren is a tremendous athlete and a force to deal with,” Cram said. “Sydney is really talented freshman who made some big shots for us this summer. She doesn’t play like a freshman; she’s poised and has a high IQ.
“They came in right away in the summer and established themselves,” Cram added. “We’re expecting them to have really good years, but with that being said they’re still freshmen.”
Despite the lineup changes, Cram’s basketball philosophies stay the same in 2023-’24.
“Our staple is defend, defend, defend,” she said. “Right now, I think that we’ve done that really well. That stood out to us this summer, so I think this could be a very good defensive team. We have to be good defensively with the teams we play.”
Non-district foes for the Lady Jets include Pickett County, Cookeville, Clarkrange, Kingston, Rhea County and Walker Valley.
“It’s not for the faint of heart,” Cram said of their schedule. “We open at Pickett, and you’re about 10 points in the hole automatically up there. That’s a tough place to play and they’re a tough team. Then we go to Cookeville, so right away we have two fantastic teams. There’s not a day off at all; we have to get ready for our conference. Our group has to have very short memories.”
District 7-3A opponents include DeKalb County, Livingston Academy, Stone Memorial, Upperman and White County. Livingston Academy and Upperman are coming off Class 3A state tournament berths including Livingston’s state runner-up finish.
Cumberland County’s season tips off at Pickett County on Tuesday, Nov. 14.
Cumberland County Jets
The Cumberland County Jets are looking to take another step forward on the hardwood in the 2023-’24 season under third-year head coach Taylor Denney.
“We’re coming along pretty good,” said Denney. “The kids are competing hard and doing what we ask. We have some new faces and we’re trying to fine-tune some things.
The Jets were in rebuild mode last season following the loss of 7 seniors from the year prior. Cumberland County went 6-24 overall in 2022-’23. Seniors from last season include Jaxon Reed, Braeden Woodard, Josh Sliger, Braylon Burnett and Braden Leviner.
“That group last year did a great job competing,” Denney said. “We were in a lot of games a lot of people don’t think we should be in. We want to take that same mindset and get better every day.”
Returning contributors for Cumberland County include Sol Sitton, Nolen Carter and Ethan Dixon.
“Ethan and Nolan started every game for us last year as role players,” Denney said. “This year, they’re taking some bigger roles with more offensive responsibilities. Sol played in some tough spots for us, and we’re expecting a lot from him.”
The Jet freshman class features a familiar last name that hopes to have an immediate impact at point guard.
“Houston Torres is really talented and he’ll have the ball in his hands a lot,” Denney added.
Braxton Sears, Rhys Davenport, Daiden Mifflin, Asher Mifflin, Andrew Dennis and Isaac Scarbrough will also compete for varsity minutes this season.
“You can have great plays and know what to do, but if you’re not competing with the right mindset it doesn’t matter,” Denney said. “We want to be elite defensively. Last year, we had to play really slow to be as good as we could be. This year, we want to get out and run with some more things in transition.”
Non-district foes for the Lady Jets include Pickett County, Cookeville, Clarkrange, Kingston, Rhea County and Walker Valley.
“We really jump in with both feel by going to Pickett County,” Denney said. “We don’t play at home until after Thanksgiving, so with our young kids we’re really throwing them to the wolves. We want to see them compete and get better. Those games will really prepare us for league play.”
District 7-3A opponents include DeKalb County, Livingston Academy, Stone Memorial, Upperman and White County.
“Our district is tough top to bottom,” Denney added. “Everybody is well-coached and has good players. There’s no easy outs; every place is tough to play and it’s a grind.”
Cumberland County’s season tips off at Pickett County on Tuesday, Nov. 14.