Ashanti Brown and Mike Smith can add their names to the list of Bryan County basketball players who have earned All-State recognition.
Brown, the Redskins’ outstanding post player, last week was named a first team all-state selection by the AJC for Class A-DII girls. She was also a Georgia Athletic Coaches Association (GACA) first team pick.
Smith, who was a major factor in the Redskins boys team reaching the Elite Eight of the Class A-DII state playoffs for the first time since 1996, was a first team selection by GACA.
Leading scorer Elijah Mincey, who was lost for the year due a knee injury suffered against state champion Savannah High in the last game of the regular season, was an honorable mention all-state by the AJC which meant he was recognized as being among the top 20 players in the state.
Brown’s selection is no surprise as she earned a starting role as a freshman. She finished her career with more than 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds becoming the first Bryan County player, male or female, to do so.
Brown was the Region 3A-DII Player of the Year this past season as she averaged 16 points and 10.6 rebounds per game in helping lead the Redskins to a 24-6 record. She was part of teams that were 94-20 overall, won a region championship, advanced to the Elite 8 her junior year, made it to the Sweet 16 twice while bowing out in the first round her sophomore season.
The 5-foot-8 Brown is the third Bryan County player to be an AJC first team pick in the last eight years. Olonna Rawls was selected in 2019 and 2020 while Julieanne Brown was a first team selection in 2017.
Rawls, who concluded her career at Columbus State this season by helping lead the Cougars to the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs, is the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,276 points surpassing Brown’s 1,671.
Kayley Wedlow, a freshman at Southwestern Georgia Tech, was a second team pick in 2024 and 2023. Wedlow and the Lady Jets won the National Junior College Athletic Association Region XVII tournament this year and advanced to Elite Eight before losing to Hutchinson (Kansas) CC 61-58.
Wedlow, incidentally, is coached by former Bryan County standout Olivia Melton who is an assistant coach at SGT. Melton was Mincey’s first all-state player at Bryan County and his first scholarship player. She was a two-time NAIA All-America at Coastal Georgia College.
Smith was the Redskins’ second leading scorer this past season and their leading rebounder in addition to playing excellent defense. He stepped up as a leader when Mincey went down and was a key factor in Bryan County posting its first playoff win since 1990.
An all-region selection—he was also an all-region pick in football as a defensive back—Smith was part of a senior class that turned around Bryan County basketball. With Mincey and Smith leading the way the Redskins were 22-9 this past season and for their four years were 72-43. Bryan County was 4-65 the previous four years
First year Coach Jason Napier did an outstanding job in guiding the Redskins to a third-place finish in a deep and talented Region 3A-DII as evidenced by the fact the top two teams, Savannah High and McIntosh County Academy, played for the state championship with the Blue Jackets prevailing.
Of the Redskins’ nine losses five came to Savannah and MCA and the sixth was a three-point loss (62-49) to Greene County to end the season.
Savannah Coach Georgia Brown was the AJC’s Coach of the Year and Blue Jackets star Maki Joyner was Player of the Year. Savannah’s Deshawn Brown was a first-team pick as was MCA’s C.J. Battle. The Bucs’ M.J. Quarterman was on the second team.
