High school notes: How good is Carolinas’ football? Multiple teams ranked nationally
As high school football season approaches, more than a dozen schools from the Carolinas are ranked in one of two major preseason national rankings.
Greensboro’s Grimsley High, the reigning N.C. 4A public school state football champion, is ranked No. 17 in the MaxPreps’ preseason national poll.
Grimsley is the highest ranked team from the Carolinas.
The Whirlies open their season Aug. 22 against West Charlotte at Bank of America Stadium, home of the Carolina Panthers.
In the past three seasons, Grimsley is 45-1 and this year, it returns quarterback Faizon Brandon, who 247 Sports ranks as the No. 1 quarterback recruit and No. 1 overall high school football player in America.
Other Carolinas’ teams ranked include No. 39 Dutch Fork (SC), No. 53 Weddington, No. 65 Rolesville and No. 97 Northwestern (SC).
In all, 26 different states had teams ranked, led by No. 1 Mater Dei out of Santa Ana, Calif.
In the High School Football America preseason poll, there were nine N.C. teams ranked among the top 300 and six from South Carolina.
Among N.C. teams, Grimsley was ranked 31st, followed by No. 61 Providence Day, No. 72 Weddington, No. 74 Rolesville, No. 94 Cardinal Gibbons, No. 95 Hough, No. 129 Mallard Creek, No. 253 Charlotte Catholic and No. 261 Independence.
Among S.C. teams, Dutch Fork was No. 21, followed by No. 77 Northwestern, No. 91 Summerville, No. 114 Westside, No. 218 South Florence and No. 284 Irmo.
AL Brown star signs Major League Baseball deal
A few months ago, C.J. Gray was a two-sport star at AL Brown High School in Kannapolis.
He had been recruited to Division I schools as a football quarterback, but signed to N.C. State to play baseball after he regularly drawing MLB scouts to his games. Gray, a 6-foot-3 right handed pitcher, was throwing upward of 96 mph.
In June, Gray moved to Raleigh for summer school and off-season workouts. But earlier this month, the Angels drafted him in the fifth round and signed him to a $1.247,500 deal. The slot value of his pick was $519,100, so Gray was offered — and accepted — an offer more than $700,000 above the value.
Perfect Game ranked Gray among the nation’s top 125 high school players this season and the No. 6 recruit in North Carolina.
This year, Gray hit .508 and had 11 home runs for AL Brown, which finished 7-18.
Dead period for NCHSAA teams; practice begins soon
This is the final dead period of the summer for N.C. public schools. It began Monday and ends on Sunday, the 27th.
This is also the week for the N.C. Coaches Association coaches’ clinics in Greensboro along with East-West all-star basketball and soccer games.
The boys’ and girls’ basketball games were scheduled for Monday, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum. The boys’ and girls’ soccer games are Tuesday beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Greensboro’s Grimsley High School.
Fall sports practice, including football, will begin July 30.
Charlotte athlete signs diabetes NIL deal
Gardner-Webb sophomore Anya Tribune is one of 13 athletes to join an NIL program for college athletes with diabetes.
Tribune, who is from Charlotte, was home-schooled in high school. She and others were selected from more than 200 nominations to be part of Dexcom U’s new NIL program for student-athletes battling diabetes.
Tribune, who is studying ASL Interpretation and Coaches Education in college, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 4.
Dexcom makes a continuous glucose monitor, which will allow athletes to monitor glucose levels and manage their disease during games, practice and training. The company is also providing the athletes with a web and social platform to share their stories with others.
As part of the program, Tribune participated in a “Dexcom U Signing Day Camp” in Baltimore, hosted by Ravens’ tight end Mark Andrews. The new NIL signees went through a special signing ceremony and participated in interactive drills with local youth athletes with diabetes.
Players on the move
Several Charlotte-area players have announced transfers in recent weeks.
▪ Butler defensive back Anthony McGill transferred to Charlotte Latin. In his last game against East Forsyth last season, McGill had seven tackles and two passes defended. He finished his sophomore season with 67 tackles and 30 passes defended.
▪ Lake Norman running back Mozes Morris has transferred to West Forsyth. As a junior last season, Morris ran 160 times for 1,016 yards and nine touchdowns. As a team, the Wildcats had 1,663 yards and 18 touchdowns rushing.
▪ Former Charlotte Christian star L.J. Porter, a 6-foot, 215-pound linebacker, has transferred to Hough. As a junior, Porter had 88 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss and a sack for the Knights, who finished 7-4. Porter, who has offers from Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, East Carolina, Elon and Virginia Tech, is a top 60 recruit in North Carolina.
▪ Providence Day’s Miles Funderburk has transferred to Weddington. As a junior at the Charlotte private school, Funderburk had 52 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss and a sack as a defensive lineman. Funderburk, a 6-1, 280-pound rising senior, also played offensive line for the Chargers. He recently received an offer from Wofford.
▪ Top 100 national recruit Cody Peck is returning to Mecklenburg County this year. Peck, who started his junior year at Carmel Christian, eventually transferred and played at IMG Academy in Florida last season. The 6-foot-10 forward will play at Davidson Day this season. Peck has offers from schools like Appalachian State, Charlotte, Clemson, LSU, Wake Forest and others.
▪ Chambers High basketball star Markus Kerr is transferring to Brewster Academy in New Hampshire and is repeating his junior season.
A 6-5, 180-pound guard, Kerr is a top 100 national recruit in his class and the No. 1 recruit in New Hampshire among juniors. He has offers from schools like Appalachian State, Charlotte, College of Charleston, High Point and Mississippi State.
Kerr helped lead Chambers to the N.C. 4A Western Regional championship game in March.
Another Chambers’ star, 6-6 forward Tarris Bouie, announced a transfer to SPIRE Academy in Ohio last spring.
East Meck taps alum as new boys’ basketball coach
East Meck has named Eagles’ alum Joseph Gripper as its new boys’ basketball coach.
Gripper was a two-year captain and all-conference pick in high school who later played at St. Andrews Presbyterian University in Scotland County, where he was a three-year starter.
Gripper started coaching in 2011 under Jason Grube at East Meck. After three seasons, he left for an assistant’s job at Hough before returning to East Meck in 2019 as the school’s head junior varsity coach and assistant to head varsity coach Jason Buzzard, where he’s been for the past six seasons.
▪ Harding High has named Ed Cooke as its new boys’ basketball coach. Cooke oversaw a power at Northside Christian and is a longtime travel basketball coach with the Nike-based Team United in Charlotte.
▪ Lake Norman has named Dusty Pflugner as its new head boys’ basketball coach. Pflugner was 10-15 at West Stanly last season. He replaces Grant Hodges, who left for a head job at his alma mater, Alexander Central in May.
Tidbits
▪ Hough High will host a special midnight practice next week. Gates will open at 11:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 1. Practice will run from midnight to 1:30 a.m.
▪ Todd Green has been named head baseball coach at Community School of Davidson. He takes over a team that’s had seven straight winning seasons.
▪ Marvin Ridge has named Justin Frashier as its new athletic director. Hough (Derek Butler), Providence (Tom Jamerson), Rocky River (Jaylah Mack), West Charlotte (AJ Alexander) and Butler (Justin Moyer) have also named new ADs.
▪ The National Federation of High Schools reports that the number of registered high school sports officials grew 6 percent during the 2024-25 school year. According to the NFHS, the nation’s 36 state associations had 237,811 officials’ registrations, up 14,432 from the previous year.
All sports, except field hockey and water polo, saw year-over-year increases after the NFHS and local associations have made a big push to retain and develop new officials.
