The 2026 Franklin Free Press All-Franklin County Baseball Team
2026 Franklin Free Press All-Franklin County Baseball Team
First Team
P - Carson McGee, Jr., RBHS
P - Jack Owens, Fr., PCHS
C - Tristan Ray, Jr., RHS
INF - Jeremiah Thorne, Sr., RBHS
INF - Isaac Duboise, Jr., PCHS
INF - Chandler Benford, Jr., PCHS
INF - Hagen Raper, Sr., PCHS
OF - Colton Ashton, Soph., BHS
OF - Brayden Entrekin, Soph., RHS
OF - Malaki Groce, Sr., RHS
UTIL - Ayden Pruitt, Sr., RBHS
Second Team
P - Ty Hamilton, Soph., BHS
P - Ty Engelthaler, Sr., RHS
C - Noah Scott, Fr., BHS
INF - Rush Berryman, Soph., BHS
INF - Braden Hamilton, Jr., BHS
INF - Riley Carpenter, Soph., RBHS
INF - Tripp Cleveland, Jr., RHS
OF - Davo Colburn, Soph., RBHS
OF - Shooter Motes, Jr., PCHS
UTIL - Brayden Hatton, Sr., RHS
Honorable Mentions
Easton Mitchell, Sr., BHS
Christopher Fretwell, Soph., THS
Jackson Knighten, Jr., THS
Zach Sparks, Sr., VHS
Branson Vick, Soph., VHS
Coach of the Year
Donovan Hand, Red Bay
The Franklin Free Press is happy to announce its 2026 All-Franklin County Baseball Team. The All-Franklin County Team is made up of players nominated by head coaches and selected by FFP sports editor. The Coach of the Year award is voted on by the coaches.
This year’s First Team consists of four players from Phil Campbell, three players from Red Bay, three players from Russellville, and one player from Belgreen.
Phil Campbell’s Jack Owens, Isaac Duboise, Chandler Benford, and Hagen Raper were tapped for this season’s All-County Team. The four players were critical in the No. 6-ranked Bobcats’ run to the Class 3A quarterfinals.
Owens, PCHS’ ace this year as a freshman, ended the year with a 6-2 record and his ERA of 1.28 was the lowest among regular starting pitchers nominated. Opposing batters hit below the Mendoza Line, just .153, against Owens as he allowed just 21 hits, seven earned runs, and had 53 strikeouts. The freshman was also big for his team offensively, batting .342 (.475 OBP) with 22 RBI, 42 runs scored, and 29 stolen bases.
Duboise, a junior who also saw a lot of time for Phil Campbell on the mound, was chosen for the First Team as an infielder who spent most of his time at first base. Offensively, Duboise, with 44 RBI, drove in, by far, the most runs among position players nominated. In addition to those 44 ribbies, Duboise, a .343 hitter (.445 OBP), came around to score 29 time and stole 10 bags.
Next up for the Bobcats is junior Chandler Benford, a second baseman who finished with one of the best batting averages in the county. Batting .440 with a .587 on-base percentage, Benford had nine doubles, 23 RBI, 53 runs scored and swiped a whopping 49 bases.
And the fourth First Team selection for PCHS is senior Hagen Raper, a shortstop who, remarkably, finished with even more stolen bases than his teammate Benford with 53. In the batters box, Raper hit .323 but reached base in over half his plate appearances with a .518 OBP. He finished his final season for the Bobcats with two triples, 23 RBI, and 49 runs scored.
Red Bay’s Carson McGee, Jeremiah Thorne, and Ayden Pruitt were all selected for the First Team, all large contributors in RBHS’ run to the Class 2A semifinals.
McGee, a junior, was a bulldog on the mound for the Tigers this season. In 62.1 innings pitched, he had 96 strikeouts and gave up just 17 earned runs to finish with a 1.91 ERA. McGee ended the year with an 8-2 record and recorded one save. McGee also did his job at the dish with 38 RBI and four home runs while hitting .354 with a .460 on-base percentage.
Senior Jeremiah Thorne had a massive year all around in his final campaign with the Tigers. At the plate, Thorne reached on over half his at-bats, recording a .452 batting average and a .536 on-base percentage. He ended the year with a team-high 47 hits, 29 RBI, and three home runs. Though Thorne was selected to the First Team as an infielder, he could’ve just as easily been selected as a pitcher, as well. Like his teammate McGee, Thorne was huge for RBHS on the mound with 86 strikeouts and a 2.75 ERA through 68.2 innings of work. His final record was 6-4 and he added one save.
Another senior, Ayden Pruitt, is Red Bay’s third First Team selection. The utility infielder played in all 33 games for the Tigers and concluded his final campaign with 33 hits, including 10 doubles, for a .351 average (.406 OBP); he drove in 26 runs, scored 22 and swiped 12 bags. Like the previous two Tigers selected, Pruitt also put in time on the bump. Pruitt pitched 25.2 innings in seven appearances, allowing just two earned runs (0.55 ERA) while striking out 18 batters. He ended with a 4-1 record.
Up next are Russellville’s three First Team players, Tristan Ray, Brayden Entrekin and Malaki Groce, who helped the No. 10-ranked Golden Tigers reached the second round of the Class 5A playoffs.
First is catcher Tristan Ray, who deftly managed his pitching staff and who was selected to play in this summer’s AHSAA North-South All-Star Game. At the dish he finished his junior campaign with a .306 average after recording 34 hits, including nine doubles, a triple and four home runs, in 111 at-bats. In addition to his 24 RBI and nine runs scored, Ray also drew 22 walks to finish with a .450 OBP.
Next is Entrekin, a sophomore outfielder who, despite suffering a three-week injury, still managed to make 97 plate appearances and was big for Russellville down the stretch. Entrekin hit .425 and reached base in over half his plate appearances; he recorded 10 doubles, hit five home runs, came around to score 18 times and capped the season with 31 RBI. Though he was selected as a First Team outfielder, Entrekin also had a great year on the mound for RHS, recording 56 strikeouts in 42 innings pitched. Opposing batters hit just .186 against him and he finished with a 5-1 record and a 1.50 ERA.
Russellville’s third and final First Team pick is senior Malaki Groce. Batting .363 with a .496 on-base percentage, the swift outfielder finished with 34 hits in 91 at-bats, including seven doubles and two triples, scored 28 runs and drove in 14.
Wrapping up the First Team is Belgreen’s Colton Ashton, who had an incredible year with the bat in his hands. Ashton, an outfielder who played in 28 games, had 53 hits in 91 at-bats for a remarkable .637. Striking out just five times and drawing 19 walks, his on-base percentage was .687. In addition, Ashton had 17 RBI, 45 runs scored, and he stole 51 bases. The sophomore also came in from the outfield to pitch 28 innings for the Bulldogs. On the mound, he recorded 28 strikeouts and allowed 13 earned runs off 24 hits, finishing with two saves, a 4-1 record, and a 3.25 ERA.
The Franklin County Coach of the Year, for the second season in-a-row, is Red Bay’s Donovan Hand. In 2026 Hand led the Tigers to a Franklin County Tournament title, an area championship, and RBHS’ second playoff semifinal appearance in three years. The Tigers ended the campaign with a 25-8 record and the No. 6 ranking in Class 2A.