Texoma Honors Athletes
2026 Texoma Nexstar Sports Awards Recognize Top Athletes and Programs
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Key Points
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Midwestern State’s Parker Plaxco won the Nexstar Sports Awards’ College Male Athlete of the Year.
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Charlie Schrader was voted the Akron Area Girls Coach of the Year for 2025-26 with 53.53% of the votes (7,121 total), after guiding Walsh Jesuit to a 23-2 season and its first state semifinals appearance since 2016.
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Sage Bearden, a Class 1A female Athlete of the Year finalist, posted standout multi-sport credentials: volleyball setter with 23 assists per match, 2.3 aces, 3.5 digs; basketball averages of 15.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 3 steals; Class 1A State Champion in golf; a state tennis bronze in mixed doubles; and relay-qualified track performances.
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Memorial High School earned Nexstar’s Media Relations MVP for proactively sharing statistics, photos, schedules, and updates to ensure accurate, timely coverage, with Memorial personnel such as Coach Lauren Castles (volleyball) and Rob Woodard (soccer) among those highlighted for promoting their teams.
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A separate Nexstar piece highlighted the ongoing national conversation by ranking all 18 Big Ten head basketball coaches.
The 2026 Nexstar Sports Awards celebrated the best athletes and programs across Texoma, handing out honors at D.L. Ligon Coliseum in Wichita Falls. Holliday High School's Noah Strohman took Small School Male Athlete of the Year, while Kenli Atwood earned the female counterpart, according to Times Record News.
Midwestern State's Parker Plaxco won College Male Athlete of the Year. The MSU Mustangs also made history this season, capturing a Lone Star Conference title and a Division II National Championship — one of the strongest runs in program history.
Sage Bearden's Five-Sport Dominance Reshapes Class 1A
This year's awards introduced a new Class 1A category, and Sage Bearden wasted no time standing out. She was named a finalist for Class 1A Female Athlete of the Year. Her résumé is hard to match. As a volleyball setter, she averaged 23 assists, 2.3 aces, and 3.5 digs per match, per Times Record News.
Bearden also averaged 15.4 points, 5.4 assists, and 3 steals per game in basketball. She won a Class 1A State Championship in golf. She earned a bronze medal in mixed doubles tennis. Two of her relay teams reached regionals in track. Five sports. One athlete.
Memorial High School Wins Media Relations MVP for Transparency
Memorial High School earned Nexstar's Media Relations MVP award. The honor goes to an athletic program that reliably sends scores, stats, photos, and schedules to the KFDX/KJTL newsroom on gameday. Memorial stood out for doing exactly that, consistently and on time.
Staff members like volleyball coach Lauren Castles and soccer coordinator Rob Woodard were singled out for actively promoting their teams. The award reflects how much behind-the-scenes communication shapes the quality of local sports coverage.
Walsh Jesuit Coach Schrader Wins Akron Girls Coach of the Year
Outside Texoma, softball coach Charlie Schrader won the 2025-26 Akron Area Girls Coach of the Year, taking 53.53% of 7,121 total votes, according to Yahoo Sports. He guided Walsh Jesuit to a 23-2 record. That earned the team its first state semifinal appearance since 2016.
The Division II state semifinal run marked a program milestone. It put Walsh Jesuit back in the Final Four for the first time in nearly a decade. Schrader's win highlights how strong coaching at the regional level is drawing national attention.
Big Ten Basketball Coach Rankings Fuel National Debate
A separate Nexstar piece ranked all 18 Big Ten head basketball coaches, adding fuel to an ongoing national conversation about collegiate leadership. The rankings drew wide interest, reflecting how much fans and analysts care about who sits on the bench, not just who plays on the court, per Yahoo Sports.
The piece comes at a time when college basketball rosters and programs are shifting fast due to the transfer portal and conference realignment. Coaching stability and reputation have never mattered more for recruiting and program building.
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