Tennessee’s Mr., Miss Basketball winners
MURFREESBORO — Avery Treadwell stood at center court at Middle Tennessee State’s Murphy Center on Monday evening, waiting to hear her name.
The Bearden senior had wrapped up her Tennessee high school basketball career six days prior. She even suffered a concussion during the Lady Bulldogs’ quarterfinal loss to state champion Bradley Central.
But now, she stood next to Bartlett’s Mallory Collier and Clarksville’s Imari Berry, two of the top players in the state and was named this year’s Class 4A Miss Basketball winner during a TSSAA ceremony.
“I was kind of surprised,” said Treadwell, a Florida State signee. “I just knew they were a bunch of good players. There wasn’t a clear winner.”
The TSSAA named Mr. and Miss Basketball award winners in all six of its classifications. It is a who’s who list that, among the girls winners, includes the No. 1 player in the country for the Class of 2024 in Ensworth’s Jaloni Cambridge (Division II-AA), LSU signee Angelica Velez of Webb School-bell Buckle in DII-A and Westview’s Jada Harrison, an MTSU signee in Class 2A.
Treadwell averaged 16.7 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.6 blocks this season. She finished her career with more than 1,500 career points and 1,000 rebounds. She is the second player from Bearden to win the award in as many years, as Tennessee Tech freshman Jennifer Sullivan won it in 2022.
Cambridge, who averaged 27.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.1 steals, garnered her third straight Miss Basketball honor. It came in front of members of Louisville’s coaching staff attended the ceremony.
Harrison, who has been a finalist the past two seasons, collected her first Miss Basketball.
“This has been the best year of my life,” Harrison said. “Honestly, this is just a good personal accolade for me. I’d rather have that state championship, and we got it.”
Like Harrison, Jackson South Side’s Ti’mia Lawson was named the Class 3A Miss Basketball two days after the Lady Hawks won a state title. Lawson’s award completed a year of firsts for the Jackson school. Lawson was the first Miss Basketball finalist and winner, and the state championship was the first in school history.
“This just shows me that I can do whatever,” said Lawson, who averaged 12 points, 7.7 rebounds and four assists. “We’re setting records at the school. My team and I won the first state championship at the school. This all goes to show the hard work we put in the summer.”
Velez, a senior, also collected her school’s first Miss Basketball honor in her first time as a finalist. She averaged 11 points and 10 assists a game for the Lady Feet, who have won three straight DII-A state titles.
Blair Baugus earned Class 1A Miss Basketball honors after Wayne County finished runner-up. Baugus averaged 17.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks.
“It’s a blessing to even be nominated for this,” Baugus said. “I would have been happy either way. It’s really exciting that I got this honor.
On the boys side, all were first-time Mr. Basketball winners. The list includes Vanderbilt signee Isaiah West, a Goodpasture senior, in DII-A and Tulsa
2023 TSSAA Miss Basketball Winners
Class 1A: Blair Baugus, Wayne County
Class 2A: Jada Harrison, Westview
Class 3A: Ti’mia Lawson, Jackson South Side
Class 4A: Avery Treadwell, Bearden
signee Jarred Hall in Class 4A.
Rodgerick Robinson Jr. and his Middleton teammates begin a quest on Wednesday to win a Class 1A state championship. Their week, though, started with Robinson being named Mr. Basketball.
“It feels good. I worked hard all summer on and off the court, said Robinson, who averaged 20.5 points and 7.3 rebounds.
While Jaylen Jones won’t get to defend East Nashville’s Class 2A title from last year, he did cap his high school career with the school’s first Mr. Basketball honor. However, Jones was quick to point out he’d rather be playing for a second straight state championship.
“I’m not satisfied,” said Jones, a Tennessee State signee who averaged 23.1 points, 7.8 assists and 4.3 steals. “If I could, I wanted to win another (state championship) ring.”
Class AA: Lukas Walls, Knoxville Webb