BY BOO NEWSOME
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — The Martin County Cardinals have a busy summer, trying to get in as many summer games as they can as they work to reload for the 2024-2025 season after graduating six seniors from last year’s team.
Coach James lost the bulk of his offense and defense with Luke Hale, Brayden McKenzie, Jacob Sturgell, Blake Maynard and Dray Duff all moving on.
“All these kids will be hard to replace,” Coach James said, “but we have a lot of talented players ready to step up.”
Returning players include senior Peyton Davis, junior Devan Maynard and freshman Bryson Dials, all of whom played significant minutes for the Cardinals last season.
The Cardinals also return Brayden Estep, Eli Mills, Alan Moore, B.J. Parsley and Braxton Maynard. Incoming freshmen Chase Hinkle, Aiden Copeland and Jaxson Pack are expected to contribute as well.
Martin County picked up a game-changer with the addition of Parker Watts from Tolsia. Watts, a top 2025 prospect in West Virginia, brings his high-powered offensive game to the Cardinals. He was a premier scorer for the Tolsia Rebels, with multiple 50-point games in his career.
Jaxon Estridge is also joining the Cardinals and transferring from Prestonsburg. The shooting guard averaged seven points per game for the Blackcats last season and brings experience to the young Cardinals team.
Summer ball is in full swing, allowing Coach James to evaluate his players and identify areas for improvement. The Cardinals traveled to Lawrence County on June 4 and defeated East Carter and Huntington St. Joe’s in Lawrence County’s team camp. Summer games are usually played with a running clock and adjustments are made on free throws to allow more playing time.
The Cardinals attended the Western Kentucky Team Camp from June 6-8, playing eight games and finishing with a 6-2 record.
On June 6, they defeated Apollo 62-43 and edged out Southwestern 59-58. On June 7, they faced four games, starting with a 78-51 win over Louisville Fairdale. They lost an early lead to Bethlehem in overtime on a half-court buzzer-beater 62-61. The Cardinals regrouped and rebounded to defeat Collins 74-59 in the third game of the day and closed with a 47-42 win over Henderson County on WKU’s main court.
On the final day of the camp, all teams were seeded in a tournament within their division. The Cardinals defeated W.E.B. DuBois 51-45 to advance but fell short to Charleston, Indiana, 47-41, ending their camp run. Charleston, Indiana, went on to win the team championship of the camp.
Fans wanting an early look at the upcoming 2024-2025 Cardinal team can do so on Thursday, June 13, when the Cardinals will play at home against Logan (WV) and Pike Central. The game time was unknown at press time.
“I thought the WKU Camp was a great experience for our guys,” Coach James said. “We went 6-2 and finished in the final eight. We lost to a team we were up 10 at the half. We just ran out of gas.”
On the upcoming season, James said, “I think we are going to surprise a lot of people this year. We opened a lot of eyes at WKU with some of the teams we beat. To beat big schools like W.E.B. DuBois, Louisville Fairdale, Southwestern, Henderson County, and Martha Wayne Collins in one camp was pretty nice. Hopefully, we keep getting better and stay connected. We are going to have a good season and will be fun to watch.”