2026 Battle for the Springhouse features heavyweight matchups

Girls Basketball| Boys Basketball

January 28, 2026•4 min read

Seven ranked teams highlight The Battle for the Springhouse field

Most of the eastern United States will be struggling though a severe cold snap this weekend.

That will not be the case inside Colonial Hall at The Greenbrier where the basketball action will be red-hot Friday and Saturday.

Already known for its exceptional collection of high school talent, the 2026 Battle for the Springhouse will rollout arguably its best field in the five-year history of the event.

Seven of the eight tournament teams are ranked in the top-six of their respective classes and division.

AAAA No. 4 Morgantown will tussle with AAAA No. 3 Parkersburg in the opener Friday at 2 p.m.

A pair of boys games will follow with AA No. 2 Wyoming East battling AAA No. 2 Bridgeport before AA No. 5 James Monroe clashes with AAA No. 6 Greenbrier East. Those games will play at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively.

The final contest of the night, set for 8 p.m., will feature AAA No. 1 Greenbrier East against Riverside.

The Lady Big Reds (9-3) already own a win over the Lady Mohigans this year and have three double-digit scorers in junior Frances Guice (16.6), senior Kennedy Porter (14.9) and senior Lauren Flanagan (13.5).

Morgantown will come to The Greenbrier sporting a 10-3 record and also has a trio of solid scorers in freshman Maddie Ancell (15.1), sophomore Sydney Deusenberry (10.7) and junior Carper Messerly (10.7).

The Warriors are off to an impressive 10-1 start including a resume full of quality wins. Wyoming East has two wins over Class A No. 1 Tug Valley, along with triumphs against AAAA Woodrow Wilson, AA regional foes Bluefield (No. 4) and James Monroe.

Junior Keegan Davidson and sophomore Talan Muscari form one of the best back-courts in the state and junior big man Konnor Fox (6-foot-9) is a powerhouse in the paint.

Sophomore combo-guard Broc Johnson is an inside-out threat, while senior Braxton Morgan is a strong force on the glass.

Bridgeport is the defending Class AAA state champions and after a 2-2 start, has run off eight wins in a row heading into Colonial Hall.

The Indians are led by a pair of junior standouts, Ayron Dodd and Anderson McDougal who both average 15 points per game.

James Monroe is 8-3 with narrow road losses at Wyoming East and Bluefield. The other setback came against AAA No. 7 Shady Spring.

Balance has been the key for the Mavericks with Junior Kadyn Hines, senior Ryan Mann and Lane Taylor doing the heavy lifting.

All three are coming off of a double-double in the overtime loss to the Beavers.

Hines scored 32 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and had seven deflections. Mann added 11 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, while Taylor tossed in 14 points and pulled down 13 rebounds.

The last time we saw the Greenbrier East boys (8-3), they were beating Shady Spring for a key regional win Friday night in Fairlea.

A strong fourth quarter from senior Nate Dixon and junior Darius Burns sparked the 61-57 comeback win over the Tigers.

Along with the Shady Spring win, the Spartans own victories over Bridgeport, Woodrow Wilson and South Charleston, all on the road.

Dixon is the team's leading scorer (17.9), followed closely by senior Brody Hamric at just under 17 points per game. The athletic Hamric had a double-double in the Shady win with 17 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and five steals.

Riverside (6-8) will have the daunting task of playing the Lady Spartans (14-0) on opening night.

The Lady Warriors have a standout sister duo in junior Ava Ward and sophomore Jada Ward. Ava averages 15.2 points per game, while Jada is scoring just over 11 points per contest.

Both players are also strong on the glass, pulling down 10 rebounds.

The Lady Spartans are the Battle for the Springhouse defending champions and have a sack full of big wins so far this year.

AAA No. 3 John Marshall, AAA No. 4 Nitro, AAAA No. 6 Woodrow Wilson, AA No. 8 Philip Barbour, AAAA Hedgesville and AAAA Martinsburg (2) have all fell victim to Greenbrier East.

Senior Kennedy Stewart, a West Virginia Wesleyan commit, and junior Ava Workman lead the scoring at 18 points per game.

While the dynamic duo handles the bulk of the scoring, it is the blue-collar work from seniors Mackenna McClure, Sandy Banton and Hannah Fuller that makes the Lady Spartans hard to handle.

Four games will also be played Saturday featuring two consolation tilts and two championship games.