There’s good news and bad news for the Porter Lady Pirates as they get ready to start the 2025-26 basketball season. The good news is that they have four starters returning from a team that was 18-10 last year and made it to the area tournament. The bad news is that the Pirates will be competing up a class into 2A this year, so the competition is sure to be a little tougher. VYPE TOP 100 candidate Aaliyah Moore (6-1, Jr.) will be the player with the target on her back having averaged 17.4 points, and 9.2 rebounds a game last year along with 83 blocked shots.
“Aaliyah is a three-year starter for us, a two-time All-Conference and two-time Defensive Player of the year in the conference,” said ninth-year coach Corey Miller. “She’s a big-time difference maker on both ends of the floor and very deserving of this VYPE honor.” The Lady Pirates have a strong one-two punch with Moore and Remi Hayworth (6-0, Jr.) who averaged 13.3 points and nearly four rebounds a game and shot 35 percent from three-point land. The other returning starters for Porter are Torquelyn Crain (5-10, So.) and Chloe Freniere (5-5, So.). The Lady Pirates laid the groundwork for how to succeed last year and with most of the same cast back, they should be competitive in every game. The big question will be to see how they deal with the competition in a new class this year. “We have a good mix of returners and newcomers and expect to be competitive again this year,” said Miller.
The Porter Pirate guys will be hoping to see a turn in fortunes this year as Evan Drake takes over as the head coach of a team that won only one game in 2024.
“I’m excited for this year and this group,” said Drake. “We are young but athletic and I’m hoping to create a fast-paced brand of basketball here.”
Porter will feature four seniors leading the way in Keelin Lang (5-10), Tyler Whistance (5-7), Adrian Valdez (5-11) and Dominic Springsted (6-3). Juniors Austin Whistance (6-0) and Cash Criner (6-3) will fill in the gaps and sophomore Darius Dansberry (6-1) is a promising underclassman who will probably see some playing time.
“Darius is young guard who thrives on shooting the ball and I look for him to have a good sophomore season,” said Drake.
