Youth Leading Lady Wildcats Into Postseason
A state tournament team a year ago, the Logan Lady Wildcats entered the 2025-26 campaign with a lot of youth. Logan started the season with a roster that featured 10 freshmen. And while there have been ups and downs, this young team seems poised to make a run to reach the state tournament.
Despite the team’s age, they played a demanding schedule that featured many of the top programs in the state. The Lady Wildcats finished the regular season ranked 8th in Class AA with a 14-7 record.
“We played an incredibly difficult schedule,” said Lady Wildcat head coach Mike Tothe. “We challenged the kids to prepare for our ultimate goal, and that is to be in Charleston every year. So, we want them faced with adversity, challenges and tough environments. I think that’s how you grow. That’s how you learn. That’s how you become a better basketball club.”
The Lady Wildcats feature no seniors, have one junior and one sophomore which means that often five freshmen are on the floor. Logan has started nothing but freshmen throughout the season.
“They all have their roles and different attributes that they bring,” said Tothe. “It is a good group that we’re excited about. We’ve had to live with some growing pains and work through some things. You have to know as a coach that it’s an adjustment for them and an adjustment for the coaches as well, but all in all I think we’ve done well.”
Logan has shown some moments of brilliance against some of the better teams in Class AA. In a game earlier this season, the Lady Wildcats showed just how talented they were against a powerful Wyoming East squad.
“We had a 12 point lead on the road in the second quarter against a very good Wyoming East team,” added Tothe. “We would go on to lose that game, but for us to go over there in that environment and go into half with the lead, that spoke volumes about all of us. We knew what we were capable of. A couple weeks later, we played them again and beat them.”
Logan is led in scoring by Journey Blair with 14 points per game. Jezee White averages 12 points and 9 rebounds per game. Miley Fleming scores 11 points and dishes out 5 assists per game. Jenna Hatfield averages 10 points per game. Preecely “Foo” Decker is averaging 8 points per game. Of those Hatfield is a sophomore. The rest are freshmen.
The Lady Wildcats are heading into the postseason with the 3rd seed in the Class AA Region IV tournament. Although there may be big games looming down the road, Logan is squarely focused on one game at a time. And the only game on the Lady Wildcats’ mind is Roane County invading Willie Akers Arena to begin Regional play on Friday night.
“The postseason is different,” noted Tothe. “We have Roane County ahead of us right now. That’s our focus and challenge. We’ve been working hard to prepare for them, watching film and trying to correct our mistakes. We want to be mentally prepared for what they may throw at us and what we need to do to execute. In the postseason, everyone’s record is 0-0. It doesn’t matter what their record was in the regular season. We all have the same record right now. It’s win or go home.”
The Logan program carries heavy expectations with it. And while this group is young, Tothe believes that both the present and future are bright for the Lady Wildcats.
“Our expectations don’t change from one year to the next,” stated Tothe. “Our expectations are to get to Charleston every year. I feel that if you don’t have that expectation, you’re doing it wrong. We want to challenge the kids. They understand our mindset and philosophy. They came into a big learning curve. They’ve adapted, overcame and performed well. If they all stay for four years, I like our chances of getting to Charleston each year.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Boothe Davis - Captured By The Moment Photography
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