The Wylie boys basketball team won the Class 6A state title during the 2019-20 season. Submitted photo
By David Wolman
Isabella Dayton, Kohl Drake, Rylen Wiggins, Akasha Davis, Destini Jeter, Geronimo Saucedo, Luke Lambert and the 2020 Wylie High School boys basketball state championship team will be inducted into the Wylie Hall of Honor at 2 p.m. Feb. 7 at McMillan Junior High.
The Pirates boys basketball team made a Cinderella-like run to its first-ever appearance in the state tournament. That run ended with Wylie earning a 50-42 upset victory over Killeen Ellison in the Region II-6A final. Ellison entered the game ranked No. 3 in the final TABC Class 6A regular-season poll, while Wylie was unranked.
Eli Taylor scored a game-high 17 points, including 11 in the first quarter. Kobe Wiggins finished with 12 points, including four free throws down the stretch to seal the win for the Pirates, whose deepest previous playoff run came in the 2015 regional quarterfinals. The Pirates finished the season with a 27-7 record and a 21-game winning streak. However, the state tournament was not played because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Messay Gharbin, Jacoby Dawkins, Jacory Dawkins, Cory Wells, Tyler Botty, Drew Lutchter, Tommy Garriga, Jordan Hudgins, Thomas Van Trier and Kortlin Rausaw also played for the Pirates. Stephen Pearce was — and remains — the head coach. His assistant coaches were Kortney Smith, Ben Knighton and Joby Focke.
Dayton was a three-sport athlete at Wylie High School, competing in softball, basketball and track and field.
Ranked as the No. 15 national recruit by Softball America and No. 26 by Extra Inning Softball, Dayton was a three-time Texas Sports Writers Association and Collin Street Bakery first-team Class 6A all-state selection (2017-19). She was also a two-time District 6-6A Offensive Player of the Year (2017, 2018) and the 2016 District 5A Freshman of the Year.
As a senior in 2019, Dayton hit .602 with 68 hits and 50 stolen bases while leading the Lady Pirates to a district title and a fifth-round appearance in the UIL state playoffs for the first time in school history. She was also an all-area basketball selection and competed in track and field, advancing to regionals in both the 4×400 relay and the 200 meters.
Wiggins was also a standout player for the Lady Pirates softball program.
A Class of 2020 graduate, Wiggins was a four-year letterwinner who earned academic all-district honors from 2017-19, was named district Defensive Player of the Year three times, earned TGCA all-state honors as a sophomore and junior, led District 6-6A in home runs (12) as a junior and went on to play 225 career games at Texas A&M. She was also a member of Wylie’s track and field team, competing in the triple jump during her junior season.
Drake, a Class of 2018 Wylie High School graduate, was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 11th round of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft.
Drake pitched at Walters State Community College in Tennessee, going 14-0 with a 1.93 ERA in 17 starts during the 2022 season and earning NJCAA Division I Baseball Pitcher of the Year honors. He is ranked as the No. 11 prospect in the Rangers’ system by MLB Pipeline, the fifth-highest-ranked pitcher and the organization’s top-ranked left-hander. He was promoted to Triple-A Round Rock on June 30, 2025.
Davis, a Class of 2021 Wylie East graduate, starred on the basketball court for the Lady Raiders. Named to the Class 5A all-state and all-region teams as a senior, she also earned Class 5A Newcomer of the Year honors in 2018 and was selected to the all-district team in each of her four high school seasons.
At the collegiate level, Davis earned Southland Conference first-team honors in 2023 and 2024 and was named the conference’s Player of the Year in 2024. She appeared in 121 career games at Lamar University, averaging 27.3 minutes per game while totaling 1,695 career points, 1,079 rebounds and 74 blocks.
Another Wylie East graduate, Jeter was one of the nation’s top hurdlers prior to her 2020 graduation. She won the Class 5A state championship in the 300-meter hurdles as a junior in 2019 and placed fifth in the 100-meter hurdles. She was ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 3 nationally as a junior. As a senior, she recorded the fastest 300-hurdle time in Texas before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the remainder of the season.
Saucedo, a Class of 2019 Wylie East graduate, became the school’s first-ever state champion in wrestling during his senior season, marking his third consecutive state appearance. Following high school, he transitioned to judo and continues to compete. He earned a silver medal at the Pan American Open in Varadero, Cuba, in 2024.
Lambert, a Class of 2021 Wylie graduate, was a four-time state qualifier in cross country, winning the individual Class 6A state championship as a senior. He also captured state titles in track and field in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters. He is currently a redshirt senior with the University of Tulsa track and field team.
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