Jay Royals building depth and strong team bond

One of the key focal points of the summer has been on building a deep team.

“We’re focusing on getting some depth, giving girls who haven’t had a lot of varsity experience a chance to see the floor more,” Jay head coach Jorey Diamond said.

The Royals will go into the 2025-26 season this winter with several key players back, including Aubreigh Nelson, Presley Hawthorne, Kaylee Gilbreath and Hattie Locklin.

“We have a nice mix of older and younger players, and when we are at full strength, I like where we are at as a team,” Diamond said. We’re in a good spot. We just have to develop some depth off bench to do what we want to do this coming season.”

The Royals won 20 games during the 2024-25 campaign and nearly rallied for a win over Holmes County in a regional final on the road before falling 56-50.

Nelson and Locklin were the team’s top two scorers last season, averaging 11.2 and 9.8 points per game, while Hawthorne proved to be the team’s top playmaker. Gilbreath led the way beyond the arc with 28 3-pointers.

Diamond said it’s been good for his team to see some competition in June. The Royals wrap up summer with a camp at Troy.

“You look to see who is going to compete and scrap, and you look at what you are getting from your role players. You want to know who fits where when the year starts,” Diamond said.

For Diamond, who is expecting another strong season out of his team, summer is beneficial. And not just from a skill standpoint.

“We want to go out and compete, but we also want to build a team. That is where our focus is this summer,” Diamond said. “I hope we’ve been able to come together and have a good team bond going into the season.”