Gulfport did it in 2025. Which MS Coast teams have a shot at a title in 2026?
It’s been one month since the wild ending to the 2025 high school football season in Mississippi resulted in the Coast’s Gulfport Admirals nabbing a coveted and ultra-rare 7A state championship.
There’s only eight months between now and when we do it all over again, and if 2026 is anything like last season, it’ll be another exciting year.
Can Gulfport repeat as Region 4-7A’s top title contender? Will the Coast produce multiple South State champions, if any? Pecking orders shifted in 2025. Will they shift again or are we in for a new status quo?
Questions will abound as the newest crop of standouts prepare for a new season. In the meantime, we make our first attempt at sorting through the noise and pinpointing who is in the best position to succeed next fall.
Here’s the way-too-early South Mississippi top five.
1. Gulfport
Cooper Crosby is as irreplaceable as they come, but that’s what Blake Pennock and staff must do. And they’ll be doing so while also finding the program’s fifth starting quarterback in five years following Parker Nettles’ graduation.
But there is no lack of athleticism and the Admirals are deep at the skill positions with the return of Javious Hales, Camden Morgan and Mylan Stubbs. And though they’ll have to say goodbye to leading tackler Andre Peters, the Admirals do return six of their top nine tacklers. That including Lawrence Robertson, who enters his senior season as arguably the top defensive lineman in the state.
Even with key graduates, don’t expect Gulfport to be thin on talent. No football system on the Coast enjoyed the success Pennock’s did in 2025. Not only did his varsity squad with a title, but so did the 7th grade team, 8th grade team and freshman team.
2. Picayune
The Maroon Tide machine will hum as long as there’s a powerful running back to turn the gears. And Picayune has him in Xavier Dennis. As a junior, Dennis was second on the Coast in rushing with 2,840 yards and 33 touchdowns.
Picayune will have to swap some key bodies on the line of scrimmage, though Cody Stogner’s program has never had an issue finding offensive linemen. Putting points on the scoreboard should again be a strength for the Tide.
It’s Picayune’s last two defenses that have been the worst of Stogner’s tenure. His next one will need to find depth in the short term, but underclassmen Kylen Egana, Grayson Aulds and Xaiden Foxworth give the Maroon Tide a strong base to begin building back to form.
3. Ocean Springs
The reign of the Greyhounds came to an end in 2025 when Gulfport snapped their 25-game district win streak and made off with the region title. But don’t assume Ocean Springs is taking a back seat for long.
Chalmers Berglind now has a year under his belt as a starting quarterback and running back Lanny Waltman emerged as an effective 500-yard spell for Solomon Baggett. The Greyhounds will be searching for more playmakers to compliment Berglind, Waltman and receiver Ian Michael Harlan with the graduation of Sharroid Whitehead, though.
Jake Bramlett’s defense will have to replace a number of its top producers. Five of the top six tacklers are out the door and with them go 36 tackles for loss and eight sacks. Still, talent doesn’t lack at Ocean Springs. Kaegan Lymon will be one of the more disruptive defensive linemen on the Coast and Bryson Hathorn and Santiago Gaetan logged valuable experience this past season as sophomore linebackers.
4. Stone
Stone was undeniably one of the top 5A teams on the south side of the state when it had a healthy Ayden Green at its disposal. The rising junior is fresh off a 1,300-yard campaign and all three of his interior linemen will be returning starters. It helps to have an experienced quarterback in Zander Howard, as well.
Though it’s not offense Jacob Aycock’s teams are known for — the Tomcats allowed just 14.8 points a game in 2025 — it may be the strength of next year’s group. The Coast’s No. 2 tackler Brayden William graduates as does reigning district MVP Colton Ladner. They’ll be without edge presence Tyriq Noel and standout defensive backs Jacoby Jones and Favian Dawkins, too.
That said, between three years at Stone and three season as Poplarville’s defensive coordinator, Aycock’s worst defense only gave up 25 points per outing.
5. Poplarville
How many Mississippi teams can say they have two four-star prospects in the class of 2027? The answer is one. It’s Poplarville.
Defensive lineman Sam LeJeune is the third-ranked player in the state and top-100 nationally and explosive running back Ty Keys is the seventh-ranked player at his position in the country.
Jobe Lambert is set to return on both sides of the line of scrimmage while Semaj Jamison in the secondary and Remy Naquin in the backfield extends the Hornets’ athleticism from sideline to sideline.
The key to Poplarville’s success won’t be in what it does well, though. The 2024 state title team had the ability to create big plays through the air when it needed to. It’s inability to do that in ‘25 would be the Hornets’ ultimate undoing. Finding that second as-needed dimension may be the difference between a short 2026 and another gold ball.
