The Dispatch revealed its picks for the best athletes, coaches and teams of 2025-26 at the Central Ohio High School Sports Awards on June 22 at Upper Arlington High School.
Readers now can make their selections, starting with the boys Athlete of the Year.
Voting is open until 4 p.m. July 2. Please do not email your votes; they will not count.
Here are the candidates:
Brady Barnum, Dublin Jerome golf: The junior earned medalist honors in the Division I state tournament, leading the Celtics to their 10th state title. Barnum also was OCC-Cardinal Golfer of the Year (66.75 average).
Michael Boyle, Watterson football and wrestling: The junior went 38-0 and captured his third consecutive wrestling state title, helping Watterson repeat as Division II team champion. He also was an all-state defensive lineman for the football team, which captured its second straight Division III state title.
Jamier Brown, Big Walnut track and field: The junior won the 100 and 200 meters and anchored the first-place 400 relay as the Golden Eagles shared the Division II state title with New Philadelphia. Brown’s 200 time and the 400 relay set OHSAA Division II and Division II state-meet records.
Levi Davis, Olentangy Orange football: The senior led Orange to its first state title, passing for 2,270 yards and 16 touchdowns and rushing for 1,114 yards and 19 scores. He was a finalist for Ohio Mr. Football and Division I district and state co-Offensive Player of the Year.
Bryson Gittins, New Albany baseball: The junior went 10-0 with a 0.86 ERA, 67 strikeouts and 22 walks in 57⅓ innings, helping the Eagles win the Division II state title. He was first-team all-state and district Player of the Year.
Jake Lloyd, St. Charles swimming and diving: The senior set or was a part of four state or state-meet records, winning the 50 freestyle and 100 breaststroke and swimming on the winning 200 free and 200 medley relays as the Cardinals repeated as Division I state champions.
Elijah McCree, Westerville North basketball: The senior guard led the Warriors to a Division II state runner-up finish. He averaged 20.0 points, 3.8 assists, 3.3 steals and 2.5 rebounds to earn OCC-Capital, district and state Player of the Year honors.
Jason Singleton, Columbus Academy basketball: The senior guard, an Ohio Mr. Basketball finalist, led the Vikings to their second consecutive Division V state final. He averaged 21.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3.7 steals to earn Central Buckeye League, district and state Player of the Year honors.
Parker Van Engelenhoven, Olentangy Liberty baseball: The senior pitcher, outfielder and first baseman was named Division I state and OCC-Central Player of the Year and district co-Player of the Year after going 6-3 with a 1.72 ERA, 78 strikeouts and 16 walks in 53 innings and batting .396 with eight doubles, one triple, eight home runs and 31 RBIs.
The Dispatch staff reserves the right to remove athletes from the ballot where voting irregularities have occurred.
Please do not email your votes; they will not count.
High school sports editor Andy Resnik can be reached at aresnik@dispatch.com and at @DispatchPreps on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Choose central Ohio’s boys high school Athlete of the Year for 2025-26
Reporting by Andy Resnik, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Andy Resnik, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
