The Cincinnati Enquirer again will conduct its popular high school athlete of the week voting, presented by Beacon Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine, during the 2025-2026 athletic year.
Voters can choose their favorite athletes from each sport and teams of the week throughout each season. The nomination week will run from Monday through Sunday, with nominations due the next morning. The last ballot will run in the last week of the spring season.
Anyone can nominate an athlete of the week or team of the week in a variety of ways ‒ through the Enquirer’s Facebook group, Cincinnati Enquirer high school sports, or through email to the Enquirer’s beat writers. To be clear, you may NOT email votes. You may only suggest players for the ballot that way. Other sources for ballot nominations may come from league websites and information reported to the Enquirer at prepsports@enquirer.com for the nightly cincinnati.com high school scores file.
Who are the Enquirer beat writers for each sport?
James Weber, jweber@enquirer.com ‒ Ohio football, boys and girls soccer, boys basketball, bowling, baseball, lacrosse
Brendan Connelly, bconnelly@enquirer.com ‒ Northern Kentucky and Indiana football, boys and girls cross country, girls volleyball, girls basketball, swimming and diving, softball, track & field
Alex Harrison, aharrison@enquirer.com ‒ Boys and girls fall team nominations, golf, field hockey, wrestling, boys volleyball
Chase Souder, csouder@enquirer.com ‒ Ohio football team nominations, Northern Kentucky/Indiana football teams, tennis, water polo, gymnastics, ice hockey, flag football
Here are the Enquirer’s athlete of the week rules:
We got Spirit, yes we do! The Enquirer introduces the Spirit Award.
The Enquirer would like to include cheerleaders, dance team members and their teams in two weekly ballots (individual and team) for the Spirit Award. Nominations will only come from the coaches.
Criteria: We’re seeking VARSITY girls and boys cheerleaders/dancers who exemplify fruits of the spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – while uplifting their squads, the student body and others. Team nominations might focus on teams that came together to help each other, worked hard, did things right that week, showed outstanding virtues when dealing with others, served others, exceeded expectations to prepare something special for the school or any other honorable reason they might be acknowledged.
Coaches can email mlaughman@enquirer.com with questions and nominations by Monday mornings at the latest. If we get enough nominations by Monday, Aug. 25, we’ll start the ballots then. The ballots will be separate from the athlete of the week polls but will close at the same time, 4 p.m. on Fridays.
What else is new in 2025?
Have any questions? Email Melanie Laughman at mlaughman@enquirer.com. This story will be updated once our new employee joins us.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How to add names to Cincinnati Enquirer’s high school athletes of the week ballot in 2025
Reporting by Melanie Laughman, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
