Meet the 2025 Press-Register Coastal Alabama All-Region boys basketball team

State champions Vigor and Jackson placed two players each on the top three teams of the 2025 Press-Register Coastal Alabama All-Region squad announced Monday.

Vigor’s Aslan Jones was a first-team selection, while Jermaine Tate made the third team. The duo helped the Wolves’ to the school’s first state basketball title. Vigor’s Lee Riley also was named Coastal Coach of the Year.

Keeyun Chapman was a first-team selection from two-time 4A champ Jackson. Joseph Taylor made the second team. The Aggies edged Sylacauga for the state title.

RELATED: Meet the boys All-State teams

The Press-Register Coastal Alabama squad is comprised of a first, second and third team along with honorable mention selections. The Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year are also considered first-team players.

The Coastal Alabama team is compiled through voting from area coaches, AL.com staff insights and opinions of experts in the area. It includes players from Mobile and Baldwin Counties as well as the four counties that border Mobile and Baldwin (Escambia, Monroe, Clarke and Washington).

THIRD TEAM

Jermaine Tate

School: Vigor

Height: 6-foot

Class: Senior

Position: Guard

The skinny: Tate helped Vigor to the Class 5A state championship. He scored 21 points in the semifinal win over Guntersville and averaged 11.2 points and 3.8 rebounds a game for the season.

Cordairus Dixon

School: Murphy

Height: 5-foot-9

Class: Junior

Position: Guard

The skinny: Dixon averaged 15.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists for the Panthers. He was an honorable mention Coastal Alabama All-Region pick in 2024.

JJ Bush

School: Theodore

Height: 6-foot-3

Class: Junior

Position: Forward

The skinny: Bush averaged 18.9 points and 8.6 rebounds for the Bobcats and had 67 steals. He was an honorable mention All-Coastal selection in 2024.

Kobe Johnson

School: St. Paul’s

Height: 6-foot-5

Class: Junior

Position: Forward

The skinny: Johnson averaged 16.8 points and 6.4 rebounds for the Saints.

Sema’j Law

School: Mobile Christian

Height: 5-foot-10

Class: Junior

Position: Guard

The skinny: Law averaged 14.6 points, 4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game for the Leopards. He also had 55 steals. He was an honorable mention Coastal Alabama selection a year ago.

SECOND TEAM

Derrick Florence

School: Baker

Height: 6-foot-7

Class: Senior

Position: Forward

The skinny: Florence averaged 16 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists for the Hornets. He was a third-team All-Coastal selection in 2024.

Joseph Taylor

School: Jackson

Height: 6-foot-3

Class: Junior

Position: Guard

The skinny: Taylor was as third team Class 4A All-State selection. He averaged 12.3 points, 5 rebounds and 4.4 assists in leading the Aggies to their second straight state title. He was the MVP of the state tournament. Taylor was an honorable mention All-Coastal selection in 2024.

Lucca Nelson

School: Spanish Fort

Height: 6-foot

Class: Senior

Position: Guard

The skinny: Nelson, a third-team Class 6A All-State selection, averaged 20.2 points and 3.9 rebounds for the Toros. He made 103 3-pointers and had 56 steals.

Houston Cunningham

School: Theodore

Height: 6-foot-1

Class: Senior

Position: Guard

The skinny: Cunningham was an honorable mention Class 6A All-State selection. He averaged 18.4 points and 5.5 rebounds for the Bobcats. He was an honorable mention All-Coastal selection in 2024.

Javion Dailey

School: Daphne

Height: 6-foot-1

Class: Senior

Position: Guard

The skinny: Dailey was an honorable mention Class 7A All-State selection. He averaged 20.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game in leading his team to the South Regional in Montgomery. He was an honorable mention All-Coastal selection in 2024.

FIRST TEAM

Desmond Williams

School: Baker

Height: 6-foot-2

Class: Senior

Position: Guard

The skinny: South Alabama signee was an honorable mention Class 7A All-State selection. He averaged 14.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists for David Armstrong’s team. Williams also was a first-team All-Coastal pick in 2024. He was the Newcomer of the Year in 2022 when he played for Saraland.

Corien Coleman

School: Williamson

Height: 6-foot-4

Class: Junior

Position: Guard

The skinny: Coleman was a third-team Class 5A All-State selection. He averaged 16.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 5 assists for the Lions. Coleman was the Coastal Newcomer of the Year in 2024.

Keeyun Chapman

School: Jackson

Height: 6-foot-5

Class: Junior

Position: Center

The skinny: Chapman was a first-team Class 4A All-State selection after leading his team to its second straight state title. He averaged 12.9 points and 8.9 rebounds for the Aggies. He was a second-team All-Coastal selection in 2024.

Aslan Jones

School: Vigor

Height: 6-foot-2

Class: Senior

Position: Forward

The skinny: Jones was a first-team Class 5A All-State selection after leading the Wolves to the state championship. He averaged 13.4 points and 6 rebounds a game. He was an honorable mention All-Coastal performer in 2024.

Ethan Stokes

School: McGill-Toolen

Height: 6-foot-7

Class: Senior

Position: Forward

The skinny: Stokes was a Class 6A third-team All-State selection. He led the Yellow Jackets to the final four, averaging 15.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Stokes as an honorable mention All-Coastal performer in 2024.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Jackson Gulley, Fairhope

The 6-foot-7 junior forward led the Pirates to a 23-7 record and an appearance in the Class 7A state semifinals. He averaged 21.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game for Ralph Watson’s team.

“He’s very gifted,” Watson said. “He’s long and talented. He made a difference in the game on all levels. He can handle it well. He’s a shot blocker. Big guys can really alter the game on both ends, and that is what Jackson does. What’s really impressive is he doesn’t act like he’s a star. He’s really a servant leader.”

Watson said Gulley, following a junior varsity game at Robertsdale during the season and without prompting, packed up the team’s sweat-stained uniforms to take back to the school.

“He does things that go beyond the numbers,” Watson said.

Gulley is Fairhope’s first Coastal Player of the Year since Riley Leonard in 2021. He also was a second-team Class 7A All-State selection.

“He’s a Division 1 player,” Watson said. “He has offers from UAB, Jacksonville State and Tennessee Tech and has heard from a lot of other schools. There are some top teams who are interested in Jackson, and he’s still young. He won’t turn 17 until later this spring. He needs to get thicker and stronger and become a little more physical, but he knows that.”

Recent Coastal POTY Winners

2025: Jackson Gulley, Fairhope

2024: Micah Caster, Jackson

2023: Labaron Philon, Baker

2022: Barry Dunning Jr., McGill-Toolen

2021: Riley Leonard, Fairhope

2020: Trey Bonham, UMS-Wright

2019: DeAntoni Gordon, LeFlore

2018: Mark Wilcox Jr., St. Luke’s

2017: Deontae Buskey, Daphne

2016: Tevin Brown, Fairhope

2015: Dazon Ingram, Theodore

2014: Dazon Ingram, Theodore

2013: T.J. Lang, McGill-Toolen

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

Lee Steele, Orange Beach

The 6-foot-6 freshman guard led the Makos to within one win of the final four. He averaged 16.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game for Chris Laatsch’s first Orange Beach team.

“He’s a great player on so many levels,” Laatsch said. “He’s also an extremely hard work and competitor. He became a leader for us, which is especially impressive considering he’s only a freshman. He’s a great teammate, an extremely coachable young man and a guy who wants to see his teammates have success. Lee is a joy to coach and a heck of a player.”

Steele scored 12 points to lead Orange Beach in the Makos’ South Regional final loss against eventual 4A champion Jackson.

“He’s got a chance to be one of the best players I’ve ever coached,” Laatsch said. “His work ethic at this age is as high as anyone I’ve been around. He’s a little different in the way he see things.”

Recent Newcomers of the Year

2025: Lee Steele, Orange Beach

2024: Corien Coleman, Williamson

2023: Terrel Johnson, Vigor

2022: Desmond Williams, Saraland

2021: Labaron Philon, Baker

COACH OF THE YEAR

Lee Riley, Vigor

The Wolves reached the 2024 Class 5A championship game, losing a heartbreaker against top-ranked Fairfield.

Vigor also lost stars Terrel Johnson and Al Holcombe off that team and changed coaches with Riley taking over for Jairus Jackson.

Riley not only got the Wolves back to Birmingham but helped them win the school’s first boys basketball title, beating Sylacauga in the Class 5A final.

The team finished 20-9.

“This year seemed like a whirlwind,” Riley said after the 5A title game. “It got really tough at times, but these guys were big for me. For a first-year coach, it was a blessing. These guys always had my back.”

Recent Coastal Alabama Coaches of the Year

2025: Lee Riley, Vigor

2024: Anthony Hayes, Jackson

2023: Garreth Trawick, St. Luke’s

2022: Michael Napp, UMS-Wright

2021: John Price, Cottage Hill; Jimbo Tolbert, Spanish Fort (Co-coaches)

2020: Shumbe Hunter, Williamson

2019: David Armstrong, Baker

2018: Mark Barnhizer, Alma Bryant

2017: Chad Applin, Faith Academy

HONORABLE MENTION PLAYERS

Landon Duckworth, Jackson

Andrew Williams, Blount

Devan Whitsett, Vigor

Ke’Viasz Malone, Vigor

Larry Edwards, Saraland

Jacob Evans, Saraland

Jake Pilger, UMS-Wright

D.J. Dials, UMS-Wright

DJ Marshall, Baldwin County

Koby Johnson, Baldwin County

CJ Gardner, Daphne

Kaden Nguyen, Cottage Hill

Joe Henley, Cottage Hill

Shadarius Toodle, Cottage Hill

Mason Dowling, Orange Beach

Tank Spears, Faith Academy

LaBarron Hunter, Faith Academy

Roderick Hamilton, Jackson

Hakeem Winston, Mobile Christian

Rico Prince Jr., Mobile Christian

Jayden Mangram, Murphy

De’Antonio Lesueur, LeFlore

Josh Gabel, Snook

Sam Vincent, Gulf Shores

Ronta Watson, Escambia Academy

Skyler Washington, Robertsdale

Kole Singler, Robertsdale

Cooper Helper, St. Michael

Bobby Bynum, Bayshore Christian

Milo Scott, Bayshore Christian

Monroe Partin, Bayside Academy

Hayes Murphy, Bayside Academy

Demarcus Broughton, Mary G. Montgomery

LaQuince McCants, Williamson

Mikel Bonner, Williamson

Silas Evans, Williamson

Johnathan Johnson, Williamson