Tug Valley won the Class A high school basketball championship in West Virginia with a 10-point win over the No. 1 seed. The Panthers made a special stop on their way home from the game.
They made sure to celebrate with one of their superfans who could not make the trip.
In a year where high school basketball has been oversaturated by negativity, this is a great reminder of what it’s all about. It is a moment that the local community will never forget.
Tug Valley won the West Virginia high school basketball championship.
Tug Valley High School serves the rural northern portion of Mingo County, West Virginia. Although it has a Williamson postal address, the school is actually located right on the Kentucky border in Naugatuck.
Williamson has a total population of ~3,000. Naugatuck has a total population of ~760. The local economy is largely fueled by coal mining. We’re talking really small town.
Tug Valley opened in 1987 with around 650 students in Grades 10-12. It enrolls approximately 335 students in Grades 9-12 today as a Class A school, the smallest (lowest) division of athletics in the Mountain State.
The Panthers claim 18 state championships. Cheer has 11. Girls basketball has one. Boys basketball has six. The boys basketball team has built something of a dynasty in recent years.
Tug Valley won back-to-back state championships in 2024 and 2025. It returned to the state championship game over the weekend as the No. 2 seed against Greater Beckley Christian.
Many of the players got custom haircuts for the state tournament.
Braydun Ferris (Tug Valley H.S.) haircut appreciation post: #wvprepbb pic.twitter.com/jlkalbpFBz
— Joe Brocato (@joebrowvm) March 19, 2026
They went on to defeat the Crusaders by a finals score of 64-54 to win their third-straight title.
Game highlights (Class A State Championship): No. 2 Tug Valley 64, No. 1 Greater Beckley Christian 54: #wvprepbb pic.twitter.com/EjQdw1Tzfm
— MetroNews Sports (@MetroNewsSports) March 21, 2026
The Panthers are just the seventh team in state history to three-peat. Their win was historic.
The Panthers stopped the team bus to celebrate with their biggest fans.
West Virginia plays its high school basketball championships at the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center in Charleston, West Virginia. It is located 90 minutes from Williamson and Naugatuck.
A large portion of the local community made the trip to support Tug Valley throughout the tournament. They also made sure the team had proper accommodations during their stay.
“You know, they treat those kids like rock stars. We eat good, we stay there at the Embassy [Suites] all week. So, you know, the crowd is our sixth man,” head coach Garland Thompson told WHCSTV.
There were two Panthers superfans who were missing at the state championship. This specific couple has always supported the boys basketball team. They go to as many home games as they can. The wife worked for the school for many years.
Unfortunately, they were not able to make the trip for health reasons.
That did not stop Tug Valley from including them in the celebration! The team bus stopped by their house on their trip back to campus from Charleston to remind them just how much they mean to the program and to thank them for their unwavering support.
People from a big city can’t comprehend small town America where the local team wins a state championship (3rd in a row) & stops on the way home to celebrate with a fan who couldn’t make it to the game.
— Derrick Evans (@DerrickEvans4WV) March 23, 2026
This is Tug Valley High School from the coal fields of West Virginia.. pic.twitter.com/E5kPtTj3gY
In an era of high school sports that is often focused on money, and image, this is what it is really about. You can see the joy on the couple’s faces as the players walk up the driveway. It was a gesture that neither they nor the players will soon forget. Shoutout to the Panthers for such a special moment.