Photos hy Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — It was a memorable winter on the basketball courts for the McKinleyville Panthers, and that’s reflected in the Humboldt Sports end-of-season awards.

The smallest school in the conference not only secured a first-ever Big 5 title outright this winter, but would also go on to win a second straight Dick Niclai Tournament championship.

And they succeeded with one of the most complete teams here on the North Coast with several players contributing along the way.

And that makes the Panthers the 2025/26 Humboldt Sports Boys Team of the Year, as they beat out a talented group of finalists, including Little 4 champion St. Bernard’s and North Coast Section champion Eureka.

And that’s not all for the McKinleyville boys.

Head coach Chris Davis has been named the 2025/26 Humboldt Sports Boys Coach of the Year after guiding his team to unprecedented success this past winter.

Davis has done an outstanding job in his three years in charge of the team and is quickly establishing the Panthers as one of the top programs — if not the top program — in the H-DNL.

During his time with the Panthers, Davis has now claimed two conference titles, including a shared championship in 2024, as well as finishing runners-up 12 months ago.

And he’s succeeding with different teams each year, a sure sign of his ability to develop talent and the work he and his player put in during the offseason.

Just as impressive, Davis always seems to have his players playing their best ball of the year at the business end of the season.

After two regular season losses to St. Bernard’s, Davis and the Panthers would not be denied in round three, claiming the Niclai title with one of the most complete team performances of the H-DNL season against the Crusaders at Lumberjack Arena.

The McKinleyville team featured several standouts, including Big 5 MVP and Humboldt Sports Player of the Year finalist Henry Turner IV, as well as Neil Moon, who was also shortlisted for player of the year honors, and comeback player of the year Bode Douglass, who was the Humboldt Sports Dick Niclai Tournament MVP.

All of those players succeeded in large part because of the job Davis has done, as he continues to work his magic at McKinleyville.

Congratulations to Davis and his players for all of their success this year and for being named our coach and team of the year.