- February 4, 2026
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Last season had its lows for the Braden River High boys basketball team.
Serious lows.
As the weeks turned into months, results on the court didn’t offer much joy to the Pirates.
At one point, they dropped 11 consecutive games, looking lost throughout December of 2024. Victories seemed well out of their reach.
Times have changed.
Not only did Braden River High win nine of its last 12 games that season, but as the players approach the 2025-26 postseason, those wins have kept on coming.
“They’re loving on each other, playing for each other,” said Pirates Coach Dwight Gilmer. “That’s really what it’s all about. That’s what they’ve done.”
Braden River finished its regular season 20-5 and earned the No. 2 seed for the seven-team FHSAA Class 5A-District 9 tournament. It’s already the first 20-win season of Gilmer’s four-year tenure, and in the near future, it would seem more wins are on the way.
Over a decade has passed since the Pirates last reached 20 victories. Former coach and current Athletic Director Matt Nesser led the Pirates to a 24-5 finish in 2011-12, though they only reached the 7A regional quarterfinals before bowing out.
Now, the Pirates enter their district tournament red-hot by winning 12 of their last 13 games.
“Everybody’s stepping up,” said junior guard Anquan Polynice. “If one person had a 20-point game the last game, then the next game — even if they don’t have it — someone else is stepping up to get 15 or 20. It’s not just one person.”
As of Jan. 27, Braden River ranks No. 12 in 5A, and at No. 94 in the entire state, along with being the best team in East County. The Out-of-Door Academy and Lakewood Ranch High rank No. 290 and No. 528, respectively.
To climb the statewide ladder, the Pirates first had to overcome a lack of continuity. There was little of it when the players first gathered together in late October 2025.
Former sophomore guard Lawaiian Long transferred to Saint Stephen’s Episcopal. A pair of seniors, guard/forward Deven Womack and guard Jaron Fields, both graduated.
That left the squad without three of its top-four scorers from 2024-25 — including Long’s team-high 15.4 points per game. Polynice, though, stayed after posting 15 points per game as a sophomore.
Then Braden River welcomed in Anthony Bailey, a junior guard from Hillsborough, who had played on the AAU circuit with Polynice before.
“(The players) came in as a collection of parts, and now, we’ve grown into a team,” Gilmer said. “People are starting to understand their roles, their responsibilities, buying into our culture and what we’re trying to get done.”
Braden River has played smarter, balanced basketball on the offensive end. Six players average six or more points per game, and though that may not sound all that impressive, it’s a world of difference compared to the four such scorers from last season.
Top-heavy teams often struggle year. Opponents do their homework, and more often than not, are prepared to cut off sources of offensive oxygen.
In the past, opponents could contain Long or Polynice, and the Pirates wouldn’t have reliable options outside of them. But they’re deeper now.
Junior forward Jalen Byrd, junior forward Jaron Blanding, senior guard Kerry Peacock and senior guard Keith Potter are ready to contribute if called upon. When Braden River needs Polynice or Bailey to take the game into their own hands, they can do that.
“We’re like bread and butter,” Bailey said. “If he’s not doing something, I can step up for him. If I’m not doing it, then he steps in for me.”
Polynice puts up 13.9 points and 3.9 assists per game — both team-best marks — alongside 12.8 points and 2.6 steals per game (borh second-best) from Bailey.
The jury’s still out on an accurate comparison for their complementary styles of play.
“I don’t know about bread and butter,” Gilmer said. “More like peanut butter and jelly.”
What’s certain is that the Pirates have jelled during a dominant 13-game stretch to close out their regular season. They averaged 67.4 points per game in that stretch while outscoring opponents by an average of 19.8.
Dating back even further to Dec. 4, the team has assembled a 19-3 record, with all three defeats coming by five points or less. Braden River fell to Cardinal Mooney, 43-41, on Dec. 20, to Santa Fe Catholic, 56-51, on Jan. 2 and to Parrish Community, 63-60, on Jan. 13.
Those three opponents have a combined record of 59-13 this season, as of Jan. 29, and Santa Fe Catholic is the reigning 2A state runner-up. There’s an alternate reality where Braden River carries a 22-game winning streak into the postseason if those fourth quarters went differently.
But where the Pirates find themselves is with plenty of success, and with momentum for the road ahead.
“We try to play a brand of basketball that, once the game is over, the other players say, ‘Man, I don’t want to play them anymore,’” Gilmer said.
It was just over a year ago when stringing together two or three victories was an indicator of success.
Times have changed, indeed.
“From the start, we always knew we were athletic. The main thing was being a team,” Bailey said. “But now we’ve got that under control. I don’t think anything can stop us now.”
