By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
The 2025-26 basketball season begins this week for Union City High School’s two teams, with each playing three Hall of Champions games.
The Golden Tornadoes will open the year with a road doubleheader at Humboldt on Tuesday before playing their first home games on Thursday against Crockett County. A trip to Lake County on Saturday night will round out a stretch of three twinbills in five nights for UC.
Union City’s coming campaigns are filled with high hopes and anticipation as the Twister girls welcome back four starters from last season, and the Tornado boys begin a new era with the two programs moving back into Class 2A after spending 18 of the previous 20 years in Single-A.
The UC girls are coming off a 23-win season, one that saw them claim their first district tournament championship in 11 years. All-State guard Sh’nyla Moss headlines an impressive list of returnees that includes fellow juniors Blair McKinnis, Uriah Davis, and sophomore Alli McMillan.
Getting over the hump of the regional semifinals will be the No. 1 goal for the Lady Tornadoes after twice falling just short of the sectionals the past two years.
Union City’s boys will sport a different look with Bill Kail taking over the tradition-rich program following the retirement of longtime head coach Shane Sisco, who led the Twisters to 592 wins and a pair of state titles in 26 years.
Kail, who also serves as vice principal at Union City Elementary School, is no stranger to the program and its players. He had been the head coach of the UC Middle School program for the past several years, compiling a 31-9 record over the last two seasons. Before that, he won 180 games in 12 seasons at Obion County Central High School.
Kail will be challenged to replace the bulk of the offense from last season’s team that went 18-13 and won the District 14A championship.
The cupboard is hardly bare, however, if inexperienced. Tashun Gentry, Hollister Johnson, and Kobe Maddox all got valuable playing time a year ago and will enter the season with great promise.
Union City’s teams will join Westview, Gibson County, Peabody, and Ripley in a newly aligned District 14-2A.
GIRLS
Mason Storey has directed the UC girls to 39 victories over the past two seasons and believes this year’s squad will be able to step up in classification and be in the mix immediately to advance deep into the postseason with its proven experience.
“Even though we’ll be in a district that’s produced three of the last four Double-A state champions (Westview twice, Gibson County), I feel like we can compete immediately with those teams,” the coach claimed. “We’ll be coming from one of the better 1A leagues in the state and one that had the Single-A state champion (Greenfield), and the make-up of the teams we saw last year and what we’ll see this year is familiar.
“We’ve been close the last couple of years to reaching our goal of the sectional, and we’ve talked about elevating our work ethic, paying more attention to detail, and making the ultimate commitment this season. We have to execute better in crunch time. We need to do the little things better, and we have to put the ball in the hole while continuing to play good defense.”
The dynamic Moss, tough-as-nails McKinnis, and talented Davis will make up a strong core of this year’s squad.
Moss is the complete package, having earned widespread accolades last season, averaging 18.5 ppg while also earning Defensive MVP in District 14A. She scored in double figures in 30 of her team’s 33 games, shooting nearly 85 percent from the free throw line while also posing an offensive threat from the perimeter and on the move.
McKinnis not only brings toughness and grit but has also become a legitimate offensive threat. Fearless on both ends of the court, she’ll be expected to do much of the “dirty work” again, including rebounding and as a lockdown defender.
The talented Davis will be a match-up problem for foes, with her length and emerging skills inside. She was a top-flight defender a year ago in the second half of the season and will be looked to for points and boards in the paint.
McMillan is a streaky shooter, capable of putting together big runs on her own. Her expanding game will also include the driving element this year, making her even more explosive.
The other position in the team’s starting five will be filled by either LaRiyah Gordon, Addy Launer, or Ainsley Sadler – each of whom brings different qualities to the table. Gordon is a good defender, Launer is an excellent shooter, and Sadler possesses a high basketball IQ, according to her coach.
Others expected to contribute include LaKiyah Gordon, who’s recovering from a knee injury, and freshmen Addie Steward and Amberly Morgan.
BOYS
Kail believes his transition from the middle school back to the high school ranks, where he enjoyed past success, will be made easier because of earlier relationships formed with his players.
“I hope it’s a game changer, and I think it will be,” he said. “We know each other, and they have responded well and worked hard. I have a great coaching staff, and having those relationships already with the guys is huge. I truly believe it helps the learning curve.”
The Tornadoes will enter the season with size and potential, but are short on experience, with just two players (Johnson and Maddox) with more than 100 career points. Gone from last year’s squad is Kail’s eldest son, Ben, an All-State guard who averaged over 18 ppg and scored well over 1,000 career points, among four starters.
The versatile 6-5 Johnson is one of five players on the roster who are 6-3 or taller.
“We do have some size, and that’s something the program hasn’t had a lot of in the last few years,” Kail said. “That will hopefully allow us to run some high-low sets and will give us a legitimate presence in the post. And it should help us come postseason time, when it often turns into a half-court game.
“Our biggest concern is experience – or the lack thereof. We have to be able to handle adversity and fight through the times when our lack of seasoning shows up. We can’t pout. We have to stay in the fight and get a little better every day.”
Kail said he’d like to play fast and pressure the ball, but said the opponent would dictate his game-by-game strategy. He insisted there likely won’t be “an offensive group and a defensive group” like in recent seasons.
In addition to the multi-talented Johnson, Maddox will be expected to balance multiple roles, like ball-handling and scoring. Gentry’s athleticism is a plus, while sophomore Will Kail will be looked to for perimeter shooting and rebounding.
J.B. Thompson, eligible after transferring last year, is long and athletic and has good potential, according to his coach. Kail also mentioned Brayden Chism as a great hustler and said freshmen Kaden Robinson, Brayden Marshall, and Ayden Lewis would be “thrown into the mix early” and learn on the run.
“It’ll take our best effort every time out for us to have a chance to win,” Kail concluded. “Obviously, with the move up in classification, we’ll be seeing better competition consistently. I do think that we’ve played many of these teams on the middle school level and had success with them, which will help with our confidence.
“If we have the right mentality and continue to improve, we believe nobody will want to see us come tournament time.”
Tip-off for all UCHS home games this season is set for 6 p.m.