Led by the largest senior class head coach Stephen Gregg has ever had, the South Greene Lady Rebels will enter the 2025-26 season looking to regroup and improve.
Coach Gregg will enter his 16th season as South Greene’s Head Coach and is joined by Assistant Coach Amy Hawk.
Last year didn’t go quite how anybody wanted it to. The Lady Rebels finished 10-21 (5-5) with a 4th-place finish in the regular season standings and a 3rd-place finish in the District 1-2A Tournament. South Greene suffered an early exit again with a loss to Alcoa in the Region 1-2A quarterfinals. The large senior class of Lady Rebels will eye for improvement on the court and team chemistry in their new season ahead.
“I know the kid’s attitudes have been better than they’ve been in a very long time. The girls are locked in. Sometimes you have teams that have a lot of friction and turmoil and a lot of stuff here and there. So far, it’s been just an easy road. I’m hoping that will help transition and continue on the court as well. They’ve been a fun group to be around. Just eager to roll up our sleeves and go see what we can do.”
South Greene has no set starting lineup at the moment. The starters will be determined by effort and how they perform daily in practices.
One player who you can almost certainly expect to start and carry the largest load will be senior Kortnei Bailey. A player who is tough down low, but has proven to be a lethal sharpshooter on the perimeter. Her role is unknown at the moment, but she will be a key contributor this season.
“She was a lot of team’s focus last year. The game prep was to find a way to slow Kortnei down. Kortnei is a versatile player and can play inside. She plays bigger than her size and she can handle the ball and play outside. Not real sure what her home position is going to be, but she’s going to be asked to do a lot more,” Gregg detailed.
Ari Hoese is a guard who has started for most of her high school career and has the shooting ability from the outside to make a difference in games.
“Ari is one of our most experienced players returning. She’s got some height and ability to help bring the ball up when people are pressing. She’s a streaky shooter. One of the better shooters on the team,” Gregg stated.
Samantha Birdwell is another senior who has experience in the starting lineup. “Another senior who is a competitor. She likes to play bigger than she is sometimes. She would try to take down a giant with her stature,” Coach Gregg said.
Alexa Gabbard is an athletic player who has some experience in the starting rotation too and is one of the best defenders South Greene has.
“She’s another one who’s kind of better on defense than she is offense, but she’s worked really hard in the offseason to improve and hone in on that,” Coach Gregg said.
Reagan Arrowood is returning for her senior season as a post player. Coach Gregg described her game by saying, “She’s a steady player who doesn’t wow you with her presence, but she doesn’t do a lot to hurt you. So, she’s a very steady player.”
Paisley Brobeck is a physical senior that can play hard in the paint when healthy. “Paisley is a natural competitor. She ain’t afraid to get in there and mix it up and use some fouls.”
Nevaeh Davis gained some valuable experience last year that she’s looking to put to use in her senior year. “She’s feisty on defense and she’s a streaky shooter. When she’s hot she can fill it up for us,” Coach Gregg said.
Trinity Borner played off the bench last season and hopes to make a difference on the court in her senior season. Gregg said, “She’s a better defensive player than offensive player and I think it’s just a lack of confidence on the offensive side of the ball. She’s got some strengths on the offensive side. On the defensive side she does do a good job at finding the rebound. She’s one of those players that knows where the balls coming off the rim.”
Macy Roberts is a post that can use her size to her benefit and knows how to draw fouls. “When she gets in there, we realized we’ve got to try to feed her the ball and try to let her do what she can do quick. She’s one of the better players I’ve ever had at drawing fouls,” Coach Gregg explained.
Brie Wilson is a newcomer to the program. She recently moved to Tennessee from Oregon and hopes to see the floor and provide valuable minutes in the Lady Rebels program. Coach Gregg described her by saying, “I do see an upside to her and her ability. She can go out there and probably play on the inside and do some good things for us. She’s another one who knows how to rebound and is confident with the ball.”
The two sophomores on South Greene’s roster are Madison Fillers and Sadie Knowles.
“(Fillers) is a lefty who can penetrate. She’s got a little length to her. She’s trying to fit in where she can help the team the most. (Knowles) has really grown fundamentally since she came in as a freshman,” Gregg said. “She’s another kid who’s just going to harass you on defense. She doesn’t leave much meat on the bone. She’s one of those types of players.”
South Greene won’t be a finished product any time soon. Coach Gregg knows it will be a process to figure out which starting lineup and rotations work the best, but hope to have things worked out by the time conference season rolls around in January and February.
“I don’t think this is going to be something we have figured out. I think we’re just going to be scratching the surface. And it may be up ‘til Christmas before something really takes off,”
South Greene opens up the regular season with Providence Academy on Friday, November 21st. They have David Crockett, Grainger, University High, and North Greene on their non-conference home/away schedule.
The District 1-2A landscape will look mostly the same with one subtraction and addition. South Greene is joined by West Greene, Chuckey-Doak, Happy Valley, Johnson County, and newcomer Unicoi County. Hampton moved back down to Class 1A and Unicoi filled their spot.
The girls will compete in three separate holiday tournaments this year. They’re traveling to Grainger to compete in the Grainger Invitational over Thanksgiving break and will compete in the Big H BBQ Classic at Cherokee the week before Christmas. South Greene surprised many by opting out of playing in the Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies’ Classic and will instead travel to Florida the week after Christmas to compete in the Innisfree Classic in Pensacola.
The South Greene Rebels are set to take on the 2025-26 basketball season. We got the chance to catch up with them at today's media day.
Make sure you follow us to catch all the content coming your way!#FirstHorizon pic.twitter.com/WyYDQUuK4c
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) November 12, 2025
The Lady Rebels start their regular season next Friday and are ready for action. We sat down with Coach Stephen Gregg for a quick interview on Media Day yesterday. Hear what his thoughts were going into the season. pic.twitter.com/LAHCcW36Cu
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) November 13, 2025
Lady Rebels senior Kortnei Bailey (@bailey_kortnei) detailed what her thoughts are heading into her senior season in a large class full of ten seniors. pic.twitter.com/Ilji9t5XH4
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) November 13, 2025
South Greene senior Ari Hoese spoke with us at Media Day yesterday about her excitement and anticipation going into her senior year. pic.twitter.com/VoYhSWZWrM
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) November 13, 2025
