South Carolina Basketball State Champion Westwood Opens New Season With 6 A.M. Practice

After winning its first state championship, Westwood returns to Class 4A with a younger roster, new leaders and the same early-morning work ethic that fueled last season's success.

Westwood head coach Trent Robinson (left) is guarded by forward Chase Marshall during a practice drill | Thomas Grant Jr.

The road to another South Carolina high school basketball state championship started before sunrise Wednesday morning at Westwood High School.

At 6 a.m., while much of Columbia was still asleep, head coach Trent Robinson had the Redhawks back on the court at "The Castle," repeating the early-morning practice tradition that helped deliver the program's first state title last season.

But the challenge ahead looks considerably different. Westwood moves from Class 5A Division II to Class 4A and must replace its two leading scorers, leaving senior guard Cylan McLeod to lead a younger, less experienced team with championship expectations.

New Classification, New Leaders

Westwood will not have an opportunity to ‘defend’ its title. The realignment completed last year by the S.C. High School League moved the Northeast Columbia school back down to Class 4A.

The Redhawks still have familiar foes in Region 4-4A like Richland Northeast, Dreher, Lugoff-Elgin and A.C. Flora. What’s different this year are the absence of top scorers Jayden Crews and DeMarcus Thomas.

The All-State backcourt tandem combined for 27 points a game. They are provided timely leadership during critical games against the likes of Ridge View and Greenville.

Westwood now turns to guard Cylan McLeod to fill that void. The 6-0 senior is the lone returnee who averaged double figures last season and had the highest assists and steals per game.

“We will go as Cylan goes,” Robinson said. “ He’s going to have to be good every game.”

Guards Desmond Grant and sophomore BaBar Johnson also fall in the same category for expectations. In the case of the 6-foot 5 Johnson, he’s going to be challenged to provide rebounding and defense.

Junior guard Jah’lil Jenkins is considered an ‘X-Factor’, according to Robinson. With the Redhawks utilizing a guard-dominated lineup with only two players under six feet, they will need to rely upon their athleticism to overcome any experience concerns.

“In some respect, we have some type of team that thinks we’re better than we are and some people may think we’re better than we are,” Robinson said. “Right now, we’re young. We’re going to be playing a lot of guys that haven’t played for me last year. So we’ve got to figure that out and we’ve got to figure that out really fast.”

2026-27 SCHEDULE

Westwood will get tested in non-region play during games as part of three basketball events. It faces Class 5A Division I runner-up James Island during the Epic Hoops Thanksgiving on Nov. 25, Gray Collegiate Academy on Dec. 5 as part of the Stars and Stripes Showcase at Ben Lippen School and defending Class A champion C.A. Johnson at the Bojangles Bash at Ridge View High School.

Nov. 20 – AMERICAN LEADERSHIP ACADEMY

Nov. 23 – CATAWBA RIDGE

Nov. 25 – EPIC HOOPS THANKSGIVING

Dec. 1 – SPRING VALLEY

Dec. 4 – at Blythewood

Dec. 5 – STARS AND STRIPES SHOWCASE

Dec. 8 – at Spring Valley

Dec. 9 – at River Bluff

Dec. 11 – BLYTHEWOOD

Dec. 12 – BOJANGLES BASH

Dec. 22-23 – WILSON HIGH SHOWCASE

Jan. 5 – CHAPIN

Jan. 8 – LUGOFF-ELGIN

Jan. 12 – at Dreher

Jan. 15 – at Lancaster

Jan. 19 – at A.C. Flora

Jan. 22 – RICHLAND NORTHEAST

Jan. 26 – LUGOFF-ELGIN

Jan. 29 – at Dreher

Feb. 2 – at Lancaster

Feb. 5 – A.C. FLORA

Feb. 9 – at Richland Northeast