2021: Lexington County Players To Watch

In addition to being home to Historic Columbia Speedway, Lexington County Baseball Stadium and Columbia Metropolitan Airport, Lexington County in suburban Columbia is the home area for some of the premier girls basketball talent in the state of South Carolina. &nbsp; And among that litany of talent are several players that have finished their careers as underclassmen and are preparing to make that transition to being upperclassmen as they look to finish their high school careers on a high note. &nbsp; Here are four from the Class of 2021 in Lexington County to be on the lookout for in 2020-21. &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="177512" first="McKenzie" last="Lott"] – 5’3” – 2021 – PG – Chapin High School</strong> – Thjs talented point guard has given Chapin basketball fans a “lott” to be proud of – including last season when she averaged nearly 11 (10.6) points per game for the Eagles – the most she has averaged in her high school career. Along with ability to drive to the basket and shoot from midrange, she also can make plenty of shots from long range. While she garners more headlines for her basketball play, which includes her travel play A’ja Wilson Elite, one will also see Lott on Chapin’s softball diamond as she plays for that team as well. &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="176228" first="Reagan" last="Rozier"] - </strong><strong style="font-size: 1rem">5’11” – 2021 – C – River Bluff High School</strong><span style="font-size: 1rem"> – One would be hard-pressed to find a bigger rags to riches girls hoops story in not only the Midlands but also the Palmetto State than River Bluff. The Gators earned its first postseason victory last year after going winless the season before. Rozier played a key part in the Gators’ almost instantaneous turnaround in fortunes. Rozier’s 24 points she scored and 14 rebounds she brought down in River Bluff’s season-opening win over Silver Bluff set the tone for both herself and the team. Her rebounding ability allowed her to post seven double-doubles in 2020-21.</span> &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="177507" first="Paris" last="Gartmon"] – 5’8” – 2021 – PF – Gilbert High School</strong> – Gilbert is another school that can say its 2019-20 was successful because of its noteworthy turnaround. Gartmon was a key piece in the winning puzzle for James Wright’s Indians that finished with a 12-9 mark for its first winning season since that of 2012-13. As she displayed in her previous season at Gilbert, she can score (as she did a lot when she notched 18 in an 87-35 blowout of Edisto) and can rebound (when she hauled in 13 mid-December vs. Lexington). &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="177508" first="Nina" last="Johnson"] – 5’9” – 2021 – PF – Irmo High School</strong> – With five seniors having graduated from last year’s team, juniors such as Johnson will possibly play a more prominent role for Monica Williams’ Yellowjackets as those juniors become seniors. Johnson is another that brings scoring prowess and rebounding ability with her (such as in late January in a 71-40 win over Spring Valley when she managed 17 points and 11 boards for a double-double) along with three steals. Johnson will return to a Yellowjackets team that came within one game of the Class AAAAA state title game so she will have more than enough motivation to conclude her high school career with an exclamation point.