The South Carolina High School Football Coaches Association revealed their 2024 All-State selections on Dec. 20 with 29 local athletes making the list. 

To be an All-State selection, an athlete must first be nominated by their school’s coaches. After that, the coaches association votes on who will be on each team. 

There is an overall All-State team and one for each classification. Players on the overall team are not on their classification team. 

Dutch Fork and Batesburg-Leesville led all Lexington County teams with six selections each. Dutch Fork had two athletes on the overall team and four on the 5A squad. All six Panthers players are on the 2A All-State team. 

Georgia Tech commit Elgin Sessions and South Carolina commit Josh Smith were on the overall team for Dutch Fork. The two were key parts of Dutch Fork’s dominant defense, which forced six shutouts en route to a 5A Division I state championship. 

Maurice Anderson, Cayden McFadden, Derek Smith and K.J. Smith were selected to the 5A team. 

For Batesburg-Leesville, quarterback Tanner Watkins earned a spot on the 2A All-State team after a record-breaking year where he became the school’s leader in many passing categories. Joining him are teammates Amadre Wooden, Jamerius Clark, KD Whitt, John Sawyer and Christian Burkett.  

This group led the Panthers to one of their best seasons in over a decade, finishing 12-1 after an undefeated regular season. Batesburg-Leesville advanced to the third round of the postseason before losing to eventual 2A champions Clinton. 

Irmo had the most athletes on the overall All-State team with three. 

Donovan Murph earned a spot after earning over 1,000 yards receiving and 12 touchdowns this season. Ryan Love got a nod after being one of the best blockers in the state as Irmo’s starting center. 

Quarterback A.J. Brand was selected in the all-purpose spot after finishing the year with over 2,000 yards passing and 2,000 yards rushing. The Virginia Tech commit accounted for 57 total touchdowns. 

White Knoll’s Devin Geronomi is on the overall team as a defensive back. Teammate Landon Sharpe was chosen for the 5A All-State team.

Matt McAuley was the only Lexington player chosen for either the overall or 5A All-State teams. McAuley was selected for the overall team after having a strong year at linebacker for the Wildcats. He finished this season with 115 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, four sacks and five blocked punts. He also spent some time on the offensive side of the ball and played long snapper. 

Chapin and River Bluff also had athletes selected to the 5A All-State squad. Brady Albro, Khalen Bostick and Caden Muskus represent the Eagles. Stephen Collier and Tripp Bryant represent the Gators. 

Gilbert leads the area with two players selected to the 4A team. Tight end Connor Gooding and defensive back Wynn Meetze were their selections. 

Gray Collegiate and Airport each had one 4A All-State player. Micheal Boulware represents the War Eagles after recording 133 tackles, five sacks and two forced fumbles, including a recovery for a touchdown. Montrelle Keys was Airport’s selection and finished the year with 98 tackles, four sacks and two forced fumbles. 

Lastly, Swansea’s Kasiah Harkless-Adams earned a spot on the 3A All-State team after being a key part of the team’s turnaround this year. Harkless-Adams led Swansea’s defense as the team went from 0-10 in 2023 to 7-4 in 2024. 

2024 All-State team selections 

Overall All-State

Donovan Murph - Receiver - Irmo

Ryan Love - Offensive Line - Irmo

A.J. Brand - All-Purpose - Irmo

Josh Smith - Defensive Line - Dutch Fork

Elgin Sessions - Defensive Back  - Dutch Fork

Devin Geronomi - Defensive Back - White Knoll

Matt McAuley - Linebacker - Lexington

5A All-State

Brady Albro - Quarterback - Chapin 

Landon Sharpe - Quarterback - White Knoll

Maurice Anderson - Running Back - Dutch Fork

Khalen Bostick - Receiver - Chapin

Stephen Collier - Receiver - River Bluff

Caden Muskus - Offensive Line - Chapin

Cayden McFadden - Tight End - Dutch Fork

Gavin Stam - Linebacker - Chapin

Derek Smith - Defensive Back - Dutch Fork

K.J. Smith - Athlete - Dutch Fork

Tripp Bryant - Specialist - River Bluff

4A All-State

Connor Gooding - Tight End - Gilbert

Micheal Boulware - Linebacker - Gray Collegiate

Montrelle Keys- Linebacker - Airport

Wynn Meetze - Defensive Back - Gilbert

3A All-State

Kasiah Harkless-Adams - Defensive Line - Swansea

2A All-State

Tanner Watkins - Quarterback - Batesburg-Leesville

Amadre Wooden - Running Back - Batesburg-Leesville

Jamerius Clark - Receiver - Batesburg-Leesville 

John Sawyer - Defensive Line - Batesburg-Leesville

Christian Burkett - Linebacker - Batesburg-Leesville

KD Whitt - Athlete - Batesburg-Leesville