Top 10 male athletes since 2000: Some of the best three-sport stars of their time

A lot can happen in 25 years.

Players and coaches come and go like changes of the seasons, leaving legacies that often stand the test of time.

We at the Times Recorder are paying tribute to those players with our Top 25 players in the last 25 years, which counts down the best our area has produced in that time.

Here are our top 10:

10. Dorian Bass, John Glenn, 2003

"The Bassmaster," a 6-foot-1 guard with inside-out skills, was the gold standard in the MVL during a four-year varsity career that ended with a pair of first-team All-Ohio honors and 1,574 points. He landed a full scholarship at Division II Findlay for his efforts.

He averaged at least 19 points as a sophomore, junior and senior, and he swept Player of the Year honors in the Division II East District (media), District 12 (coaches) and MVL (coaches) his final two seasons. He played in the Ohio North-South and Ohio-Kentucky All-Star games as a senior.

For good measure, he was also a four-year letterman in baseball, where he earned All-MVL and All-East District.

His teams at Findlay won 109 games in four years, where he lettered each season, scored 1,025 points and earned All-Great Lakes Athletic Conference honors as a senior. The Oilers were ranked No. 1 in Division II his sophomore season and reached the Elite Eight.

9. Brady Harrison, Morgan, 2002

Like Cannon, Harrison was a true impact player in three sports for teams that did plenty of winning.

He was a three-year starter at quarterback for back-to-back playoff teams in Division III, Region 11 in 1999-2000, passing for more than 5,000 yards in an era where few teams had the capability. His Raiders were 10-0 his junior year.

Perhaps the most memorable game came his senior year, when he passed for 469 yards in a game that New Lexington's Brady Harrison rushed for 450 in a 60-43 Panthers win at Jim Rockwell Stadium. At the time, it was among the highest scoring games in state history.

'We had no weaknesses': Morgan football dominated in 2000

He led the basketball team to a Division II district title as a senior — the first in school history — after he hit the game-winning shot in the sectional against Cambridge. He had 24 points and seven assists in an 84-81 regional semifinal loss to unbeaten Washington Court House — Harrison's 3 tied the game at 81 with 27 seconds left.

The baseball team won a sectional title his senior season, where Harrison was the starting shortstop.

Following high school, he earned a bachelor’s degree in education and coached at Bedford and Cuyahoga Falls before returning to the Muskingum Valley as a high school principal at West Muskingum.

8. Cameron West, Tri-Valley, 2008

Before he became a successful coach at his alma mater — first as an assistant under Justin Buttermore and now the head honcho — West was a driving force in the success of three programs during his playing days.

A three-year starter, West quarterbacked the Scotties to their first playoff appearance in 2006 and their first playoff win in 2007. He amassed 5,440 career passing yards and almost 2,000 on the ground as the driving force that transformed the Scotties from doormat to perennial power.

He passed for 2,800 yards as a senior, when he earned first-team All-Ohio in Division II by the Associated Press.

West also started three years at point guard for some of the best Scottie teams in school history, including a Division II district champion in 2006. They won MVL titles in each of his seasons as a starter.

Some around Dresden felt baseball was his best sport, as evidenced by a first-team All-Ohio senior season that capped a four-year varsity career. West, a catcher, batted .381 with six homers and 32 RBIs while striking out just five times in 84 at-bats.

Equally important, he was the catcher for ace pitcher Logan Lewis, who turned a 1.75 ERA and four complete games as a senior into a spot on some championship teams at Marietta College.

As for West? He kept winning on the gridiron, helping Mount Union win the 2008 Division III national championship.

He entered the Tri-Valley Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016.

7. Logan Aronhalt, Zanesville, 2008

This is one "Bear" who had some serious claws on the basketball floor.

Aronhalt, the youngest son of legendary ZHS boys basketball coach Scott Aronhalt, only played one sport. But he was a rare four-year starter in basketball during a time when the Blue Devils were among the best programs statewide.

He finished as the school's all-time leading scorer at 1,623 points before a four-year career at the University of Albany, capped by a senior season in which he averaged 23.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per game and led the Blue Devils to a 20-3 record. They knocked off the Division I (Newark) and Division II (Chillicothe) state champions during the regular season.

The versatile 6-4 forward was a Mr. Basketball candidate and first-team All-Ohio in Division I, while he was Player of the Year by the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association. That earned him a spot in the prestigious Ohio-Kentucky All-Star Game.

Prior to that, he led three straight ZHS teams to the Division II Athens regional — twice they reached the Elite Eight. He was a first-team All-Ohio pick as a junior.

Aronhalt later played at Maryland as a graduate student, where he shot 44 percent on 3-pointers and was an Academic All-ACC member in 2013. He scored a career-high 26 points that season at Boston College.

The following year he was a graduate assistant for a Terrapins squad that reached the NCAA Tournament in Columbus. He later enlisted in the Navy.

6. Leondre Crosby, Zanesville, 2016

Whether it was blasting through a hole or laying a vicious hit, the 6-0, 220-pound Crosby was a physical presence on the football field for Chad Grandstaff's Blue Devils.

Crosby was a rare three-sport star at ZHS, but especially thrived on the gridiron, earning first-team All-Ohio at linebacker as a senior while rushing for more than 1,500 yards for a Division III, Region 9 champion. He started two years at linebacker.

In wrestling, he was a Division II state qualifier that came within one win of earning All-Ohio honors at 220 pounds as a senior. He was the school's first state qualifier in three decades.

He was also a Division I All-Ohioan in track, where he placed fourth in the shot as a senior with a heave of 58-9. He remains the school-record holder at 61-9 1/4, set at the district as a senior. It was his fourth All-Ohio award in three years counting two in football.

How good of an athlete was Crosby? He also ran on the Blue Devils' 4x100 relay team as a junior that broke 43 seconds.

He played football at Walsh and St. Francis and is currently playing professionally in Mexico.

5. Jake Heagen, John Glenn, 2011

When it came to all-around athletes, precious few compared to the 6-4 Heagen, who turned a heralded four-year varsity basketball career into a full scholarship with Findlay.

Heagen twice was named All-Ohio in basketball — first-team as a senior — where he led John Glenn to a Division II regional final in 2011 after a 30-point, 15-rebound effort in the semifinals against Chillicothe. One game prior, he nailed the go-ahead 3 in the closing seconds in the district finals against Carrollton.

All told, he averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds per game, enough to earn a spot in the North-South All-Star Game. He had 20 games of at least 17 points as a senior and finished with 1,376 career points.

That only told part of his story.

He also averaged more than 40 yards per punt in a football career that saw him also excel as a wide receiver. In baseball, he was a unanimous first-team All-MVL pick as a senior, helping the Muskies win the league title.

He was a mainstay at Findlay, averaging 15.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game as a senior. He finished with 1, 280 career points.

4. Drew Cannon, New Lexington, 2002

The Muskingum Valley League’s career rushing leader, with more than 5,000 yards, the 5-10, 195-pound Cannon twice was named first-team All-Ohio. He was a dynamic two-way starter — and always a marked man — during the Panthers’ return to prominence in the early 2000s under Bill Nutt.

He was the centerpiece of a team that bullied defenses in the running game, which led to New Lex hosting Division IV, Region 15 playoff games in 2001 and 2002. His 450-yard rushing effort against Morgan in 2001 remains the best in school history.

He was equally adept as a four-year starter at outside linebacker, and he also served as the team's placekicker throughout his career. His extra point in overtime against Crooksville helped preserve the team's unbeaten record in 2001, a game he also carried 44 times for 219 yards and played every down on defense.

He also was one of the area’s top baseball players, where his catching talents earned a spot at the University of Dayton. For good measure, he was a starter on the basketball team, where he ranked among the area’s leaders in assists per game as a point guard.

He finished his college career on the gridiron at West Liberty, from which he earned his degree and played outside linebacker. He earned his law degree from West Virginia and is now a judge in Perry County.

3. Joseph Clifford, John Glenn, 2019

The lean, athletic Clifford set a new standard for track success, capturing three Division II state titles in the hurdles from 2018-19.

He won the 110 hurdles in 14.20 as a junior, edging Dayton Dunbar's Jalani Allen. He took the 300 hurdles in 37:41, just ahead of MVL rival Ethan Tabor. Both surpassed the 38-second barrier.

He repeated in the 110s as a senior, clocking at 14.36 into a headwind. He took third in the 300s at :37.82, just behind Dayton Meadowdale's Javan Poole (:37.40) and Huron's Jimmy Harkelroad (:37.61). He added a fourth-place finish in the high jump, clearing 6-5, to finish with five All-Ohio awards in his career.

Then there was football.

The most explosive player for veteran coach Matt Edwards was a threat as a receiver, runner and return man for two teams that reached the postseason. He was a third-team All-Ohio pick as a senior, as seven of his 23 catches went for touchdowns.

As a junior, when the Muskies were mere seconds from reaching the Division IV state finals, he turned 28 catches into 500 yards with eight scores. He was also the MVL's top return man.

All told, Edwards called him the most explosive player he had coached in his tenure.

Clifford chose a track scholarship to Nebraska over multiple offers to play football, including Division II West Liberty (West Virginia).

2. Kevin Martin, Zanesville, 2001

Long before he was a first-round draft pick by the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, Martin was a Mr. Basketball candidate and second-team All-Ohio selection in Division I for Scott Aronhalt’s Blue Devils.

That wasn't exactly expected in his early years. Martin was just 5-8 and 110 pounds as a sophomore and was almost cut from the team, but the urging of assistant coach Jeff Moore convinced Aronhalt to keep him. Two years later, he was 6-5 and a household name among Ohio's big schools.

He averaged 21 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals per game — against one of the top schedules in the state — to lead a team that won a Division I district title as a senior. He was an Ohio North-South All-Star game pick, joining the likes of future Ohio State players J.J. Sullinger, Matt Sylvester and Terrence Dials. He also averaged in double figures in scoring as a junior.

A true late bloomer, Martin made the most of his only Division I scholarship offer. He needed only three years to amass a Hall of Fame career at Western Carolina before playing 714 games in the NBA. He averaged 17.4 points per game for his career.

The gymnasium at the former Grover Cleveland Middle School is named in his honor, while he is also a member of the Zanesville City Schools’ Hall of Fame. He joined the Ohio High School Athletic Association's Circle of Champions in 2022.

1. Colt Emerson, John Glenn, 2023

Prior to becoming a first-round pick in the MLB first-year player draft of Seattle, and earning a baseball scholarship to Auburn, Emerson was a first-team All-Ohio safety and wide receiver who some considered the MVL's top player.

But baseball was his meal ticket, spending his summers with USA Baseball as one of the country's top infield prospects.

The Mariners made Emerson the first area player to be drafted in the first round since Zanesville High outfielder Jay Payton went 29th overall in 1994 out of Georgia Tech. Emerson was the first high school player from Ohio taken in the first round since Derek Deitrich in 2007.

Emerson earned first-team All-Ohio and was named the Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year and Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association Player of the Year in Division II following a senior season that saw him hit .446 with eight homers and 25 RBIs and a .586 on-base percentage.

That followed a strong performance for the USA Baseball 18-and-under team last fall, when he started all nine games and batted .360 with a 1.035 OPS. He played third base, per the team's request. This, against the top high school talent in the country.

He was also an elite football talent.

Emerson caught 58 passes for 756 yards and eight TDs as a junior receiver, while he grabbed five interceptions as a safety. He also averaged nearly 40 yards per punt and better than 10 yards on eight punt returns. He averaged 42.7 yards per punt as a sophomore.

The result was a spot on the All-Ohio first team in Division IV. He also shared the TR's Offensive Player of the Year.

Emerson is currently the shortstop at Class A-Modesto in California.

sblackbu@gannett.com; X: @SamBlackburnTR

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Top 10 male athletes since 2000: Some of the best three-sport stars of their time