<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3MkvsK_0vki9Oum00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3MkvsK_0vki9Oum00" width="689" height="459" ></figure>Hoover– A familiar face is once again the Alabama Golf Association Junior Boys Player of the Year. Huntsville’s Tyler Watts repeats as the organization’s POY after finishing as runner-up at the U.S. Junior Amateur and notching four top-four finishes in other elite events. He also nearly missed qualifying for the PGA Tour’s Myrtle Beach Championship.This is the eighth year of the award being presented by the Alabama Golf Association.All-State teams are awarded based on the Alabama State Junior Golf Rankings System, which awards points per event based on the number of participants in the event combined with the overall strength of the field. These tournaments must also meet additional requirements to be a sanctioned rankings event. Teams are annually based on the player performance over the past 12 months from September 1 through August 31.All-State team members, the Junior Boys Player of the Year and the Junior Girls Player of the Year winners will be honored with other Alabama State Players of the Year in early 2025.<h2>2024 Alabama Boys All-State Teams</h2>Boys First TeamTyler Watts, 2026, of Huntsville is a junior at Grissom High School. At the U.S. Junior Amateur, Tyler finished second after 36-holes of stroke play and methodically worked his way through successive match play rounds to reach the Final, where he finished as runner-up. Watts followed-up his victory in December’s Jones Cup Junior Invitational with top four finishes in the 108th Alabama State Amateur (T4), The Elite Invitational (2nd), the Terra Cotta Invitational (2nd), and tied for second at the AJGA’s Mayakoba Invitational. With high school teammate Barak Erwin, Watts won the 42nd Alabama State Four-Ball Championship in May to add to his collection of AGA titles, and Watts competed in the 124th U. S. Amateur at Hazeltine. A member of the inaugural United States National Junior Team, Tyler is the number one ranked junior in Alabama and the 2024 Alabama Golf Association Junior Boys Player of the Year.Bailey Sutter, 2026, of Vinemont is a junior at West Point High School. In June, Sutter shot a final round 68 to seize the 79th Alabama Boys State Junior Championship by four strokes at the demanding RTJ Golf Trail at Silver Lakes. One month later, Bailey advanced to the Round of 16 at the U. S. Junior Amateur at Oakland Hills Country Club in Michigan. Rounding-out his summer, Sutter earned top seven finishes at the Southern Junior Championship (6th), AJGA Junior Players Championship (T7), Visit Tuscaloosa Junior (2nd), and the Justin Thomas Junior Championship (T-4). Bailey is a verbal commitment to the University of Alabama.Jon Ed Steed, 2025, of Enterprise is a senior at Enterprise High School. Steady play throughout the past year earned Jon Ed a spot on the First Team and top ten finishes in two Alabama State Championships highlighted Steed’s summer. On two difficult layouts, Steed finished tied-fourth at the 79th Alabama Boys State Junior Championship and tied-eighth at the 108th Alabama State Amateur. Steed also finished 2nd at the AJGA’s Team TaylorMade Invitational and tied-eighth at the AJGA Junior at Innisbrook. Jon Ed is a verbal commitment to Vanderbilt University.Jackson Skinner, 2025, of Birmingham is a senior at Mountain Brook High School. Victory in the AJGA’s Babygrande Atlanta Classic in July highlighted Skinner’s summer, but Jackson also earned top ten finishes in the NW Arkansas Junior (6th) and the Atlanta Classic presented by UHY (T8) on the AJGA circuit. Skinner competed in the 108th Alabama State Amateur and the Southern Junior Championship in Tallahassee, FL. Jackson is a verbal commitment to Mississippi State University.Chase Kyes, 2025, of Birmingham is a senior at Spain Park High School and committed to Troy University. Chase defended his individual AHSAA 7A State Championship title with a single shot victory and led his squad to the team title. Medalist at U. S. Junior Amateur qualifier at Country Club of Birmingham in May, Chase earned a place in the Round of 64 at the U. S. Junior Amateur in July and had top twenty finishes in the Team TaylorMade Invitational (8th) and 2023 The Players Championship (T18) on the AJGA circuit. Chase is a verbal commitment to the University of Alabama.Boys Second TeamThomas Crane, 2025, of Mobile is a senior at UMS-Wright Preparatory School. Crane finished third in the 79th Alabama Boys State Junior Championship and third in the AHSAA 6A State Championship. In addition, Thomas finished tT3 at the AJGA’s Visit Tuscaloosa Junior Championship and tied-second in the SJGT’s Peninsula Junior Classic.Jonathan Peters, 2024, of Homewood graduated from Homewood High School in 2024. He earned a T4 in the 79th Alabama Boys State Junior Championship and finished fourth in the AHSAA 6A State Championship. Peters competed in the 108th Alabama State Amateur and earned five victories on the Birmingham Golf Association circuit between May and July. Peters helped lead Alabama to its eighth consecutive victory in the Southern Junior Cup in August.Jack Lowery, 2026, of Birmingham is a junior at Homewood High School. Lowery won the AHSAA 6A State Championship individual title and led his team to a 14-stroke victory in the team championship. Jack finished T7 in the 79th Alabama Boys State Junior Championship. Lowery earned four top five finishes on the AJGA and SJGT circuits as well as top-eight finishes in the Alabama PGA Junior Championship (T5), Future Masters (T4), and the Gator Invitational (8th).Andrew Hinson, 2025, of Huntsville is a senior at Randolph School. Plagued by injury, Hinson’s 2024 season was highlighted by a second-place finish at the AJGA’s Atlanta Classic in June where he fired a third-round 66 to close on the eventual victor. Two top twenty finishes at the Visit Tuscaloosa Junior Championship (T8) and the Mizuno/Greyson Sigg Junior (T15) rounded-out Andrew’s summer. Hinson is a verbal commitment to the University of Alabama.Blake Cornell, 2025, of Daphne is a senior at Daphne High School. Cornell finished T7 in the 79th Alabama Boys State Junior Championship in June. Blake earned victories in the Mobile Junior Amateur and the Junior Golf Alabama Kickoff on the Junior Golf Alabama circuit as well as a playoff win in the SJGT’s Patton Kizzire Junior. In addition to helping Alabama win its eighth consecutive Southern Junior Cup in August, Cornell had seven other top ten finishes on the SJGT.Boys Third TeamWill Drake, 2025, of Cullman is a senior at Cullman High School. In June, Drake’s even-par scores in the first and final rounds of 79th Alabama Boys State Junior Championship earned him a T6. He also finished tied-fifth in the Alabama PGA Junior Championship and had seven top ten finishes on the AJGA and SJGT circuits. Drake helped lead the Alabama squad to an eighth consecutive victory in the Southern Junior Cup in August. Drake is verbally committed to Samford University. Ben Shedd, 2024, of Cullman is a graduate of Cullman High School. Shedd earned two victories in the 2024 season at the Future Masters in Dothan and the Lee Hodges Junior Classic on the SJGT, and he also finished second in the AHSAA 6A State Championship as an individual. Ben accumulated four additional top fifteen finishes on the SJGT and AJGO circuits, including a second-place finish at the AGJO Cross Creek event. Shedd is a freshman on the golf team at Jacksonville State University.Hudson Lawson, 2025, of Haleyville is a senior at Haleyville High School. Hudson’s individual victory in the AHSAA 4A State Championship fueled his squad to a team title by 12 strokes. Lawson also emerged as the winner in the AJGA’s Visit Tuscaloosa Junior Championship with three sub-70 rounds at Indian Hills Country Club. Hudson is a verbal commit to Louisiana State University.Gus Darnall, 2026, of Vestavia Hills is a junior at Vestavia Hills High School. Two under-par rounds led Darnall to a second-place finish in the 79th Alabama Boys State Junior Championship. In addition to a T3 finish at the Alabama PGA Junior Championship, Gus recorded three top- eight finishes with the SJGT and earned a T9 at the Future Masters in Dothan. Darnall was a member of the victorious Team Alabama in the 2024 Southern Junior Cup.Michael Crocker, 2024, of Mobile is a 2024 graduate of McGill-Toolen High School. Crocker finished T7 at the 79th Alabama Boys State Junior Championship and T47 at the 108th Alabama State Amateur. A competitor in the Southern Junior Championship in Tallahassee, Michael finished T8 in the AJGA’s Visit Tuscaloosa Junior Championship. Crocker is a freshman on the golf team at the University of Alabama.Have a story idea or a news item to report to Alabama Golf News? Email gregg@alabamagolfnews.comFeatured image of Tyler Watts at the U.S. Junior Amateur courtesy of Logan Whitton/USGA</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Huntsville’s Tyler Watts repeats as AGA Junior Boys Player of the Year

Hoover– A familiar face is once again the Alabama Golf Association Junior Boys Player of the Year. Huntsville’s Tyler Watts repeats as the organization’s POY after finishing as runner-up at the U.S. Junior Amateur and notching four top-four finishes in other elite events. He also nearly missed qualifying for the PGA Tour’s Myrtle Beach Championship.