The Shelby County Male Athlete of the Year award goes to the athlete who made the most impact for his school, whether that be in one sport or multiple, and there was no shortage of worthy options.
You could argue for a couple of undefeated state champion wrestlers in Spain Park's Bradley Williams, who was last year's Male Athlete of the Year, and Chelsea's Porter Schott, who also held down the football field as a linebacker. Shelby County's Cooper Pennington was a rare All-State selection in both football and baseball.
And for single-sport athletes, it's hard to argue against what Pelham's Bakr Al-Sugi and Thompson's Wyatt Williams did for their respective teams in the spring.
In the end though, it always came back to one option: Thompson quarterback Trent Seaborn, who adds to his already large trophy case as the 2025-26 Shelby County Male Athlete of the Year.
In all honestly, Seaborn has made a case for this award multiple times since becoming Thompson's starting quarterback in 2022. His junior season though saw him elevate his game to even greater levels and lead the Warriors back to the promised land.
Seaborn's accomplishments are already well-trod ground, but his stats bear repeating: after throwing for 2,672 yards as a sophomore, he topped that number by 1,000 with 3,689 passing yards. It was the second-highest figure in the state of Alabama and one of the best in the country.
He was extremely accurate in the process with a 72 percent completion rate to a wide cast of weapons including All-County receivers Darion Moseley, Dedrick Kimbrough and Pryce Lewis.
From there, he scored 40 total touchdowns, 35 of which through the air, to set a new career high. He also threw just seven interceptions, with three coming against Georgia powerhouse Grayson.
He would go on to pass for 250 yards or more in 11 of his 14 starts, capped off by a 259-yard and three-touchdown night against Opelika in the state championship game. That was also one of multiple blowouts he exited early, meaning his totals could have been higher during Thompson's dominant run to a second-straight state title.
In addition to that ultimate honor of a state championship, the awards came pouring in from outlets around the state and country.
Nationally, he was a MaxPreps Junior All-American First Team selection, making it three-straight years as a postseason All-American. He was also invited to the national Elite 11 camp, the most prestigious quarterback competition in the country, after a great performance at regionals.
At the state level, he was the Class 7A Back of the Year for the first time and repeated as a Super All-State Team and Class 7A All-State First Team selection by the Alabama Sportswriters Association. He was also the Shelby County Player of the Year and an All-County First Team selection.
In the midst of that season, Seaborn also locked in his future to the University of Alabama, and he has remained steadfast in that choice while drawing others to the Tide.
Throughout the year, Seaborn has represented Thompson and Alabaster well, putting his teammates or competitors before himself and leading with his faith at every opportunity.
He now has one more season to close out one of the most decorated careers in the history of the state and win his fourth state championship in five years. That's his focus now, along with the rest of the Thompson Warriors, before they kick off against Central-Phenix City in Week 1.
We can make this one last look back though and crown Seaborn as Shelby County Male Athlete of the Year.
