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Dunning, Cook, Dunfee highlight Best of Preps award winners

Staff photo by Abby White / From left, Times Free Press sports editor Stephen Hargis, Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard, and sports writer David Paschall speak during the Times Free Press Best of Preps awards banquet Thursday night at Memorial Auditorium.

By Stephen Hargis June 19, 2025 10 min read

Highlighted by Bradley Central basketball great Rhyne Howard becoming the first former Best of Preps award winner to return as special guest speaker, the annual Times Free Press awards banquet recognized an impressive list of accomplishments for an incredible group.

The Chattanooga area’s top high school athletes and coaches from the 2024-25 school year were honored Thursday evening at Memorial Auditorium.

Howard is a two-time WNBA All-Star guard for the Atlanta Dream. She was a prep All-American for the Bradley Central Bearettes and a college All-American for the Kentucky Wildcats before becoming the WNBA’s No. 1 draft pick in 2022, as well as the league’s rookie of the year that season. Last summer, she won an Olympic bronze medal while representing the United States in 3-on-3 basketball at the Paris Games.

Her message to the Best of Preps audience of around 600, with much of that number being teen athletes, was based on not letting obstacles deter their dreams.

Best of Preps awards banquet on June 19, 2025

Staff photo by Abby White / Becky Proffitt, left, gets her pamphlet signed by Rhyne Howard prior to the Best of Preps banquet. The Chattanooga Times Free Press hosted their annual Best of Preps banquet on Thursday, June 19, 2025 at Memorial Auditorium to honor local high school level athletes. .

Staff photo by Abby White / Danielle Dunning reflects after receiving the Scrappy Moore Female Athlete of the Year award. The Chattanooga Times Free Press hosted their annual Best of Preps banquet on Thursday, June 19, 2025 at Memorial Auditorium to honor local high school level athletes. . — Staff photo by Abby White / Becky Proffitt, left, gets her pamphlet signed by Rhyne Howard prior to the Best of Preps banquet. The Chattanooga Times Free Press hosted their annual Best of Preps banquet on Thursday, June 19, 2025 at Memorial Auditorium to honor local high school level athletes. .

“I always remember something my high school coach, Jason Reuter, used to say: ‘Never get too low or too high. Things are never as bad as they seem and not as good as they might seem, either,’” Howard said during the event. “Just block out everything else and keep working toward your goals.”

Stephen Hargis

Stephen has covered sports in the tri-state area for the Times Free Press for more than 35 years and was named Sports Editor in February of 2015 after 10 years as assistant sports editor, where he oversaw the prep sports staff. Stephen is among the most decorated writers in the TFP newsroom, having won more than 60 awards at the state, regional and national level ranging from investigative work to feature and news writing. Stephen was named one of the top 10 sports writers in the nation at the Associated Press Sports Editors' conference in Kissimmee Fla., in 2012, and has been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists with Green Eyeshade southeast regional awards three times. He received an Associated Press national award for a season-long story following the Taft Youth Center football team, was named the state's top overall sports writer by the AP Media Editors as well as Tennessee Sports Writers Association three times and has also been named the state's top prep writer 19 times by the TSWA. Stephen is a lifelong Chattanooga area resident and has two children, Riley and Lauren.

Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.