District 4-AAA loaded for 2026
The 2026 high school soccer season is under way and all three area teams have hopes for making a deep postseason run after navigating the rigors of a District 4-AAA regular-season schedule.
Farragut, Bearden and Hardin Valley Academy all have big aspirations for the campaign, which kicked off recently.
The Hawks won the 2025 Class AAA State Championship under the guidance of Ray Dover and are looking to repeat in 2026.
Hardin Valley defeated Bearden, which has won multiple state championships in recent years, in the state quarterfinals.
Farragut, meanwhile, is expecting to make a huge leap forward this season.
“Hardin Valley and Bearden already have a seat at the table. I don’t. But I will this year,” Admirals’ coach Bradley Culbreth said. “And I told our kids a year ago, that this year we could (make a deep run) and next year, we should.”
Now, 2026 is here and Culbreth said his team should be a factor in the race for a district title.
“I think our program is in a good place,” he said. “We definitely have something to prove this year.”
Farragut is 2-0 out of the gate with shutout victories over Oak Ridge and Knoxville Catholic.
The Admirals blanked the Wildcats, 3-0, on Tuesday, March 3, and shut out the Irish, 1-0, on Thursday, March 12, as goalkeeper Matthew Burney posted two clean sheets to open the season.
“He’s my No. 1 (goalkeeper),” Culbreth said of Burney.
Other players to watch for the Admirals include: Caleb Gahagan (a junior forward who returns after missing the 2025 campaign due to injury) and defender Lincoln Unger, who was an all-state performer last season. He also earned all-district and all-region honors.
At HVA, Dover and the Hawks are looking to repeat as state champions but the coach, who previously coached at Farragut, knows that his squad will face a tall order in 2026 because there will be no easy games in the district, which features the Admirals, the Bulldogs, Knoxville West and Maryville.
Those schools are also looking to make a statement this season.
The Hawks are 2-1-1 in their first two matches to start the season as they fell to defending Division II-A State Champion Grace Christian Academy, 5-2, and downed and played Rockvale to a 1-1 draw.
“Against Rockvale, we had four sophomores and a freshman on the field at the end of the game,” Dover said. “And we’re not going to have any easy games on our schedule.
“I think this year, that the district is going to be especially tough because I look for Maryville and Farragut to be back to where they usually are. You have to be ready to play every night or you’re going to get beat.”
The Hawks were the lone area team in action this week. They picked up wins over Guntersville (Alabama) and Westminster on Saturday, March 14.
Players to watch for Hardin Valley in 2026 include: Ali Tarchane (a senior forward who tallied 14 goals and
dished out six assists last season); Dane Hammer (an all-district, all-region and all-state performer in the midfield last season as he scored 10 goals and recorded 14 assists); Asher Stimson (a senior defender who was named MVP of the state tournament after scoring two goals in the championship match) and goalkeeper Hudson O’Dell, who gets the starting nod after serving as a backup last season.
Longtime Bearden coach Ryan Radcliffe said that his side is seeking a bit of redemption this season after falling to HVA at the Spring Fling in 2025.
“I think losing that game in the quarterfinals left a bad taste in our mouths,” he said. “And I was talking to Bradley about how good high school soccer is going to be in Knoxville this year.
“You could play a game against a team and lose 2-0 or 3-0, and turn around and beat that team 2-0, or 3-0, a few days later. I think Maryville is going to be back to where they expect to be. You’re going to have to bring your A-game every night.”
Key players for the Bulldogs include: Eli Keener, who will be the starter between the goalposts this season.
Forward Aiden Ainsworth is also back after scoring 14
goals and tallying nine assists last season. Senior midfielder Ahmad Dkhari is also back after a 14-goal, 16-assist season in 2025. Ethan Yeow returns for his senior season and he’ll play on the back line after serving in a utility role last season.
