They typically say that sports are slow in the summer. Sure, there are a couple of big baseball games to watch, but for the most part, people think it's kind of dead.

That can't be any less accurate with all the stuff that's going on around the Emerald Coast this week.

First things first, the Emerald Coast classic basketball tournament, which is hosted every year at Rader Arena in Niceville, has dropped the 12 teams that will be playing over Thanksgiving break. Eight women's teams and four men's teams will fight for the title of Emerald Coast champion in their respective tournaments.

Meanwhile, new sports guy Gehrig Gesch has done a deep dive into exactly how teams make it into the high school football playoffs; he's got a whole story on it at midbaynews.com. However, we will discuss it in detail here.

If all the math involved isn't confusing enough to pick a football playoff bracket in 2025 don't you worry because it's about to get a little bit more complex with the coming of an open championship in 2026 for the eight best teams in Florida based on, you guessed it, a bunch of math.

Niceville Senior Robert Stith, at lightning fast white out for the Eagles, has committed to West Virginia University. The mountaineers are lucky to have them, and Niceville is too, for this last campaign of his high school football career. There are still numerous kids with verbal offers who haven't yet announced their commitment. We'll cover them as they come out.

Finally, Choctaw High School has a new totem pole. After several years of not having one they installed the new totem pole on campus this past week. It's another good omen for a team that has been consistently on the rise for the last couple of years.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 INTRO

00:40 EMERALD COAST CLASSIC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL BRACKET REVEALED

04:30 EMERALD COAST CLASSIC MEN'S BASKETBALL BRACKET REVEALED

08:10 THIS IS HOW HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS WILL WORK IN FLORIDA IN 2025

11:30 THIS IS HOW HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS WILL WORK IN FLORIDA IN 2026

16:07 ROBERT STITH COMMITS TO WEST VIRGINIA

18:20 CHOCTAW GETS IT A NEW TOTEM POLE

LINKS

🔗 THIS massive change is coming in 2026 for the high school football playoffs.

🔗 Women's college hoops returns to Raider Arena this fall

🔗 Choctaw High reveals new totem pole honoring tradition

🔗 NIceville Football: Robert Stith commits to West Virginia

Want more local news and information about sports or what's going on locally from local journalist? Connect with us here:

🗞️ midbaynews.com/newsletter

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Here's what you can expect. 

Christopher Saul and Gehrig Gesch break down the Head Coach of the Indians -Frank Beasley's 's recent success with the big Green Indian and talk about the upcoming game between the Niceville Eagles and the Choctawhatchee Indians that'll take place later this year.

We also talk about Dustin high school's new baseball coach-and MLB alumni and take a look at the UWF Argos roster for the upcoming football season. 

Want more local news and information about sports or what's going on locally from local journalist? Connect with us here:

🗞️ midbaynews.com/newsletter

📱 midbaynews.com/app