You voted, see who won the Winter All-Area Team Players of the Year polls

[ASFN Admin]

We asked and you voted.

The Herald-Tribune recently rolled out its 2026 Winter All-Area team selections.

We honored the top athletes in boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, girls weightlifting and wrestling from Manatee and Sarasota counties by naming our All-Area teams naming First Team, Second Team, and Honorable Mention lists.

We selected Sarasota's Johnny Lackaff as Boys Basketball Player of the Year, Sarasota's Paisley Binswanger as Girls Basketball Player of the Year, Lakewood Ranch's Louka Coue as Boys Soccer Player of the Year, Lakewood Ranch's Avary Shirley as Girls Soccer Player of the Year, Braden River's Payton Mangay-Ayam as Girls Lifter of the Year, and Cardinal Mooney's Blake Roulund as Wrestler of the Year. Then we gave you the chance to have your say on who you think should be Players of the Year.

Here are the results:

Boys Basketball Player of the Year​

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JP Lattimore​

School: Booker

Year: Senior

Highlights: The 6-foot-4 forward averaged 19.5 points per game, topping 30 in five contests, and was selected the FACA District 16 Class 4A Player of the Year.

2026 Herald-Tribune: All-Area Boys Basketball Team, Player of the Year

Girls Basketball Player of the Year​

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Yvette Brown​

School: Booker

Year: Senior

Highlights: Brown led Booker to the Final Four, averaging 16.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. The high-energy guard signed with Santa Fe College.

2026 Herald-Tribune: All-Area Girls Basketball Team, Player of the Year

Boys Soccer Player of the Year​

Victor Philpotts​

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School: Braden River

Year: Junior

Highlights: The striker scored 8 goals with 6 assists. He played all positions up front and would occasionally move back to play center midfield.

2026 Herald-Tribune: All-Area Boys Soccer Team, Player of the Year

Girls Soccer Player of the Year​

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Payton Gee​

School: Cardinal Mooney Catholic

Year: Senior

Highlights: Known as a goal-scoring defender, Gee netted eight goals while also patrolling the Cougars' back line.

2026 Herald-Tribune: All-Area Girls Soccer Team, Player of the Year

Girls Weightlifter of the Year​

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Alexis Rissler​

School: Lakewood Ranch

Year: Senior

Highlights: Rissler was fourth at Class 3A Traditional 183 pounds with a lift of 355 and was the state runner-up for Olympic lifts with a combined 395-pound effort after winning district and regional titles.

2026 Herald-Tribune: All-Area Girls Weightlifting Team, Lifter of the Year

Wrestler of the Year​

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Nikolai Krywko​

School: Parrish Community

Year: Senior

Weight Class: 175 pounds

Highlights: Krywko capped his season by placing seventh at the Class 2A meet. He was the Region 2A-3 runner-up and won the District 2A-9 and Manatee County championships.

2026 Herald-Tribune: All-Area Wrestling Team, Wrestler of the Year

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Winners of the Herald-Tribune Winter All-Area Team Players of the Year polls

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