Stranahan’s Williams, Cypress Bay’s Brouse are Broward County 7A-5A Athletes of the Year
Hykeem Williams and Maddy Brouse both exemplified two-sport excellence in Broward County this year.
Williams, a junior, is one of the best wide receivers in the country — a five-star recruit, according to Rivals.com — and a state champion in boys’ basketball after helping Stranahan win its third title in four years.
Brouse, a senior at Cypress Bay, was the top player for Broward’s best girls’ soccer team and one of the best flag football players in the county.
They’re now the Miami Herald’s Broward County Athletes of the Year for Classes 7A-5A.
Both Williams and Brouse were first-team all-Broward County selections by the Herald in their two sports, and Brouse was the Herald’s Broward County Girls’ Soccer Player of the Year for Classes 7A-5A.
At the start of the year, Brouse wasn’t even sure she was going to play soccer, either. Even though soccer was her primary sport throughout her childhood, Brouse struggled to crack the Lightning’s lineup, playing on junior varsity as a freshman and sophomore, then riding the bench as a junior. She tried out for the girls’ basketball team and made it, and had a decision to make.
Ultimately, she stuck with soccer and it paid off. After mostly playing midfield and defense, Brouse moved up to forward because Cypress Bay had a need there and scored 12 goals with seven assists to help the Lightning reach the Class 7A title game.
“We had a conversation at practice after school one day and [Cypress Bay coach Kate Dwyer] said, Well, where do you want to play?’” Brouse said. “I wanted to play center mid, but I knew I would have a starting spot if I said forward, so that’s when I picked forward originally and I knew I would able to adapt to it and find success for our team.
“It was not pretty at first. ... We had to figure it out together.”
The Lightning lost four of its first eight games before going deeper in the Florida High School Athletic Association postseason than anyone else.
She was also one of the best quarterbacks in the county in flag football, accounting for more than 1,700 yards of total offense, while also chipping in at wide receiver and adding 10 interceptions as a safety.
Brouse joins Megan Morales (2019-20) and Emilie Amaro (2005-06 and 2007-08) among previous Miami Herald Athletes of the Year from Cypress Bay.
Williams is the first Miami Herald Athlete of the Year from Stranahan since Greg Troupe in 1976.
His gridiron excellence came strictly as a receiver and there were few better in all of South Florida. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound wideout caught 40 passes for 750 yards and 11 touchdowns, and is now being recruited by the Georgia Bulldogs, Alabama Crimson Tide and about two dozen other teams.
Still, he might even be better on the hardwood. Basketball was always Williams’ primary sport — he only started taking football seriously as a freshman, he said — and the forward helped the Mighty Dragons win another Class 5A championship by averaging a double-double with 12.2 points and 10.3 rebounds.
Although it won titles in 2019 and 2020, Stranahan went just .500 in 2021 before Williams helped the Mighty Dragons get back to the mountaintop this year.
“It meant a lot. We needed that one, for sure,” Williams said. “We had a lot of doubters this year, so to get that one and be a big part in it was amazing.”
Other finalists
BOYS
Stoneman Douglas’ Roman Anthony, a senior, batted .520 with 10 home runs and 40 RBIs, won the Gatorade Player of the Year award for Florida and the Florida Dairy Farmers’ Mr. Baseball Award. He helped the Eagles win a second straight 7A state championship and a second straight national title. He has signed with the Ole Miss Rebels.
St. Thomas Aquinas’ King Mack, a junior, earned first-team all-county nods in both football, and track and field. As a safety, he helped the Raiders win a third straight 7A championship. As a sprinter, he won Class 3A titles in both the 400-meter dash and the 1,600 relay.
Dillard’s Chris Johnson, a junior, was the Herald’s Broward County Boys’ Track and Field Athlete of the Year after winning 3A championships in both the 100 and 200 dashes. He was also a second-team all-county selection as a running back in football, helping the Panthers win a District 14-7A championship.
Dillard’s Armondo Blount, a freshman, earned first-team all-county nods as both a defensive lineman in football, and a thrower in track and field. He won the Panthers’ first ever state title in the shot put.
GIRLS
Flanagan’s Jassani Carter, a senior, was the Herald’s Broward County Girls’ Track and Field Athlete of the Year, after winning the Class 4A championships in both the 100 and 200 for the second straight year. She signed with the USC Trojans.
Western’s Sydney Ford, a senior, was the Herald’s Broward County Flag Football Player of the Year and guided the Wildcats to the first ever flag football state championship for a South Florida team. She’s also one Western’s top girls’ soccer players.
St. Thomas Aquinas’ Alyssa McBean, a senior, was a first-team all-county selection in both girls’ volleyball and beach volleyball, and was one of the Herald’s Broward County Beach Volleyball Players of the Year after helping the Raiders go further than anyone else in the county. She has signed with the Appalachian State Mountaineers.
St. Thomas Aquinas’ Ava Yovino, a senior, was the Herald’s Broward County Girls’ Lacrosse Player of the Year for the second straight season. She led the Raiders to their first 2A championship in 2020 and got them back to the final four this year. She has signed with the Navy Midshipmen.
