Each week, our HomeTeam staffers will nominate male and female Hot Shot athletes from each of the counties we cover, then we turn the voting over to our readers. These nominations span the winter break through Friday, Jan. 10. The winners get a free T-shirt and bragging rights over every other school in the area. Read up on all of our nominees, then vote until noon Monday at tampabay.com/hometeam.
Female nominees
Taylor Emery, Freedom basketball: The junior guard scored 52 points combined in two district victories. She had 24 in a 61-44 win Wednesday against Wiregrass Ranch and 28 in a 56-47 win Friday against Sickles.
Aliyah Gregory, Strawberry Crest basketball: The senior had a quadruple double — 24 points, 10 assists, 10 rebounds and 11 steals — in Wednesday’s 69-32 win against Plant City. The UCF commitment averages a team-leading 18 points per game.
Amanda Hayes, Mitchell soccer: One of three Mustangs to score two goals against Sunlake in 40-degree weather Tuesday. The junior has 13 goals and a team-best 15 assists this season.
Amber Jennings, Palm Harbor University basketball: The senior scored 25 in a 60-51 win Friday against Clearwater. She was 10-for-10 from the free throw line and hit three 3-pointers in the second half.
Amanda Melosky, Wiregrass Ranch basketball: The 5-foot-11 junior averaged 16.3 points to be named MVP at the Jaguar Holiday Tournament, where she led the Bulls to a 12-point victory over Holy Names in the title game.
Madison Schmidt, Northeast basketball: The sophomore scored 17 — 12 in the second quarter— in a 54-33 win against Bloomingdale in the final of the Northeast Holiday tournament. This week she scored 12 against Pinellas Park and 14 against Tampa Prep, both victories.
Male nominees
Darius Banks, St. Petersburg basketball: The 6-foot-4 freshman guard scored a season-best 33 in a win against Palm Harbor University and set a school record with nine 3-pointers. He was 11-for-15 from the field with six rebounds.
Marco Behori, Seminole basketball: The sharpshooting guard averaged 32 points in two wins this past week. Against Pinellas Park, he scored a career-high 33, including five 3-pointers, then he scored 31 against East Lake.
Carlos Clemente, Nature Coast basketball: The 6-foot-2 senior shooting guard scored a career-high 32, including seven 3-pointers, in an 83-77 win against Orlando Jones in the Sharks’ holiday tournament. A day earlier he had 30 against Steinbrenner.
Justin Gray, Berkeley Prep basketball: The Texas Tech signee was the MVP of the Kingdom of the Sun tournament in Ocala. He averaged 17 points, seven rebounds and four blocks — hitting a 3-pointer to force overtime in the title — as the Bucs won the team title.
Jonathan Jean, East Bay basketball: The junior had 26 points and 10 assists in Wednesday’s 71-68 win over district foe Brandon. He is averaging 15.8 points per game.
Jordan Rivera, Springstead wrestling: The 145-pounder won his third Springstead Invitational individual title, becoming the 10th Eagle to do so.