BILL LANE AWARDS: Three-time state champion Bailey is Tri-Cities male athlete of the year

Tyler Bailey has cemented his place in Happy Valley history. And he can add one more honor to his collection before joining the track and field program at King University. A three-time pole vault state champion who also helped the Warriors reverse their football fortunes, Bailey has been selected as this year's Johnson City Press/Kingsport Times News Bill Lane Award recipient for 2025-26 Tri-Cities Male Athlete of the Year. Bailey is Tennessee's fifth winner of the annual Bill Lane Awards, named after sportswriter Bill Lane who highlighted the accomplishments of student athletes around the region for 50 years. Every year, Bailey kept raising the bar. As a sophomore, he cleared 12 feet at the 2024 TSSAA Class A Track & Field State Championships to bring home his first Spring Fling gold medal. In 2025, Bailey overcame windy conditions in Murfreesboro to win another state title after clearing 13-0. He narrowly missed setting a new personal record of 14-6 at the time. But he'd get there the following spring. In the first TSSAA Track & Field Championships held at UT's Tom Black Track in Knoxville, Bailey cleared 14-6 to complete the trifecta, once again besting teammate Julian Pate (11-0) to bring a state title back to Happy Valley. And he came close to bringing two, earning silver when he finished the Class A 110-meter hurdles in 15.02 seconds, just ahead of teammate James Cable (15.03). Bailey is the third Happy Valley track and field athlete to win multiple state championships — Andy Curde winning both the 1600-meter and 3200-meter runs in 1998 before David Hughes did likewise in 2003. But Bailey is the first Warrior to win gold in more than one academic year, as Curde and Hughes both won cross country titles in the fall season before their track state titles. As a senior, Bailey cleared a high mark of 14-7.25. As for football, the Warriors started Bailey's sophomore year 0-3. They've gone 25-4 since then with his help, winning the Region 1-2A crown in 2025 and reaching the second round of the playoffs to finish 11-1. It marked the Warriors' first conference title since 2016. Bailey, who rushed for 679 yards and seven touchdowns while averaging 12.6 yards per carry, was Happy Valley's leading tackler with 99 stops. He recorded 13 tackles for loss, forced two fumbles, recovered two and ranked second on the team with six sacks. He ran for 101 yards and three touchdowns in Happy Valley's first-round playoff win over Tellico Plains, the Warriors' first playoff victory since 2017. And that was one week after he gained the clinching first down at South Greene to secure the conference title outright. Not only did Bailey receive a National Football Foundation scholarship. But he was also named a finalist for the inaugural Tennessee Titans 2025 High School Titan of the Year award — an honor which recognizes exceptional high school tackle football and girls flag football players statewide "who exemplify outstanding character, leadership and service both on and off the field." His career certainly backs that honor.