The Apopka Blue Darters enter the 2025–26 boys basketball season looking to build on a 21–8 campaign that ended just one win shy of the Final Four. With six returning seniors and a deep mix of young contributors, veteran head coach Scott Williams believes this group has the potential to make another strong postseason push.  

Williams said he’s keeping the focus on progress, not comparison. 

“I don’t know if our ceiling is to get into the Elite Eight again,” said Williams, now in his 11th year leading the program. “We always have the goal that we want to win our district. That’s a manageable goal. But our job isn’t to compare ourselves to last year, it’s to measure ourselves by the expectations we have for ourselves every day.” 

The Blue Darters’ veteran core — seniors Rafi Betancourt, Jorquavion McClain, Trent Jean, Zee Davis, Noah Ferrer and Xavier Bell — gives the team leadership on both ends of the floor. Still, Williams said the team’s style will look a bit different this season.  

“We’re going to be undersized, but that can’t allow us to not be really, really tough,” he said. “We kind of build our culture on the floor from a defensive standpoint, and we don’t want to sacrifice that. Offensively, we’re a very different club. We’re going to shoot the ball from three-point range a lot. It’s born out of the skill level that this club has, and also the necessity of how we’re going to play.” 

Williams praised his five senior starters for setting the tone early in the year.  

“Those five guys all play really vital roles and can have great seasons,” he said. “Trent and Rafael have started a lot of games over the last couple of years for us, so they’re experienced. We’ll also rely on some young guys off the bench, and as they progress, we’ll see a good mix between the veterans and the next group coming up.” 

Apopka tipped off its preseason Monday night in the Mustang Tip-Off Classic at Wekiva High School, edging Jones 44-42 after a slow start. The Blue Darters trailed 9–5 after the first quarter and 21-17 at halftime before rallying in the second half.  

Betancourt led the way with 13 points, including back-to-back three-pointers in the third quarter to give Apopka its first lead. Senior forward Trent Jean added four rebounds, five assists and two steals, while sophomore forward Xavier Freeman came off the bench with six points and five boards. Zee Davis chipped in with a pair of 3s, and Ferrer provided key scoring early in the game. 

Williams said the win was encouraging but highlighted areas that need work.  

“We just seemed like we were kind of stuck in quicksand tonight,” he said. “We couldn’t get out of our way offensively, everything was slow motion. This club can’t do that. We’ve got to manipulate a defense a lot better than we did tonight.” 

Still, Williams credited his players for fighting through a sluggish start and showing resilience. 

 “We stayed with our belief in playing together,” he said. “Even though we weren’t great shooting the ball, we shot it well enough in the second half to give us a chance to win. We made plays, we stayed connected as a group, and now we’ll go to practice and get better.” 

Apopka’s early-season schedule will test that growth quickly. The Blue Darters travel to West Orange on Nov. 19, then host Winter Park for their home opener Nov. 21. During the Thanksgiving week Metro vs. Florida Challenge, they’ll host South Lake on Nov. 26 and Davenport on Nov. 29. Their first district matchup comes Dec. 16 at home against Lake Brantley, followed by the Metro Conference Tournament Jan. 6–9. 

As the new season begins, Williams said the goal is to stay tough and keep improving.  

“We’ve got to deliver the first blow better,” he said. “But that’s why you have exhibition games and tough opponents. I’m thankful for who we play – it’ll make us the kind of team we need to be.”