HUNTINGTON – Tayveon Wilson tracked a baseball in the air and went and got it.

Not in centerfield, where he stars for Huntington High School’s baseball team. Wilson did so from the press box at Marshall University’s Jack Cook Field. The senior all-everything athlete signed to play football at Clemson University, retrieved foul balls alongside freshmen while other teams played in the Highlander Classic.

Such efforts are why Wilson is the 2026 winner of the Doug Huff Award for Leadership, Hustle, and Determination. The award is named for longtime West Virginia Sports Writers Association secretary/treasurer Doug Huff, who is a national high school sports historian and a member of the National High School Sports Hall of Fame.

“Fantastic kid,” Highlanders coach John Dennison said. “You couldn’t ask for a better kid.”

All of Wilson’s coaches express similar sentiments. He made all-state teams in football as a punter, receiver and quarterback. The 6-foot-3, 215-pounder expects to play tight end at Clemson. He also was a major college prospect in baseball, basketball and track. Wilson scored 29 points in the state basketball tournament against eventual champion George Washington.

“If he hadn’t hurt his ankle and missed his junior baseball season, I’m convinced he’d get drafted,” Dennison said.

Football coach Billy Seals said Wilson is the ultimate team player. When asked to move from receiver to quarterback as a senior, Wilson did so without balking and led Huntington High to a 9-3 record and the second round of the Class AAAA playoffs.

“Tayveon has done everything we’ve asked him to do,” Seals said. “He’s a great young man. I think he’s the best athlete in the state and he’s an even better young man.”

Wilson said the position switch wasn’t about him.

“I was willing to do what was best for the team,” Wilson said. “The team is bigger than I am.”

Seals has known Wilson since the standout was in elementary school.

“He was a terrific soccer player when he was younger,” Seals said. “He could be a star in that, too, if he wanted to be.”

Seals continued to gush about Wilson, the Gatorade football player of the year in West Virginia.

“Tayveon displays everything it takes to be an exceptional player and teammate,” Seals said. “His character and integrity are, without question, as good as anyone I’ve coached in 26 years. He’s an All-State selection in three sports and is the first football player from West Virginia to sign with Clemson since 1967.”

Wilson carries a 4.64 grade point average. He volunteers with Special Olympics and the YMCA in a variety of roles, including youth sports official. Wilson also donated his time packing food for the homeless.

Wilson will receive the Doug Huff Award at the 79th Victory Awards, Sunday May 3 at Charleston Town Center.