Nomination year: 2021

Nominated by: Rob Edwards

Nomination category: Athletes & Coaches

Sport: Basketball

Years participating:  2003-2008

Career Summary:

Ethan Birdwell played a rare five years at the high school level, beginning his career in the 8th grade at Hermitage Springs High School in 2003 and finishing it at Clay County High School as a senior in 2008.

Statistics aren’t available for the first six games of his career, but he scored an impressive 1,446 points in games for which stats are available, and amassed several honors along the way.

Birdwell was good enough to make the Hermitage Springs High School team as an eighth-grader, and made an immediate impact as a freshman.  He made the District 7-A All-Freshman team and was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Red Boiling Springs holiday tournament that year.

He continued to improve as a sophomore, making the Tri-Lakes All-Conference 2nd team and again being named to the RBS All-Tournament team.

Birdwell was a prolific scorer for the Wildcats in the 2006-07 season, averaging 21 points per game, making the Tri-Lakes all-conference first team, and making the prestigious Herald-Citizen (newspaper) All-Upper Cumberland 2nd team–which includes players from all three basketball classifications.

Playing for Clay County High School his senior year following consolidation of the county high schools, Birdwell had another banner season in 2007-08, gathering a wide range of accolades.  He again made the Tri-Lakes all-conference first team, and was named all-tournament in both the District 7-A and Region 4-A post-season events.  He was named to the H-C All-Upper Cumberland third team, and all-tournament at the Nera White Holiday tournament.

Nominator comment:

“Ethan was a very consistent scorer throughout his career, as evidenced by him scoring almost 1,500 points in his career, but he was a good all-around player who made his teammates better players,

He played hard on both ends of the court and was an unselfish team player.  All of these things combined make him worthy of induction into the Clay County Sports Hall of Fame.”