The Nassau Guardian’s Junior Male Athlete of the Year

The sporting landscape of The Bahamas is well represented, and the competitive nature of sports is on full display, as The Nassau Guardian recognizes its junior male athlete of the year for 2021.

The top three finishers are separated by just two points and each are from different sporting disciplines.

Keyshawn Strachan from athletics prevailed with 26 points, Charlotte Hornets rookie forward Kai Jones finished second with 25 points and Izaak Bastian rounded out the top three with 24 points.

Strachan might just be the only Bahamian in history to set a senior national record in athletics as a 17-year-old, and he did it twice.

The Bahamian throwing phenom had massive throws in the men’s javelin all season long, and capped off his year by accepting a four-year scholarship from Auburn University, joining the alma mater of a number of Bahamian sporting legends including national record holder in the men’s triple jump ‘Superman’ Leevan Sands, national record holder in the men’s 110 meters (m) hurdles Shamar Sands, former World Champion Donald Thomas, Timicka Clarke, multi national record holder and Olympic finalist in swimming Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace, Sheniqua Ferguson and Teray Smith just to name a few.

Strachan initially broke the senior national record in the javelin throw at the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) National Junior and Senior Track and Field Championship in June, when he threw the javelin 71.62m (234’ 11”). He then went on to break his own national record at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) Under-18 (U18), Under-20 (U20) and Under-23 (U23) Championships in San Jose, Costa Rica, in July. He heaved the javelin 72.13m (236’ 8”) at that event.

Strachan wasn’t done yet, turning in massive throws of 68.85m (225’ 10”) and 70.30m (230’ 7”) at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya – the latter for a seventh place in the final. His 68.85m throw allowed him to qualify for the final in eighth.

Strachan just turned 18 a little over a week ago and still has another year of eligibility as a junior athlete. He is looking to have a strong debut for the Auburn University Tigers and is attempting to qualify for the 2022 World Championships which is set for July 15-24, 2022, in Eugene, Oregon, United States.

Jones became the fifth Bahamian to be drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA), the third since 2016, joining Sacramento Kings’ sharp shooter Chavano “Buddy” Hield and Phoenix Suns’ starting center DeAndre Ayton. All three are active.

Jones was taken with the 19th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks in July and traded to the Hornets for a future first-round pick on draft night. He has played sparingly for the Hornets this season, and was sent down to the NBA G League for a short period, but is back with the team and looking to make a significant contribution.

Receiving a limited number of playing time in 10 games this season, Jones is averaging 0.7 points, 0.5 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.

Jones had an impressive summer session with the Hornets as he turned in a number of highlight reel dunks in the NBA Summer League, including the number two play of the summer according to ‘NBA: The Jump’ television show and the number three play according to ESPN SportsCenter’s top plays of the summer.

In his final season at the University of Texas, Jones averaged 8.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.92 blocks while shooting 58 percent from the field and 38.2 percent from three-point territory in 22.8 minutes per game. He had numerous accolades in college and was the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year in his final season. Jones got the attention of a number of professional scouts, leading to him being considered as a lottery pick in the draft. He was eventually taken 19th and is looking to flourish as a professional.

Swimmer Izaak Bastian stood out in the breaststroke events again in 2021, qualifying for and representing The Bahamas at the FINA (International Swimming Federation) Short Course (25 meters) World Championships and the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Bastian was remarkable, setting long course national records in all three breaststroke events at the Bahamas National Swimming Championships in June, and short course national records in the 50 and 100m breaststroke events at the FINA Short Course World Championships earlier this month.

In the 50m breast, he had the six best swims for Bahamian athletes in 2021, climaxed by his 27.60 national record swim at the nationals. In the 100m breast, he again had the six best times, climaxed with the 1:00.87 at the nationals, and in the 200m breast, he had the five best swims, topped by the 2:15.14 national record at the nationals.

At the Olympics, Bastian was 40th overall in the 100m breast in 1:01.87 and 36th overall in the 200m breast in 2:17.40.

At the FINA Short Course World Championships, he was 24th overall in the 50m breast in a new national record of 27.24 seconds and 30th overall in the 100m breast with a new national record time of 59.61 seconds. He became the first Bahamian to go under a minute in that event.

Wendell Miller who set a new junior national record in the boys 400m this year, running 45.81 seconds, finished fourth in voting for The Nassau Guardian’s Junior Male Athlete of the Year for 2021 with 22 points. Young track phenom Carlos Brown Jr. who ran blazing times in the short sprints this year at just 15-years-old, and baseball standout Ian Lewis who was voted as the Miami Marlins’ Minor League Player of the Year in 2021 were tied for fifth in the voting process with 12 points apiece.

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