Dixie Pros
Updated
Hometown athletes making it big. Updated every Sunday.
About Dixie Pros
Southern Utah keeps sending athletes to the top levels of sport. Dixie Pros follows the ones who grew up here, went to school here or train out of St. George, Hurricane and Virgin, from NFL Sundays to the Red Bull Rampage cliffs.
Football (NFL)
3 athletes
Bios & links: football
Penei Sewell
Played at Oregon, then went No. 7 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
@peneisewell58 on XNephi Sewell
Signed a futures contract with Chicago in January 2026. The Bears put him on season-ending injured reserve on Aug. 25, 2026.
@jungleboii02 on XNoah Sewell
Former Oregon linebacker, now with the Bears. He started 2026 on reserve/PUP while coming back from an Achilles injury, and his practice window opened Sept. 23, 2026.
@B1essah on XBasketball
6 athletes
Bios & links: basketball
AJ Dybantsa
Played his final high school season at Utah Prep in Hurricane, then one season at BYU, where he led the nation in scoring and won the Julius Erving Award. Washington took him No. 1 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft (June 23, 2026), and he signed his rookie deal on July 2, 2026.
@AJ_Dybantsa on XJJ Mandaquit
Three-time USA Basketball junior gold medalist. He played his freshman season at Washington (2025-26), then transferred to Arizona for 2026-27.
Arizona roster profile ↗Xavion Staton
7-1 center. He transferred to Utah Prep midway through his senior year to join AJ Dybantsa, spent 2025-26 at BYU, and is now a sophomore at Oregon State.
@XavionStaton on XJackson Rasmussen
Utah Prep teammate of Dybantsa and Staton in 2024-25. He's on Oregon State's 2026-27 roster.
Oregon State roster profile ↗Anthony Felesi
Won the 2025-26 Nike EYBL Scholastic scoring title at Utah Prep (21.6 ppg), then signed with Oklahoma State as a freshman for 2026-27.
@AnthonyFelesi4 on XJackson Kiss
6-8 forward from New Zealand who played at Utah Prep. He's a freshman on UNLV's 2026-27 roster.
UNLV roster profile ↗Baseball (MLB organizations)
2 athletes
Bios & links: baseball
Petey Soto Jr.
Utah Tech shortstop, drafted by the Astros in the 18th round (No. 541) of the 2026 MLB Draft. He's the first Trailblazer drafted in the program's Division I era, and he was 2023 4A Player of the Year and Region 9 MVP at Crimson Cliffs.
@SotoPetey on XTyler West
Salt Lake Community College outfielder taken by Detroit in the 12th round (No. 366) of the 2026 MLB Draft.
SLCC: drafted by Detroit ↗Golf
3 athletes
Bios & links: golf
Boston Bracken
St. George native, two-time individual state champion and 2023 Utah Golf Association Player of the Year. He got a sponsor exemption into the PGA TOUR's Bank of Utah Championship at Black Desert Resort (Oct. 1–4, 2026).
Arizona State roster profile ↗Jay Don Blake
Lifelong St. George resident. He made his 500th career PGA TOUR start at the 2024 Black Desert Championship in Ivins.
PGA TOUR profile ↗Ali Mulhall
St. George-based pro who turned professional in 2025. She won the 2026 Utah Women's Open.
Utah PGA: Utah Women's Open win ↗Mountain biking (freeride)
3 athletes
Bios & links: mountain biking
Jaxson Riddle
St. George native. He won Most Stylish Run in his Red Bull Rampage debut in 2021, then took Best Trick and the GoPro Moment award at Rampage 2025. He rides as a wildcard at the 2026 Rampage (men's final Oct. 10).
Red Bull athlete page ↗Reed Boggs
Originally from Ohio, he lives in Hurricane to stay close to the Rampage terrain. He finished 5th at Red Bull Rampage 2025, which pre-qualified him for 2026.
Rampage 2025 results (Pinkbike) ↗Connor Gallart
Grew up in Aptos, Calif., and recently moved to Hurricane. He makes his Red Bull Rampage debut as a 2026 wildcard.
Rampage 2026 lineup (Pinkbike) ↗Pickleball
2 athletes
Bios & links: pickleball
Liam Duffin
St. George-based pro who plays PPA Tour events. He hit the match-winning shot when the Utah Tech Pickleball Club won the 2024 DUPR Collegiate National Championship.
Results on PickleWave ↗Pesa Teoni
Born in American Samoa, he moved to St. George at 15 and started playing pickleball there in 2016. He turned pro in 2021 and now lives in Phoenix.
@pesa21PB on XMotocross
1 athlete
Bios & links: motocross
Sophie Phelps
Two-time AMA Amateur National Motocross champion at Loretta Lynn's Ranch: Women class in 2021 and WMX class in 2022. Finished third in the 2024 Women's Pro Motocross (WMX) Championship, including a runner-up finish at Daytona and a podium at High Point. Raced the first two rounds of 2025 (seventh at Pala and Hangtown). 2026: not on the WMX points list, and no 2026 pro starts are listed.
Racer X rider profile ↗Action Sports
2 athletes
Bios & links: action sports
Bickmore Twins
St. George twins Duran and Harbor Bickmore are pro rollerbladers who co-founded Bick Skimboards in St. George in 2014 and starred in the skim films "So Sick" (2014) and "Cult Leaders" (2015). Duran, a former Razors rider, runs the skate company The New Everything Company (TNEC), maker of the TNEC 58 and the new 2026 TNEC Twin skate; its riders include Michael Kraft (signature frame), Sean Keane and Geoff Phillip. Harbor, a type designer, does design work for the brand and runs the type studio That That Creative.
Local sports scenes to follow
Local sports scenes to follow
- Basketball: @AJ_Dybantsa · AJ Dybantsa, Wizards rookie and Utah Prep alum.
- Golf: @BOUChampionship · Bank of Utah Championship, the PGA TOUR event at Black Desert Resort in Ivins, Oct. 1–4, 2026.
- Golf: @sundevilmgolf · Arizona State men's golf, St. George native Boston Bracken's team.
- Mountain biking: @redbull · Red Bull's main account, home of Rampage coverage. Rampage in Virgin: women Oct. 8, men Oct. 10, 2026.
- Pickleball: @PPAtour · Carvana PPA Tour. It ran the Black Desert Resort Red Rock Open at Little Valley in St. George (Mar. 23–29, 2026).