- December 9, 2025
Seabreeze freshman Jordan Donohue (1) guards University's Cruse Richard. Photo by Keishia McLendon
Seabreeze coach Ray Gaines shouts instructions. Photo by Keishia McLendon
Seabreeze's AJ Brown puts up a shot against the Titans. Photo by Keishia McLendon
Christian Simmons puts up a layup against University. Photo by Keishia McLendon
Seabreeze's Jordan Anthony shoots a 3-pointer against University. Photo by Keishia McLendon
AJ Brown (2) pulls down a rebound. Photo by Keishia McLendon
Christian Simmons puts up a layup. Photo by Keishia McLendon
Seabreeze's Jordan Donohue (right) goes up for a layup against Univesity's Jojo Houlker. Photo by Keishia McLendon
AJ Brown made 2 of 3 free throws against University. Photo by Keishia McLendon
Seabreeze boys basketball coach Ray Gaines had a hunch that this would be a pretty good season for the Sandcrabs.
“I saw it from the beginning of summer workouts,” Gaines said. “One of our better kids transferred to another school, and it actually brought our other kids closer together.”
After starting the season with two losses in their first three games, the Sandcrabs have won four in a row with three juniors leading the offense. Since Dec. 1, Seabreeze (5-2) defeated Matanzas (76-55), University (62-38), The Master’s Academy (58-46) and Father Lopez (64-44).
During the streak, junior guard Jeremiah Outler has averaged 18.25 points per game, while classmates AJ Brown has averaged 17 points and Jordan Anthony has averaged 11 points per game.
While the junior trio has handled the bulk of the scoring, seniors Jayden Dixon, Evan Bailey and Tharon Lewis have provided leadership, Gaines said.
The seniors came into the program with Gaines when he was hired four years ago. They’ve had their struggles. Bailey sat out last year with an ACL tear, Lewis broke his leg his sophomore year. Dixon didn’t make the JV team as a freshman and hurt his knee as a sophomore. He became a starter later in the season last year, and this year he is the Sandcrabs’ unsung hero, Gaines said.
“He’s the glue that holds our team together,” Gaines said. “He does all the dirty work for us. He doesn’t score a lot but does everything else for us. We wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for him.”
Seabreeze is not the most athletic team, Gaines said. Anthony, at 6-foot-5, is the only player on the taller than 6-3. He’s also the best shooter, hitting 38% of his 3-point shots (15 of 39). The 6-3 Outler leads the team in rebounding with 6.5 per game. The second best rebounder is Brown, who stands 5-9, but he showed off his jumping ability with a dunk against University.
During a timeout, (the 5-foot-9 AJ Brown) said, ‘Coach, if I get a breakaway, can I dunk it?’ We were up 20, so I said, ‘Go ahead and dunk it.’ Right away, they passed him the ball and he got a great one-handed dunk.
— RAY GAINES, Seabreeze boys basketball coach
“During a timeout, he said, ‘Coach, if I get a breakaway, can I dunk it?’ Gaines said. “We were up 20, so I said, ‘Go ahead and dunk it.’ Right away, they passed him the ball and he got a great one-handed dunk.”
The Sandcrabs have made up for their deficiencies by speeding up the game, Gaines said.
“We’re playing a lot faster,” Gaines said. “Turning up defensive pressure allows us to get a lot of our offense from our defense.”
Gaines said that while many Volusia County schools have multiple transfers, all of the Seabreeze players, except one, have been in the Sandcrabs’ program since they were in ninth grade.
“It’s a super close unit,” he said. “They hang out in school and out of school, and it’s really shown up on the basketball court.”
