Making the state tournament was a goal in the Akers’ household for 2026. Brayden Akers had reached the top level of high school golf before, and anticipated a return trip.
Maddie Akers also has a set of clubs. Like her brother, she is a talented athlete, but maybe without the same confidence in her golfing abilities.
“I didn't really think I was going to make it,” she said. “I mean, I wanted to go if I could make it. I didn't really think I could, until I did.”
The year before, she had just missed the cut by two people. Her freshman season, she was injured and unable to participate in regionals. Her goals have changed, and she now has another state appearance in mind for the upcoming senior year.
Brayden was fifth in state while representing the Lions. He graduated from Livingston a few weeks ago and now has plans to play in college. He also made the trip to Kingsland’s Legends Golf Course his sophomore year.
“I just didn't play good – didn’t play good at all.” Brayden said of missing state his junior season. “It was very disappointing.”
Back and wrist injuries kept him from advancing further than regionals his freshman year.
“We would have won as a team, but I got hurt,” Brayden said. “It was not a normal high school career.”
Though the boys and girls participate on different weekends at state, the family did make the long drive to Kingsland (west of Austin, north of San Antonio) a few weeks before, for the two to take in a practice round.
“That was just a great experience,” Brayden said. “I was on her nerves the whole day, so that was fun.”
Maddie was disappointed in her performance at state.
“I've played the course before,” she said. “We've gone down there for like a family trip and played a couple times, so I knew somewhat what it looked like, but I did not play good at all. I got 40th.”
The tournament included 76 participants. Having negative feelings about placing amongst the top 40 of all Class 4A golfers in Texas gives a little insight into how much the siblings demand of themselves.
With Brayden placing fifth, Maddie will need a top-four finish next year to secure permanent bragging rights.
The brother leaves an impressive high school career behind. He set a record for the lowest round in district history at three under par. He had the one-day low and then the two-day low with rounds of 70 and 72. At regionals, he recorded the lowest round, the lowest two-day round, and the largest margin of victory at 11 shots. He also holds course and most school records.
Playing football in his freshman year, Brayden focused on the links for his sophomore and junior seasons. This past season, he helped the Lions once again on the gridiron.
“I missed it; it was fun. I love football, but in order to get good and great at something, it takes sacrifice. You can't be the best in Texas and the top of everything playing another sport, you know. So, you just have to lock in with that one, so that's what I did. (Football) is on the come up, that's for sure. Coach (Tucker) Carter's doing a great job. These next two and three years are going to be fun to watch, and it was great to come out there after 0-10 (in 2024) and (start out) 2-0. Even when it didn't finish the way we wanted it to, it was still fun.”
Maddie excels in a fall sport as well, playing a key role on the volleyball court. She also makes time for FFA activities. Volleyball at Livingston is an emerging power, winning postseason games in consecutive seasons, but will have its third coach in three years.
“I knew the coach coming in last year, she was my coach my freshman year, so I kind of knew how she ran things, so that was helpful last year,” Maddie said of Alyssa Fielder. “It's exciting winning all those games. Now, our old coach is gone, but I think the new coach (Casey Veen) is going to be pretty good. She seems like she knows her stuff.
“The beginning of the (past) season, we were down three players to injuries, and we just really didn’t click with each other. Then, we got into pre-district and district, and we started getting in with each other, getting reps, and everything just fell into place.”
Brayden will now continue his golfing at Jacksonville College, a little over two hours north of home.
“Obviously, I could have gone pretty much anywhere for golf, but my junior year – after that disappointing year – man, I was just done with golf. I just wanted to be done. I wanted to go to work and that's what I was set on. I was going to play my senior year and then after I graduated, I was going to be a lineman. Then, (a coach) texts my phone. It was crazy.
“I was filling out for lineman school when (Jacksonville coach) Danny Leatherman texts my phone. He was telling me, ‘Give me a chance and just come visit.’ It just worked out. (In junior college,) you can go two years and they don't count against you, and then you can go to a big school and just be a 20-year-old freshman (in eligibility). So, that's a little advantage. School's a big thing with me. I'm just not a good classroom-type guy. I'll do my work, but I just can't stand schoolwork. So, definitely somewhere smaller to start off will be helpful and it just checked all the boxes. It's not far from home, we travel all over the nation, and the golf tournaments are pretty competitive. I just thought it'd be great for me, and mom and dad thought the same thing.”
Maddie has a year before leaving Livingston, but she has already begun to make plans for a bright future. Though she doesn’t aspire to continue sports in college, there is a desire to pursue the medical field.
“There's this program at Blinn, you can transfer there or you can go there and you'll transfer into (Texas) A&M's medical school. I think I might do that.”
Livingston golf coach Frank Brister said the two have rare talent not normally seen on the high school level.
“(Brayden’s) ability to strike the ball, I mean, his shots are a bunch of tour-level shots,” Brister said. “He's going to play at Jacksonville College, which I'm so happy he's going to play there. The coach there is a guy I've known for 25 years. I actually contacted Danny and said, ‘You need to look at this kid, because he needs to play somewhere.’ He's too good to not play golf when he gets finished.”
The coach also recalled a recent special performance from Maddie.
“Maddie shot in the 80s both days at the district tournament. I've never had a kid do that. It was crazy. I think she won by 50 strokes (over two rounds) at the district championship. It wasn't even close. She hit the ball really good. Any time you're going to shoot in the 80s, you're going to do really good at the district level. I don't know what her plans are, but her ball striking is college level easily.”
Brister retired from teaching and coaching just days ago, and was glad to have the two Akers in his final season.
“They're both great kids; just super, great character,” he said. “They are the kid you want to have as one of your players. Golf seems to lend itself to those types of kids a lot. There’s a lot of parental involvement there. They enjoy playing and obviously they get upset like everybody else. They're just serious about their golf.”
