Top 10 high school mascots in Kentucky: Vote for the best

From Camels to Juggernauts to Redhounds, meet the best high school mascots in Kentucky

A Dromedary camel seems to attempt a smile for the camera. / TIM SHORTT / FLORIDA TODAY / USA TODAY NETWORK

Kentucky is full of juggernauts when it comes to high school sports, but high school mascot fans know there's only one true collection of Juggernauts in the Bluegrass State.

Over the next couple of months, SBLive/SI will be featuring the best high school mascots in every state, giving readers a chance to vote for No. 1 in all 50.

Vote: Best high school mascot in Indiana

Vote: Best high school mascot in Iowa

Vote: Best high school mascot in Kansas

The winners and highest vote-getters will make up the field for our NCAA Tournament-style March Mascot Madness bracket in 2025. The Coalinga Horned Toads (California) are the defending national champions.

Here are High School on SI's top 10 high school mascots in Kentucky (vote in the poll below to pick your favorite):

The poll will close at 11:59 p.m. ET Saturday, Oct. 12.

1. Blackcats (Prestonburg HS)

With Halloween right around the corner, it's a perfect time to honor the Blackcats, though the mascot looks more like a fierce panther than a black domestic cat whose path should not be crossed.

2. Briar Jumpers (Somerset HS)

Kentucky has its fair share of briar, and one rock-solid way to avoid getting stuck by it is with a good, solid jump. Somerset understands this, and its mascot named Cecil is the biggest Briar Jumper of them all.

3. Camels (Campbell County HS)

Not only does Campbell County have one of the best mascots in the country — a camel walking on two legs and wearing a letterman jacket — it's connected to a fantastic mascot that no longer exists. Silver Grove High School, home of the Big Trains, closed in 2019, and those Big Trains chugged a bit south and became Camels.

4. Circuit Riders (Wesley Christian)

The Riders already reigned in Delaware, and now it's the Circuit Riders' turn in the spotlight. Circuit riders were clergymen in the early days of America, usually of the Wesleyan tradition, who rode many miles from one group of believers to another for religious instruction and to establish strong churches.

5. Juggernauts (Lloyd Memorial HS)

From the school’s website about the 1928-29 football team: “The Cincinnati Post wrote the Lloyd’s team played 'like a juggernaut’ and the name stuck. Lloyd then became the Juggernauts, being the only school or college with that mascot.”

6. Purples (Bowling Green HS)

This one would be even better if the high school was just called Bowling and the mascot was the Green Purples, but there's a lot to like about these Purples. The mascot is a muscular purple creature with no mouth and an H on its chest. Why the H instead of BG? Bowling Green and Louisville Male both use the H because at the time they were the only high schools in the area.

7. Redhounds (Corbin HS)

Any fan of Clifford the Big Red Dog needs to get their hands on some Corbin swag now. The Redhounds' mascot looks like Clifford wearing a white sweater and white hat with a bold red C on each.

8. Thoroughbreds (Newport Central Catholic)

South Carolina and Florida also have Thoroughbreds as high school mascots, but how can we not choose a Kentucky school to wear the nickname best? It's 103 miles away from Churchill Downs, but that seems like a stone's throw on the first Saturday in May.

9. Tomcats and Kittens (Ashland Blazer HS)

The Tomcats are a juggernaut in boys basketball, winning state and national championships going all the way back to the 1920s, as are the Kittens in girls basketball. The school has a student physically become the school's mascot at sporting events, performing simply as "The Cat."

10. Valkyries (Sacred Heart)

From the Sacred Heart website: "Why be just a girl when you can be a Valkyrie? Our mascot is the Valkyrie — a Norse mythological woman who carried the bodies of brave deceased warriors to Valhalla (heaven). At SHA, we consider a Valkyrie to be a strong woman of great faith!"

—

Download the SBLive App

To get live updates on your phone — as well as follow your favorite teams and top games — you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App | Download Android App

-- Mike Swanson | swanson@scorebooklive.com | @sblivesports