37 Rock Hill-area athletes (and counting) sign to play in college. Hear their stories
The initial signing period for high school seniors who plan to play college sports began Nov. 11.
And despite a disrupted recruitment period caused by the pandemic, 37 Class of 2021 athletes from The Herald’s coverage have put their futures on paper.
Hear from the area’s athletes below.
South Pointe celebrates Trinity Adams
South Pointe’s Trinity Adams signed with Francis Marion on Thursday. The senior guard, who was a key part of South Pointe’s 2019 and 2020 Upper State Championship teams, was named to the 2019-20 Region 3-4A All-Region team and was voted the region’s 2020-21 preseason player of the year, per South Pointe coach Stephanie Butler-Graham.
Adams has scored 850 points in three seasons — and she’ll likely be the next Stallion to reach 1,000 points scored, following in the proverbial footsteps of last year’s seniors Jamia Blake and Randi Neal.
Adams told reporters after her signing day event that she’s hopeful to bring her team to the state championship stage again. But no matter what, she knows she’s helped build the South Pointe program into what it is today.
“Definitely Coach Butler,” Adams said softly with a big smile when asked what she thinks about when she hears “South Pointe basketball,” adding, “All my former teammates, and everything we did in the past and what we’re going to do in the future.”
Clover has dozens sign, including Charlotte commit Aylesha Wade
Aylesha Wade is among the best girls’ basketball players to ever play at Clover High, but she’d shrug that compliment off the moment she heard it.
Wade, a 5-6 point guard who signed to Charlotte on Wednesday, averaged 20.5 points, 3.1 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game and led her team to an Upper State title last season. She earned an All-State selection (her third) and was named to the All-Region 3-5A team for a fourth consecutive year. She also won Region Player of the Year for a second consecutive time in 2020.
“Charlotte, I love that school,” Wade told The Herald on Wednesday with a big smile. “They were the first school to give me a chance. The first Division I school to give me a chance. … They’ve seen me play some of my best basketball, but they’ve seen me play some of my worst basketball, too, and they stuck around the whole time, pushing me, motivating me. They checked all the right boxes, and it was the right fit for me.”
In addition to Wade, Clover had three baseball players sign to play somewhere in college: Timothy Keefauver to Erskine College; Jacob Maness to Coker University; and Dawson Wainscott to Averett University. Kayleigh Walz signed to cheer for Limestone. Addie Neuffer signed to run at Montreat College; and Amelia McCauley and Autumn Huskey signed to play lacrosse at Lander University.
Cheyenne Scott of the Clover softball team signed to play at Howard University. From Clover volleyball, Abby Talley signed to play at Pfeiffer and Ali Simon signed to play at Brevard College.
Clover saw four soccer players sign to play in college, too: Abbie Boling (Coker College); Alondra Nieves (Georgia State University); Jadelyn Taylor (Francis Marion University); and Sammi Wolf (Lander University).
Fort Mill has 9 athletes sign
Fort Mill celebrated the careers of nine fall signees last week — the most the school’s had in recent memory, said athletic director Dwayne Hartsoe.
Lauren Ambrose signed to play volleyball at Appalachian State. She received All Region honors three years in a row, and she’ll be continuing the Ambrose family tradition of playing high-level sports in college: “My mom played basketball at Dayton in Ohio and my Dad (Frank, who coaches football at South Pointe now) played football at Indiana,” Ambrose said. She then laughed: “There was really no option other than college sports.”
Allyson Hall, also of Fort Mill volleyball (and a four-year varsity player for the softball team), signed to play volleyball at the University of South Carolina-Lancaster last week.
Baseball player Brayden Kurtz, who compiled 27 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.76 while at Fort Mill, signed to play at George Washington University last week: “Obviously my junior year got cut short (because of the pandemic), but my sophomore year, competing in the playoffs with such good friends of mine, that was perfect.”
Other signees from Fort Mill:
▪ Mason Kenworthy (Coker University, lacrosse)
▪ Peyton Farley (Wingate University, lacrosse)
▪ MacLean Reilly (Lander University, lacrosse)
▪ Griffin Tarver (Charleston Southern, golf)
▪ Bryce Wittmer (Lander University, golf)
▪ Kevin Wright (Brevard college, soccer)
Nation Ford has 4 athletes sign
Nation Ford High School saw four athletes sign to play college sports last week.
Justin Lehman signed to play baseball at West Pointe: “Army stood out specifically because ever since I was little, I always wanted to be able to help people, go out of my way and just serve the country. And that’s always been a big thing for me. Both of my great grandparents were (pilots in World War II).”
Maddie Berhorst signed to play lacrosse at Ohio State, and she persevered despite two season-ending knee injuries in two consecutive years: “Just not having that, and not having something to look forward to — after school I go run, go to the field and shoot — and not being able to do any of that, that was so hard for me. I just couldn’t imagine life without a sport.”
Emily Morris committed to play soccer at Wake Forest the summer before her freshman year and officially signed this month: “I kept visiting and coming back to camps. And every time I just loved it even more.”
Katie Pou, a four-time state champion, finalized her decision to play at the University of Pennsylvania.
Westminster Catawba’s AJ Hamrick signs to CSU
Westminster Catawba Christian School in Rock Hill witnessed AJ Hamrick sign to play basketball at Charleston Southern University last week.
Legion Collegiate has 8 sign
The Herald ran a story last week about Legion’s signing day event — an event that gave parents and school administrators the chance to celebrate eight soon-to-be college athletes and reflect on the mission of the newest public charter school in Rock Hill.
The event featured six baseball signees: Kollin Crepeau (Francis Marion); Ryan Deal (Erskine); Parker Helm (Methodist); Cody Craig (Florence-Darlington Technical College); Hunter Fryzowicz (UNC Asheville); Colby Guy (NC Central).
It also featured Reagan Smith, who signed to play softball at Newberry, and Phillip Ford, who’ll join the cycling program at Brevard College.
The Herald wants to ensure that athletes from high schools in York County, Chester County and Lancaster County are recognized for signing National Letters of Intent. Is a name missing from this article? Please email azietlow@heraldonline.com.
This story was originally published November 18, 2020 at 8:57 PM.
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