BOILING SPRINGS, SC - In front of a large collection of cameras, family, and friends the Boiling Springs community saw 14 student athletes sign to continue their careers at the college level next season.
The Boiling Springs baseball team, who just won the region championship this past Friday night, had three players sign on Monday morning. The first player to sign was Bulldogs pitcher Jackson Cole, who has been a member of the varsity team since being a ninth grader, signed to continue his career with Clemson University. Cole this season has gone 6-0 on the mound with a 0.94 ERA to go along with 86 strikeouts. He said that the opportunity to play baseball for Clemson was a lifelong goal, where he plans on majoring in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management. "It has always been a dream of mine to play at Clemson and when the opportunity came it was a no-brainer," said Cole. "Whether baseball was part of the deal or not I always wanted to go to Clemson because I just love the campus but to get the opportunity to play baseball as well it just made the choice obvious." Another member of the baseball team that signed at the ceremony was his battery mate, catcher Hudson Wilson who signed to play baseball for Anderson University next season. Wilson this season is batting .362 this season and has been a member of the Bulldogs varsity since ninth grade where he has played outfield, shortstop, and catcher in the four years. Wilson plans on majoring in business management at Anderson and says he made the choice because of the closeness to home as well as his desire to play for the coaches there. "I really like it there because it's close to home and I like all the coaches down there," said Wilson. "It's a great campus with a small community feel which I really like." Luke Compton, the third member of the baseball team to sign on Monday has also played for the Bulldogs since being a ninth grader and signed to play ball next year at Newberry University. Compton, who is batting .377 and 11.steals this year with only five strikeouts, said that he is signing with the Wolves, where he plans on majoring in business financing, because of the closeness of the campus and how it feels like family. "I'm super excited about getting down there because it's close to home and has a great atmosphere around it," said Compton. "The atmosphere is great because it's a small campus so it's like a family and you just know everybody." Boiling Springs girls soccer also had three players sign on Monday as Kenturah Meadows, Dreyhana Nesbitt, and Emily Vargas all signed to continue their college careers at local schools next year. Kenturah Meadows signed to continue her career at Spartanburg Methodist College next season where she plans to major in accounting and financial management. She said that a familiarity with the coaching staff and the location were big factors in her decision. "I like that it's a smaller school that is close to home," said Meadows. "I also really love the coach, as he was a coach of mine last year, and I knew it was a good opportunity. I also get the opportunity to play with some former teammates there from here next year." Dreyhana Nesbitt and Emily Vargas both signed to continue their college careers at Converse University next year. Nesbitt said she is still undecided on a major while Vargas plans on majoring in physical therapy. Both players said the campus drew them to make the decision while also the chance to continue their playing careers together. Nesbitt said that the closeness to home along with a familiarity of other freshmen joining the team next year helped her make her decision. "I knew the coach from years before but the campus just felt like home almost like a community of its own as everyone seemed so welcoming," said Nesbitt. "I also know a lot of the incoming freshman from my club soccer years so it was easy to connect with that and I feel like going there will be a good learning experience for me. I also like that it's close to home." Vargas said that her decision to attend Converse came down to her love of the campus and while she committed before knowing her teammate would be going there too, it'll be nice to continue her career with someone she's played soccer with since the third grade. "I like the school as I used to take swimming lessons there and when I went to take a tour with coaches I liked how beautiful and peaceful the campus was on that trip," said Vargas. "I also liked how welcoming the students were when I went to visit and it's going to be nice to get to play with Drey for another four years since we've played on the same teams since third grade." The back-to-back state championship winning boy's golf team also had two members sign on Monday morning as Andrew Gregory signed to play at Liberty University and Will Waddell signed to play at Spartanburg Methodist College next year. Gregory said that the views at Liberty, where he plans on majoring in sports management, made the campus a hard one to turn down. "Liberty is pretty nice," said Gregory. "The campus is awesome with some great views and it makes it a hard campus not to pick. It's a Christian school which will help me and their golf team is pretty good too." Waddell said that the closeness to home for Spartanburg Methodist College, where he plans to major in business, was the big factor in his decision. "It's tiny and close to home which is all I need," said Waddell. "The big factor was being able to stay close to my mom and dad because they're my number one crew." Josh Bravo and Will Poplawski, two members of the Boiling Springs boys soccer team, signed to continue their college careers at Spartanburg Methodist College next season. The pair have helped position the Bulldogs in their senior season to play for the first region championship for the team since 1994. Bravo, who plans on majoring in marketing, said that the campus felt like home but that the attitude of the coaches was a huge factor in his decision. "I was still deciding if I wanted to play college soccer but at the end of the day SMC just felt like home," said Bravo. "The coaches were really nice and came to watch me play a few times and it just felt like a great community there." Poplawski, who plans on majoring in sports management, said the opportunity to play on the same team with a current teammate so close to home was a key factor in his decision. "I'm excited to get to play soccer with Josh in college as its been fun in high school," said Poplawski. "I like that it's close to home and the coaches are just great." Kam'ron Williams, a member of the Boiling Springs football and basketball teams, signed to continue his football career at Limestone University next season. Williams as a junior ran for 785 yards along with five touchdowns and had started on a strong foot as a senior before suffering an injury in game five of the season but still finished the season with over 300 yards of offense. He said that his decision to attend Limestone was because of the family feel that he felt around the program. "I knew once I got the offer that I was going to go there," said Williams. "I knew it was the right place for me and it just felt like home and having that connection with Coach Furrey just made the decision an automatic one." The Boiling Springs basketball team also saw starting point guard Tre Locklear sign to play at Limestone University next season. Locklear led the Bulldogs from the point guard position the last two seasons and especially in his senior season where he averaged 17 points, four rebounds, and three assists per game. He said that the atmosphere led him to Limestone along with some words from his former assistant coach. "Limestone is a great place along with a great community and I look forward to being there next year playing under Coach Perry," said Locklear. "They were one of the first schools to give me an opportunity and I just loved it when I visited there. Coach Baldinelli, who played there, told me a lot about the school and it just seemed like a great fit for me." In a little bit of history making signing, the first ever member of the Boiling Springs volleyball team signed to play at Erskine College next season. Tucker Walters, a member of the first ever Boiling Springs volleyball team as an eighth grader, signed to continue his career at Erskine College next season where he plans to major in business administration. He said the opportunity to play volleyball at a program in his home state was a big factor in his decision. "Erskine was the first school to contact me and the coaches have been really good to me so that's why I decided to go there," said Walters. "Being one of the schools in the state to have men's volleyball helped with my decision as well as they also are the only school in the state with beach volleyball which I may participate in as well." He also added that the opportunity to be part of history, as the program at Erskine is still young and their beach volleyball team is two years old, also helped his decision. "Their beach program will only be in it's second year when I go down there and the opportunity to start a new program is intriguing," said Walters. "The chance to be a part of history feels good as I was on one of the youngest club teams in South Carolina and the first team here at Boiling Springs, it feels good to help start something." Boiling Springs cross country and track runner Sophia Lebrun also signed to continue her career at Mars Hill next season where she will enter as undecided but looking to pursue a degree in either business or zoology. Lebrun will be continuing a career that just started this season as she ran cross country for the first time as a senior this year and has made the most of it as she is currently ranked in the top 40 in the mile according to head coach Drew Thomas. Lebrun said that she chose Mars Hill because it felt like home but also gave her a chance to grow both athletically and academically. "I visited a lot of colleges but when I went there it just felt like home," said Lebrun. "The team was really welcoming and the coach really wanted me to be there so I felt like it would be a great fit for me. which isn't too far from home but still far enough away to get some independence to grow as a person and an athlete." With the signing of the 14 athletes on Monday morning that now puts the Boiling Springs class of 2023 at 23 athletes continuing their athletic careers at the college level next season. Comments are closed.
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