Archive for November, 2012

Kennesaw State’s softball team has signed four:  Lauren Bennett (Hoschton, Ga./Mill Creek HS) and Taylor Denton (Grayson, Ga./Grayson HS), catcher Madison Whitmire (Hoschton, Ga./Jackson County HS) and pitcher/athlete Logan Viers (Abingdon, Va./Abingdon HS).

“We’re very proud of this early signing class,” said Kennesaw State coach Scott Whitlock said in a press release. “We feel like we’ve gone out and really taken care of some needs that we had in the ball club. All four young women are fine softball players. They are very good students and they come from great families. They have all the characteristics, all the ear markings that you look for in a recruit and we’re really excited about them.”

The four signees will join the Owls starting in the fall of 2013.

• Bennett, one of three members of the Atlanta Vipers travel team in this year’s signing class, was a star athlete for her Mill Creek high school softball team, earning First-Team All-County accolades all …

Continue reading Kennesaw State signs four for softball »

JaQuay Williams, the state’s No. 1 prospect at WR last year, will take official visits to UGA and Texas A&M over the next two weekends.

The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder from Sandy Creek High School signed with Auburn last February but fell just short of NCAA requirements. Williams is spending this fall at Virginia’s Fork Union prep school and is planning on enrolling at a four-year college in January.

The uncertainty of Gene Chizik's future at 2-8 Auburn has the team's football recruits checking out options (AP)

Williams is still officially listed as an Auburn commitment, but – like many other recruits pledged to Tigers – still looking at other colleges due to speculation over Gene Chizik’s future at the SEC school. Auburn is 2-8, and the school president issued a statement that the football program will be evaluated after the season.

Williams will fly to Texas A&M this weekend and then take an official visit to UGA for Georgia Tech game. Williams and his family have also …

Continue reading JaQuay Williams: Auburn WR commit to make official visits to UGA and Texas A&M »

Kaela Davis of Buford, Ga., the nation’s No. 2-ranked girls basketball prospect by ESPN, headlines Georgia Tech’s recruiting class.

Along with Davis, Donnaizha Fountain of Cambridge, Mass., and Gabrielle Holston of Birmingham, Ala., make up the Yellow Jackets’  2013 recruiting class. The trio gives Georgia Tech a top-20 recruiting class for the third straight year.

“This class is the most athletic class we have ever signed,” Georgia Tech coach MaChelle Joseph said in a press release. “All three of these unique players have the ability to impact our program.”

Kaela Davis: She is a 6-2 guard, is ranked No. 1 overall by Peach State Basketball and JumpOffPlus.com. She was named to the 2012-13 Preseason American Family Insurance ALL-USA Girls Team by USA Today Sports. Davis helped lead Norcross to the Class AAAAA state title as a freshman before transferring to Buford. At Buford, Davis led her team to the Class AA state title in 2011 and the state runner-up in 2012. …

Continue reading Nation’s No. 2-ranked recruit signs with Georgia Tech »

UGA women’s basketball added a third recruit on Thursday.

Halle Washington, a 6-3, forward from Bossier City, La., signed with the Bulldogs. Washington is rated as the nation’s No. 30 overall prospect and No. 10 forward by ESPN’s Hoopgurlz.

“Halle is obviously very well thought of on the national level and rightfully so,” UGA coach Andy Landers said in a press release. “She a tremendous competitor…a warrior. She has a complete skill set, is eager to develop and fits very well into our style of play.”

Washington was named second-team all-state by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for Class 5A as a junior after averaging 14.9 points, 9.3 rebounds 2.6 blocks and 2.2 steals per game for Parkway High School. As a sophomore, Washington was tabbed honorable mention all-state and first-team All-Metro by the Shreveport Times. Washington signed her papers at Parkway on Thursday morning. “I told everyone that was there for the signing that what makes her such a special …

Continue reading UGA adds 3rd recruit to class »

Georgia State golf coach Joe Inman has announced the signing of Nathan Mallonee to a National Letter of Intent to start playing for the Panthers next fall. The highly-touted junior golfer from Lexington, Ga. has an impressive resume of junior and amateur golf.

“Nathan is a well-rounded student-athlete who I know will make an impact on our team next year,” Inman said in a press release. “He is a very good student, has a solid golf game and is the type of hard worker who can be successful at the college level.”

The 6-3 Mallonee will come to Georgia State from Oglethorpe County High School. During the last two years, he has six top five finishes on the Southeastern Junior Golf Tour and recently finished 25th at the Georgia PGA State Open.

Mallonee won the SJGT UGA AutoTrader.com Invitational one month ago, shooting rounds of 73 and 67 on the UGA University Course.

He finished 23rd at the AJGA Burgett H. Mooney Jr. Rome Classic, firing a second round 70 over the …

Continue reading Georgia State lands one of the state’s best »

The best friend of Robert Nkemdiche de-committed from Clemson on Tuesday night.

David Kamara, a 3-star defensive back from Grayson High School, told the AJC that he was backing off his commitment to Clemson.

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“I just wanted to take my visits everywhere to make sure that I was making the right decision,” Kamara said.

This past weekend, Kamara and Nkemdiche made an unofficial visit together to Ole Miss.

Last week, Nkemdiche de-committed from Clemson after being pledged to the Tigers since June. One day before, Kamara had committed to Clemson, with his best friend from middle school eventually following.

Kamara also boasts an offer from Ole Miss. He said Hugh Freeze and his staff made sure he knew the scholarship was still available this past weekend.

“It was never a thought that I didn’t (have it),” Kamara said.

Kamara said he recently …

Continue reading Robert Nkemdiche’s best friend de-commits from Clemson, too »

Posted at 2:29 p.m. Wednesday

The next great Georgia Tech guard? (247sports)

Georgia Tech signed two basketball players on Wednesday, the first day of the NCAA’s early period:  6-foot-1 guard Solomon Poole of Jacksonville, Fla., and 6-8 forward Quinton Stephens of Marist high school.

“I’m very excited about the addition of these two highly-regarded prospects,” Georgia Tech coach Brian Gregory said in a press release. “Both Solomon and Quinton will be great additions to the Georgia Tech program because they bring the qualities that we are looking for as we continue to build. They both come from great basketball families. Their fathers played at the collegiate and professional levels, and they were taught the importance of academics from an early age.” Here’s more info on both:

• Solomon Poole: An all-state guard last season at Terry Parker High School in Jacksonville, where he averaged 21 points a game, will join his older brother, sophomore Stacey, Jr., on the …

Continue reading Georgia Tech signs 5-star prospect »

UGA's Mark Fox (AJC)

Posted at 3:25 pm Wednesday

UGA signed two basketball players on Wednesday, the first day of the NCAA’s early period: 5-foot-9 point guard JJ Frazier of Glennville, Ga., and 6-4 shooting guard Juwan Parker of Tulsa, Okla.

“We needed to add more backcourt players and I am excited to add these two guards to our team,” UGA basketball coach Mark Fox said in a press release.  “Both are the type of student athletes who will be successful at UGA.”

Here’s some information on both:

• JJ Frazier: He is beginning his senior season at Faith Baptist Christian Academy in Ludowici, Ga.  He averaged 26.2 points, 4.9 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 3.1 steals per game last season for the Crusaders, who won 33 games in 2012.  The 5-9, 160-pound guard is considered the state’s top prospect at his position in the Class of 2013. Frazier played his AAU basketball for the South Georgia Kings program from Hinesville, Ga. “J.J. is a quick and dynamic playmaking point …

Continue reading UGA secures its “Backcourt of the Future” »

The recruiting journey of longtime UGA DB commit Steven Nelson took another twist on Tuesday.

Nelson, who had been committed to UGA since last February, backed off his pledge to the Bulldogs.

Ex-UGA DB commit Steven Nelson played at Northside-Warner Robins High School (Special)

The highly-regarded defensive back from a California junior college will likely decide between Oregon State and Texas Tech in December.

Nelson is a native of Warner Robins and, he is ranked as the nation’s No. 2 DB out of the junior college ranks by 247sports.com.

“Steven did de-commit from Georgia but he has not committed anywhere else right now,” Fred Zepeda, the defensive backs coach at the College of Sequoias junior college, told the AJC.

“He took a long time to think about everything before he made this decision (to de-commit). I’m just supporting Steven with whatever he does. I told him to go ahead and take his trip to Houston on Dec. 14. He will probably wait until sometime over his …

Continue reading Longtime UGA DB commit backs off Bulldogs »

When offered a second chance to commit to Georgia Tech, Aquinas RB Brendan Douglas moved quickly (courtesy of Douglas family)

One of the state’s top sleeper prospects committed to Georgia Tech on late Tuesday night.

Brendan Douglas, a 6-foot, 220-pound running back from Augusta’s Aquinas high school, committed on the spot after getting a phone call from Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson.

“Coach Johnson just told me ‘Are you ready to commit? We’ve got a scholarship for you,’” Douglas told the AJC. “I said ‘Yes, sir. I’m ready to do it.’ It was exciting.”

Douglas had football scholarship offers from smaller schools, such as Georgia Southern, Wofford, The Citadel and Samford. He also got looks from bigger schools, such as Auburn (where his older brother signed) and UGA.

This was Brendan’s second opportunity to commit to Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets offered Douglas early last spring, but filled the scholarship spots before he reached a decision.

“I …

Continue reading RB is commit No. 15 for Georgia Tech after getting call from Paul Johnson »