National Signing Day: Columbus-area high school athletes lock in commitments

Even though Reynoldsburg’s Makiya Miller, Mya Perry and Imarianah Russell didn’t become high school teammates for the first time until last winter, signing women’s basketball letters of intent together Nov. 11 felt like the culmination of a shared process.

Russell spent her first two seasons at Dublin Coffman before transferring to Reynoldsburg, but the three, all of whom signed with Division I programs, have known each other for much longer.

National Signing Day list: Central Ohio high school athletes make commitments official

“It means a lot to be able to sign with the girls I’ve been playing with since third grade,” Miller said. “I’ve been able to see our growth as both women and athletes and (Nov. 11) was a big moment for all three of us.”

While Miller signed with Wright State, Russell signed with West Virginia and Perry signed with Ohio State.

Combined with Alexia Mobley, who was a junior last winter but graduated early and is now at Louisville, the Raiders went 16-5 and won a Division I district title last season.

Russell, whose brother, Hammond Russell, is a Coffman graduate who plays football for West Virginia, surpassed the 1,000-point mark last season.

Perry joins an Ohio State program that features four players from central Ohio, including junior guard Jacy Sheldon, another Coffman graduate.

“It’s my hometown, and I want everyone who has watched me since I was little to watch me in college,” Perry said. “Ohio State had to be one of the best atmospheres I’ve ever been in.”

Also signing with Wright State was Worthington Kilbourne’s Lauren Scott, while Gahanna Lincoln’s Bella Ward signed with Xavier, Northland’s Charia Smith signed with Marquette and Delaware Hayes’ Chloe Jeffers signed with Butler.

Gahanna and Coffman also had major commitments in men’s basketball, with the Lions’ Sean Jones (Marquette) and Javan Simmons (Toledo) and the Shamrocks’ Ajay Sheldon (Ohio University) signing.

Also in men’s basketball, Olentangy Liberty’s Cooper Davis signed with Toledo and Westerville South’s Drey Carter signed with Wright State.

While Jones surpassed the 1,000-point mark while leading Gahanna to a Division I regional final last winter, Ajay Sheldon averaged a Coffman program-record 23.5 points.

“I’m a big-people person, and I absolutely loved the coaches and staff (at Ohio University),” said Ajay, who is Jacy’s brother. “OU is a great school, and it was the perfect fit for me. So much of this decision was about fit, and I felt like OU was really the perfect fit. … The basketball aspect of things is obviously really good there.”

While football has signing periods in December and February and other sports have signings in February and April, here are other highlights from the November signing period:

•SWIMMING & DIVING – Central Ohio has become a hotbed for swimming and diving, and this year’s group of signings reflects that.

In women’s diving, Columbus Academy’s Blake Skilken signed with Ohio State and New Albany’s Emma Skinner signed with Wisconsin.

In women’s swimming, Dublin Jerome’s Kelsey Cooper signed with Purdue, Olentangy’s Martina Peroni is headed to Duke, Upper Arlington’s Riley Huddleston and Caroline Porterfield are going to Northwestern and Georgia Tech, respectively, Watterson’s Olivia Oyster signed with Xavier and Westerville Central’s Kiah Smith also will go to Georgia Tech.

Two of New Albany’s top swimmers will be going even farther away: Ava Lachey will compete for UCLA and Olivia Hovorka signed with UC-Santa Barbara.

“I chose UCLA for the amazing academics and athletics,” Lachey said. “I know at first being far from home will be an adjustment, but going to school in California has been a dream of mine since I was little.”

Among the signings in men’s swimming were DeSales’ Brady McInerney (Kentucky), Coffman’s Zac Stump (Navy), Olentangy’s Cameron Kuriger (Florida Gulf Coast) and St. Charles’ Spencer Arnou-Rhees (Texas) and Ben Stevenson (Indiana).

•LACROSSE – Signing day was busy for area players. There were more than two dozen women’s commitments announced, including New Albany’s Mary Carson (Colorado) and Katie Kaucheck (Ohio State), UA’s Camryn Callaghan (Cincinnati) and Watterson’s Zoe Coleman (Ohio State).

On the men's side, DeSales’ Jackson Carawan and UA’s Leo Caine both signed with Richmond, UA’s Sam Burns signed with Ohio State and four players committed from 2021 Division I state champion Jerome, including Chase Tzagournis to Denver.

•SOCCER – UA’s Abby Reisz, a first-team all-state honoree who split time between being a field player and goalie this fall, signed with Tennessee.

Other high-profile signings in women’s soccer included Watterson’s Gabriela Rotolo (Ohio State) and Brooklyn Scythes (UNC-Asheville), Coffman’s Norah Roush and Hilliard Davidson’s Sydney Thompson with Miami University, Olentangy Orange’s Secora Johnson (Eastern Michigan) and Worthington Kilbourne’s Celeste Sloma and Orange’s Maia Kaufman with Ohio University.

In men’s soccer, New Albany’s Ashton Bilow signed with Ohio State and Coffman’s Nick Kapustin committed to West Point.

•VOLLEYBALL – Division I regional runner-up Orange had one of the area’s top signings in Hanna Borer with Virginia Tech.

Big Walnut’s Caroline Speelman (Xavier), Dublin Scioto’s Avya Leon (Cleveland State), Gahanna’s Kendall White (Liberty), Olentangy Berlin’s Lauren Young (Jacksonville) and UA’s Macy Medors (Toledo) were among others who announced their commitments.

•GOLF – After helping New Albany capture its fourth consecutive Division I state title, Kary Hollenbaugh signed with Ohio State and Anna Ritter signed with Illinois.

In men’s golf, three players signed after helping Jerome finish fourth at state: Sheil Iyer (Ohio), Brett Podobinski (Miami) and Carson Trafford (Ohio).

Also signing with Ohio University in men’s golf was Liberty’s Jack O’Donnell.

•WRESTLING – Coffman’s Seth Shumate heads into his final prep season as a two-time state champion and with his commitment to Ohio State finalized.

Also signing from the Shamrocks was Mitchell Broskie with Kent State, and Westerville North’s Connor Euton signed with Iowa State.

•CROSS COUNTRY/TRACK & FIELD – The biggest name came off the board, as Westerville Central senior sprinter Justin Braun signed with the USC men’s track team.

Braun won the 100, 200 and 400 meters in the Division I state meet last spring.

Two of the area’s top pole vaulters landed scholarships, with Orange’s Taylor Hill committing to the Virginia Military Institute women’s team and Hilliard Davidson’s Jack De Francesco committing to the North Carolina men’s team.

In women’s cross country, Davidson’s Alyssa Mason followed her sixth-place finish at state by signing with Ohio University and fellow Division I state qualifier Riley Tate of Kilbourne signed with Purdue Fort Wayne.

•TENNIS – Megan Basil, who helped UA reach the Division I state girls team tournament, signed with Ohio State.

Wellington’s Alexis Burkhalter and Jerome’s Max Fickas signed with Belmont Abbey in women’s and men’s tennis, respectively.

•BASEBALL – Orange’s Matt Wolfe signed with Vanderbilt. Other commitments included Canal Winchester’s Zade Fusselman with Wright State and Hartley’s Emmett Gillies and New Albany’s Aaron Pirkle, both with Akron.

•SOFTBALL – Among about a dozen players to announce their commitments were two who will play at Bowling Green in Coffman’s Marti Henkel and Liberty’s Ashley Chevalier.

julrey@thisweeknews.com

@UlreyThisWeek

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: National Signing Day: Central Ohio athletes announce college decisions