National Signing Day tracker for Rock Hill area high schools. Who’s going where next season?

The first Wednesday of February is a special day for many high school athletes — It’s National Signing Day, the day on which high school athletes can announce their commitments to continue their athletic careers in college.

The tri-county area’s depth of athletic talent was on full display when more than 75 athletes committed to colleges around the country.

Buford had two signees from its football program: Wide receiver Aaron Morris and long snapper Ricky Mckinnon both committed to Newberry.

Morris said he chose Newberry because of its proximity to home, and him attending with a high school teammate sweetens the deal even more.

“Yeah, it does a lot,” Morris said. “It makes you feel more at home.”

Andrew Jackson also had two football players sign Wednesday: Receiver Banks Helms committed to Brevard and tight end Hayden Williams to Limestone.

Athletes of this caliber are a major boost to any team, and not just for their teammates.

“We had a really good senior class, we had 16 seniors,” said Jeremy Smith, who finished his first season as the Volunteers’ head coach this past fall. “The underclassmen, they all bought into what these guys did because of the success they had the year before, and they had bought into that and bought into what kind of players these guys were and they stepped up. These two, Banks and Hayden, they were voted captains and leaders, and it does make your job easier as a coach when it’s more player-led than coach-led. They did a good job of that this year.”

Some signees, like Lewisville two-sport athlete and Clemson baseball commit Dion Brown, still have their senior seasons to play.

Brown said that there’s been some friendly jabs between him and his father, Sheldon Brown, a University of South Carolina football alum, and his best friend, fellow Lewisville two-sport athlete and USC baseball commit Cade Pilgrim. But Brown said that he’s happy with where he decided to attend college.

“They showed me real love since the day I stepped on campus for a camp,” Brown said. “I had a great relationship with Coach (Monte) Lee, but unfortunately, he (got fired). Then Coach (Erik) Bakich came in, he was talking to me. Coach (Nick) Schnabel, I talked to all of them. Built a good relationship with them, and then just really went from there, and it felt the same as with Coach Lee.”

South Pointe signee Zantwan ‘Boss’ Nelson had a magical 24-hour window.

After hitting two game-winning free throws to beat rival Northwestern and secure a playoff spot for the Stallions on Tuesday night, Nelson announced his commitment to play football at Hampton University on Wednesday afternoon.

“It’s awesome, it’s awesome,” he said. “You have to take it all in, take it day by day, and never give up on yourself. I feel like (Hampton) is going to be a great fit for me, and I can’t wait to get on campus and work.”

An often-unsung hero of signing days is the athletic director.

They work with athletes to best put them in position to succeed in high school and beyond.

“It feels good, man,” South Pointe athletic director Carlos Richardson said. “Coaches have their season, athletes have their season, but this is kind of my season. Where you want to make sure you’re getting kids where they need to be, but that starts off in the classroom. We’re blessed right now to have student-athletes with great GPAs that we can go out and advocate for them to make sure they can get to the next level.”

Here is a list of student-athletes who have announced their commitments.

Andrew Jackson High School

Hayden Williams (Football) – Limestone University

Banks Helms (Football) – Brevard College

Buford High School

Ricky Mckinnon (Football) – Newberry College

Aaron Morris (Football) – Newberry College

Catawba Ridge High School

Aiden Cattarin (Baseball) – Florence-Darlington Technical College

Peyton Dhein (Baseball) – Virginia Military Institute

Brennan Helms (Baseball) – Francis Marion University

Jackson Mullen (Baseball) – College of Charleston

Owen Noonan (Baseball) – Winthrop University

Ben Wilson (Baseball) – Coker University

Dominic Rigoni (Cross Country) – Francis Marion University

Hailey Smith (Dance) – Erskine College

Kyleen Bents (Girls Soccer) – East Carolina University

Sadie Commeford (Girls Soccer) – East Tennessee State University

Peyton Pierson (Girls Soccer) – Mars Hill University

Sarah Sexton (Girls Soccer) – Furman University

Chloe Burger (Softball) – USC Upstate

Audrey Wilson (Softball) – UNC Charlotte

Jake Root (Swimming) – Lynn University

Amelia Nifong (Track) – Columbia College

Olivia Dubrow (Track) – Lehigh University

Chester High School

Elijah Coleman (Football) – TBD

Reggie Heath (Football) – Newberry College

Antonio Hopkins (Football) – Union College

Clover High School

Brayden Woolbright (Football) – Charleston Southern University

Zachary Cheatham (Football) – University of Charleston

Neal Farris (Football) – East Tennessee State University

Deontae Starr (Football) – Lenior-Rhyne

Gabriella Watkins (Dance) – Erskine College

Fort Mill High School

Gavin Brandwood (Football) – Elon University

Remington Clark (Cycling) – Milligan University

Thomas Ealey (Baseball) – Virginia State

MacKenzie Finn (Golf) – Belmont Abbey College

Elijah Grant (Track) – Howard University

Landon Kurtz (Football) – University of South Carolina

Indian Land High School

Isaac Peña (Baseball) – Snead State

Logan Sulli (Baseball) – Florence-Darlington Technical College

Jack Ammann (Boys Soccer) – Lander University

Hannah Nerdinsky (Girls Soccer) – Coker University

Siena Wilson (Girls Soccer) – University of Mount Olive

Jaxon Scheidt (Football) – Newberry College

Jake Recker (Football) – University of South Carolina

Trey Rodriguez (Football) – Johnson C. Smith University

Lewisville High School

KJ Davis (Football) – South Carolina Central Christian College

Montre Fletcher (Football) – South Carolina Christian College

Natarious McCullough (Football) – Limestone

Cade Foster (Football) – Brevard

Junior Howze (Football) – Averett

JaQuintus Cousar (Football) – South Carolina Central Christian College

Cade Pilgrim (Baseball) – University of South Carolina

Dion Brown (Baseball) – Clemson University

Nation Ford High School

Mia Royall (Track/Cross Country) – West Point

Northwestern High School

Vance Ventry (Football) – Newberry College

South Pointe High School

Elijah Sanders (Baseball) – Florence-Darlington Technical College

Jackson Switzer (Clay Shooting) – Montreat College

Garrett Brown (Distance Running) – Clemson University

Sierra Faulkner (Volleyball) – Clinton College

Xavier Preston (Football) – Newberry College

Mikey Mann (Football) – Newberry College

Daniel Caldwell (Football) – Johnson C. Smith University

Zantwan Nelson (Football) – Hampton University

CJ Dixon (Football) – Catawba College

Malachi Marshall (Football) – Stony Brook University

York Comprehensive High School

Ayden Davis (Football) – North Carolina Central University

DeMaurion Stewart (Football) – Livingston College

Zadarrius Carter (Football) – Livingston College

Tay McClure (Football) – St. Andrews College

Michael McConnell (Football) – St. Andrews College

Trey Wanger (Football) – Catawba College

Najib Yunasah (Football) – Catawba College

Dalton Russell (Football) – Limestone College

Bryson Steele (Football) – Wingate College

Debo Hall (Football) – Presbyterian College

Hunter Layne (Football) – TBD

Tyler Koester (Football) – TBD

Javarus Guthrie (Football) – TBD

Anna Kate Dover (Softball) – USC Beaufort

Avery Smith (Softball) – Erskine