Oklahoma HS notes: Caddo star commits to OU softball; Mount St. Mary volleyball undefeated

With fall sports underway, Oklahoma high school athletes are committing to college programs, reaching milestones and propelling their teams to notable wins.

Here are some recent highlights in softball, volleyball, football and cross country.

Two-time state champion McKay commits to OU softball

Kadey Lee McKay has always known where she wanted to play college softball.

So, when the Caddo standout was offered to play for two-time reigning national champion Oklahoma, she took it.

McKay, who has helped Caddo win two state championships, announced her commitment to the Sooners on Saturday.

“Couldn’t have done it without my family, coaches and everyone's support,” she wrote in a tweet.

Caddo softball coach Dustin McKay remembers asking his daughter what her second option was a few weeks ago.

“I really haven’t thought about No. 2,” Kadey said. “I want to go to OU.”

Everything has panned out for the junior.

Kadey is batting .540 with one home run and 36 RBI this season. Caddo is on another great run with a 30-1 record with just six games left in the regular season.

“She makes us go,” Dustin McKay said. “She is the leader of this bunch and everybody kind of feeds off of her.”

Kadey helped Caddo to a 2021 fastpitch title, its first softball championship, and then a slowpitch title in 2022.

More:The Oklahoman’s top 10 high school football games of Week 4

Mount St. Mary volleyball continues undefeated streak

The defending state champions are maintaining their prominence in Class 5A volleyball.

Mount St. Mary has cruised to a 24-0 record, including 21 straight-set victories. The top-ranked Rockets have given up only three sets this season, and coach James Ward said the starters weren’t playing during a couple of those sets.

As the Rockets have ascended to a dominant start, Ally Fees has played a key role. The versatile junior recorded the 1,000th kill of her career Sept. 9 against Heritage Hall.

“She plays six rotations,” Ward said. “She’s a great front-row outside hitter and also plays great defense, serves well for us.”

Mount St. Mary is relying on multiple leaders. Senior libero Maria Roquemore had four aces and 102 defensive digs to help her team win the Catoosa Port City Classic, and Gia McGrew has boosted the offense since moving in from Florida.

With a sweep of Christian Heritage on Thursday, the Rockets extended their win streak to 31 matches.

The end of their schedule brings perhaps the biggest challenge. After wrapping up regular-season conference play against Crossings Christian on Thursday and competing in their conference tournament, the Rockets will face Tulsa Bishop Kelley on Oct. 6 at home.

The second-ranked Class 6A Comets were the last team to defeat Mount St. Mary.

“Over the last five years; they’ve beaten us twice in our gym,” Ward said. “... We have a huge goal to beat them this year in our gym.”

More:The Oklahoman's Class 6A-I to C high school football rankings for Week 4

Edmond Memorial volleyball upsets Bishop Kelley

Natalie Murray has noticed a change in her team, and she’s proud of it.

Edmond Memorial upset Bishop Kelley, then the No. 1 squad in Class 6A volleyball, with a 3-1 win Sept. 13 at home. Since then, the third-ranked Bulldogs have competed with more confidence, their coach said.

“It was really an unbelievable experience and so exciting to watch and be a part of because it was like for the first time, the girls realized what they were capable of,” Murray said. “And they just put it all out there to see what they could do and ended up upsetting the No. 1 team.”

After also defeating Edmond Santa Fe, the Bulldogs capped their standout week with a first-place finish at the Owasso Invitational. They rolled past Broken Arrow in three straight sets and knocked off Owasso, 3-1, to win the tournament Saturday.

Several stars have contributed to the surge.

In the Owasso Invitational, junior setter/hitter Kathrin Rowe was named MVP, while senior libero Lexi Hensley and freshman middle blocker Annie Hopkins joined her on the all-tournament team.

In the win against Bishop Kelley, freshman Lolufe Adedeji provided nine kills, and senior Madelyn Onan logged a .500 hitting percentage.

Murray said the Bulldogs have always had camaraderie. Now, they’re figuring out how to use it to their advantage.

“We have just a lot of best friends that play volleyball together, so they’re really nice to each other, and no one gets really aggressive as far as on the court goes,” Murray said. “But it’s like they finally realized that they could be aggressive against the other team and they could still play well together.”

Next, Edmond Memorial hosts Norman North at 6 p.m. Thursday.

More:Oklahoma high school football roundup: Scores, stats, highlights from Week 3

Midwest City QB Irvin Jr. commits to Air Force

DeAngelo Irvin Jr. made his next stop official.

The longtime Midwest City quarterback announced his commitment to Air Force last week. He chose the Falcons over offers from Army and Navy.

Irvin Jr. has been the starting quarterback for the Bombers since his freshman year and has been a staple of the program. During that time, he’s led Midwest City to an above .500 record and a state playoff appearance in 2020.

In Class 6A-II last season, he completed 62 of 121 passes for 726 yards and five touchdowns. He also ran 97 times for 447 yards and two touchdowns.

Extra points

➤The Bethel girls and Jones boys cross country teams won the North Canadian River Conference meet on Sept. 13 at North Rock Creek. Placing in the top three in the girls division were Bethel sophomores Baylee Tapley and Kylie Nunneley and North Rock Creek freshman Kadence Munn. They completed the 2-mile run in 12 minutes, 42.96 seconds, 13:06.46 and 13:17.34, respectively. North Rock Creek senior Jordan Coody won the 5-kilometer boys race in 16:25.37 and was followed by Tecumseh senior Logan Haworth (18:04.34) and Jones junior Joseph Walker (18:13.43).

➤ Cushing senior quarterback Blaze Berlowitz announced last week his commitment to New Mexico State. He’s off to a strong start to the season for the Tigers, who are 3-0 and ranked No. 2 in Class 4A. Last season, Berlowitz completed 206 of 326 passes for 3,137 yards and 32 touchdowns.

➤ Former Oklahoma State All-American offensive lineman Levy Adcock has guided Tulsa Rogers to a 3-0 start. Adcock accepted the job as the Ropers' head football coach in March. He had been an Owasso football assistant for four years, the last two as a defensive line coach. Tulsa Rogers won just five games since 2017, with a 4-6 record in 2021 being its best.

Hallie Hart, James D. Jackson and Nick Sardis, Staff writers

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU softball recruiting: Caddo's Kadey Lee McKay commits to Sooners