Three LHS student-athletes sign letters of intent for college sports
Nov. 9—Laramie High celebrated three student-athletes signing their national letter of intent to play college sports on Wednesday evening.
Plainsmen soccer's Kaylee Kern will continue her career at Bluefield State University in Bluefield, West Virginia. The Big Blue are a Division II program in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association and finished last season 7-7-3 overall.
"This process took about a year and a half," Kern said. "I really got into recruiting after my sophomore year, and verbally committed back in August."
Kern isn't intimidated by the move across the country. She traveled to campus for an unofficial visit during the recruitment process and fell in love with the program immediately.
"I met all of the coaches and a lot of the girls," Kern said. "The coach was super cool and down to earth, and I loved all of the girls. I also loved the area around the campus.
"... It takes so much stress off of the season for me, personally, knowing that I have a good place to go to."
LHS girls basketball standout Kylin Shipman signed to play for Regis University in Denver, Colorado. The Rangers (25-7 last season) play at the Division II level and are in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
The 5-foot-8 guard appeared in 20 games for the Plainsmen last year, averaging 13.5 points per game and 3.5 assists. She has played every season of her high school career at the varsity level.
"I've been working for this from my freshman year to now," Shipman said. "So, you can say it's been a long four years. It's very relaxing and relieving to get this out of the way before my season starts.
"Now, I can go in and have fun without worrying if I am going to be recruited or not."
When weighing her options, Shipman wanted to choose the college that gave her the best school and life balance. The lifestyle around Regis' campus in Denver is very inviting to her and one she can't wait to move to.
"When I was on my visit, I loved how they were good at basketball, but also very serious about school," Shipman said. "They just won the RMAC last year, so they're doing good things, and I'm excited to be a part of that."
The recently crowned state-champion LHS volleyball team saw senior Maddy Stucky make her long-anticipated official commitment to the University of Wyoming. The Cowgirls sit eighth in the Mountain West (17-8 overall) this season.
Stucky joked she's been committed to the Cowgirls since second grade. Her mom, LHS coach Jill Stucky, is a former player and assistant coach for UW's volleyball team.
"This feels amazing," Stucky said. "It was super nice to sign today, and I'm so happy that my family and team could make it."
Stucky won three state championships over her four-year career for the Plainsmen. She surpassed the 3,000 career assists mark during last weekend's Class 4A state tournament in Casper.
Stucky is familiar with her fellow signees in this year's UW recruiting class. She played club volleyball with Fort Collins, Colorado, product Claire Wagstaff. Stucky and Wagstaff played against fellow signees Rya Fingerlin and Reagan Sharp in club, and all four will wear the Cowgirls uniform next fall.
"We are absolutely thrilled to finally be able to announce that Laramie's own, Maddy Stucky, is going to stay home to be a Cowgirl," UW coach Kaylee Prigge said in a news release Wednesday. "Maddy is a gritty competitor with deep ties to our program.
"... Maddy just quarterbacked her high school team to another Wyoming state championship. We know Cowgirl volleyball fans are going to love watching Maddy compete in the brown and gold."
Austin Edmonds covers Laramie High, University of Wyoming and community athletics for WyoSports. He can be reached at aedmonds@wyosports.net. Follow him on X at @_austinedmonds.
