STATESBORO – Only a little over seven percent of high school athletes go on to play sports at the college level, but that doesn’t seem to be the case for Statesboro High as they are turning out college athletes like a well-oiled machine. Four students were the newest group of athletes to sign college athletic scholarships making the count up to seven student athletes so far.
Every signing starts out in a similar fashion with Assistant Principal and Athletic Director Elizabeth Driggers encouraging signees to be coachable, humble and never stop improving as they continue on their journeys to pursue their passion at the next level.
The first student to sign was senior basketball athlete Alyssa Staten. Staten signed a full-ride scholarship to Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. What she is most excited about besides playing basketball are the new experiences awaiting her. She won’t be able to take her teammates with her, but they have impacted her growth so much as an athlete, that she referred to the signing ceremony as a “bittersweet moment” for her.
“I feel like my team has really built my character,” Staten said. “Especially with confidence and self-esteem. It’s like a sisterhood, so anytime I had problems or felt like I couldn’t get something right; they were always there to push me, and I grew diligence, confidence and perseverance.”
She had many coaches who spoke about seeing the same qualities in her. Each spoke about her commitment, perseverance, good character and the dedication that she has shown since they had all known her. Her soon-to-be head coach, Priscilla Lloyd, even sent her some congratulatory words regarding her signing with Northeastern and beginning the next chapter of her life.
Her family has been there every step of the way and were able to talk first-hand about how much she has grown and how proud they were of her. Her family is overjoyed with how far she has come from first starting out, according to her mom, as a “little duckling with floppy feet” to the now boss on the court grabbing rebounds like nobody’s business. Staten holds the school record for the most rebounds in a game and in this current season has surpassed 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career.
The second student to sign was senior football athlete Kyan McCollum. For McCollum, this process of college recruitment started late, but that just goes to show that delayed does not mean denied. This has been a long process for him, but he stayed patient and waited for his best opportunity, which turned out to be Methodist University out of Fayetteville, North Carolina.
“I chose Methodist because of the culture,” McCollum said. “They just treated me like family before I even touched the campus. It was just a great opportunity and a great school.”
Statesboro head football coach, Matt Dobson, talked about McCollum’s perseverance during this past football season.
“He was a guy that was able to bounce around and play a lot of different positions for us,” Dobson said, “He’s an explosive athlete, and I’m just thankful for his unselfishness and willingness to do those things the team needed.”
His mother mentioned how proud his entire family was of him. She encouraged him to keep God first in all that he does, and know that everyone was rooting for him and everything his future holds.
The third student to sign was senior football athlete Creighton Horst. Horst is the third athlete to sign to Georgia Military College in Milledgeville, Georgia in the past couple days from Bulloch County. Georgia Military College has been known to send many athletes to Division One and Division Two programs, and Horst knew to take full advantage of his opportunity.
“I feel very excited to work and play college ball,” Horst said. “It’s a very good opportunity for me to go D1 hopefully.”
According to head coach Matt Dobson, Horst was born “25 years too late” because he’s an old school football player. He’s grown and matured so much and his passion for the game is what’s going to take him far.
His family is extremely proud of him and thankful to coaches, trainers, teachers and friends that have all helped shape Horst into the person and player that he is today, as well as, helped to cultivate the God given talent that he was blessed with.
The fourth student to sign was senior golf athlete Evan Avret. Avret signed an athletic scholarship to Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. He was able to cultivate a relationship with Centre College head golfing coach, Ben Faque, for almost 10 years, and it has just blossomed into what it is today.
From countless hours on the golf course, to the many tournaments he participated in, Avret has felt so blessed to be in the position he is now and is so grateful to his family for all they have done for him.
“Playing college golf has always been a dream of mine,” Avret said. “I especially want to thank my parents and grandparents for driving countless hours taking me to tournaments and lessons all throughout the southeast.”
Statesboro head golf coach, Michael Edwards, sees himself as the beneficiary of “the countless hours and miles driven by his family” to turn Avret into the golfer that he is.
“Golf is a high character, high integrity and self-governing sport, and Evan is a high character, high integrity young man.” Edwards said.
According to his family, Evan Avret has always had an extraordinary talent with a golf club. They have an unwavering faith that his talent will take him wherever he desires, but his character and the unyielding faith he has garnered and shown is what will truly take him far.
All four of the athletes that signed scholarships dedicated a lot of their time and energy to being the best versions of themselves and the best athletes that they could be. One thing Statesboro High is great at is creating student athletes, and these four students are the latest group to prove that time and time again.
