Area prep stars make college choices known during National Signing Day’s early period

The early signing date for college-bound athletes was Wednesday. While talented top-notch players from across the country were putting their names on the bottom line, local athletes were also giving their commitment to further their education and athletic pursuits.

LC’s Buckley inks with UNLV

With the Hull twins departing Central Valley and plying their skills at Stanford, the Greater Spokane League girls basketball race should be wide open with several teams in the hunt.

Perhaps at the top of that list is Lewis and Clark, behind league MVP candidate Jacinta Buckley, who on Wednesday committed to UNLV.

The Tigers reached the State 4A tournament in Tacoma last season but were bounced in the first round by eventual runner-up Woodinville, which fell to the CV Bears.

“I’m super excited for the season,” Buckley said in an interview last week. “We’re ready to go.”

Coach Gabe Medrano echoed his star’s sentiments.

“This last month I’ve been amped up,” he said. “Seeing the girls in the halls, talking with them. We’re really excited to get going.”

Buckley was a little reluctant to bring attention to herself.

“It definitely makes me uncomfortable,” she said. “I don’t really like to talk about myself.”

Her coach was ebullient with praise.

“She knows that I think that she’s wonderful,” Medrano said. “We’ve already talked a couple of times about what I expect from her leadership-wise and just team-wise. All the stuff she can do, it’s amazing.”

But he thinks there’s more the first-team all-leaguer can accomplish.

“She led us in every major category last year and I told her sometime you can be a little selfish and work towards maybe being league MVP,” Medrano said. “It’s OK to think about and do. It’s something we’ll need from her to allow things to happen this year.”

Buckley said she’s been working on driving the lane with her right hand and her outside shooting, things with which UNLV wants her to be more proficient.

“She knows she has permission to shoot the 3,” Medrano said. “She can shoot it for sure. But we always talk about getting some stuff closer to the basket to open that up. But she always has the green light to put up the 3 as well.”

Buckley has a built-in support group in Vegas waiting for her – her grandparents live there. Buckley said she felt at home during her official visit.

“When I first got there, I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the community of the school and campus,” she said. “When I finally got to meet my teammates, I loved them. They were awesome.”

And the best part of Vegas?

“Warm weather all the time?” she asked rhetorically. “Oh yeah.”

UNLV wasn’t the only school interested in the dynamic playmaker.

“There were others,” she said. “For a while, I thought I was going to go to Butler University in Indiana. But once I took my visit to UNLV, I knew I was going there.”

Medrano knows it’s a luxury to have a Division I athlete to rely on when he needs it most.

“It’s nice to know if we need a basket, she needs to get the ball,” he said. “She needs to have that touch and that look at a shot. And if we need a stop, I know I can look to her and she can get her teammates motivated, or I can put her on as one of the top defenders and we can work toward getting that stop.

“We’re very fortunate to have that on our team.”

Ten sign at Mt. Spokane

The Wildcats had 10 signees, including All-Greater Spokane League baseball players Brady Hill and Stu Flesland, who committed to Washington State and Boise State, respectively.

“It is super cool,” Hill said. “This class of athletes has been super great and super competitive, and they really perform.”

Hill – who is headed south to Pullman to play for the Cougars – is already looking forward to next season.

“I am super stoked and excited to go start the next chapter of my life,” he said.

With one more season of high school baseball left next spring, Hill will have to relish his senior year.

“I am going to miss it a ton, but these guys will be my brothers for life, so I am not worried about it,” he said.

Flesland is joining a Broncos squad that was revived this year after being defunct since 1980. BSU’s first game will be in 2020, when Flesland is a freshman.

“I like the idea of a new program, just to get in there with a fresh start, but I also thought about it for a while and thought I could either go to a developed program or Boise State,” he said. “I liked the idea of a new program, fresh start.

“I have always looked forward to this moment and it is really exciting to be here and actually signing.”

Flesland will also miss his time as a Wildcat.

“Playing with my friends, having a good time, I’ll miss it a lot,” he said.

Head coach Alex Schuerman praised all five of his players for signing to continue their college careers.

“They have been important in our program for a number of years. They’ve been the standard, staple guys most of them since they were sophomores,” Schuerman said. “But they just bring a wealth of baseball experience, skillset, drive and dedication. Great bunch of workers, great bunch of athletes.”

All-GSL basketball player Aspyn Adams is heading to Loyola Marymount after she signed her letter of intent.

With her final season at Mt. Spokane right around the corner, Adams began to reminisce about her teammates.

“I love my teammates,” she said. “I have three other teammates, including my twin sister (Avery), that I have played with since fourth grade and some juniors who I have played with since my sophomore year. Just been a great experience and I am going to miss it a lot.”

Adams will find herself on the floor of the McCarthey Athletic Center next season as a visitor, but at least she will have a sizable cheering section.

“Super excited. I am hoping all my friends and family can be there to see me and hopefully we can win,” she said.

Complete list of area signees

Ferris: Aiden Eriksen Lees-McCrae (lacrosse), North Carolina; Carly Cox (volleyball), Concordia of Portland; Brock Bozett (baseball), San Francisco.

Gonzaga Prep: Anton Watson (basketball), Gonzaga University.

Lewis and Clark: Jacinta Buckley (basketball), UNLV; Kenzie Gaines (cross country), Eastern Washington; Brooke Fager (tennis), Biola University.

Mt. Spokane: Mason Miethe (wrestling), Simon Fraser; Spencer Barrera (track and field), University of Idaho; Brady Hill (baseball), Washington State; Quentin Ayers (baseball), Northwest Nazarene; Braden DeSonia (baseball), Columbia College; Caitlin Lyons (equestrian), University of Georgia; Stuart Flesland (baseball), Boise State; Aspyn Adams (basketball), Loyola Marymount; Emily Nelson (basketball), Saint Martin’s; Gunnar Knutson (golf), Weber State.

Mead: Erica Nessan (basketball), Carroll College; Castan Koistinen (volleyball), Washington State; Delaney Phillips (swimming), Boise State; Lexi Weller (acrobatics and tumbling), Oregon; Braeden Cordes (baseball) Community Colleges of Spokane; Thomas McKenna (baseball), CCS; Conner Cary (soccer), Air Force; Justin Doyle (baseball), Stevens Institute of Technology; Chase Tebbets (wrestling), Simon Fraser; Katherine McEuen (volleyball), Carroll College.

Ferris: Brock Bozett (baseball), University of San Francisco.

Shadle Park: Jacob Groves (basketball), Eastern Washington;

University: Kelsey Crosby (soccer), Seattle University.

Lakeside: Olivia Mikkelsen (volleyball), University of Washington; Lizzie Torok (soccer), Doane University; JJ Williamson (soccer), Oregon Tech; Faith Kennedy (track and field), Eastern Washington.

Lake City: Bridget Rieken (soccer), Washington State.

Post Falls: Ridge Lovett (wrestling), Nebraska; Jake Rutherford (baseball), Gonzaga.

Genesis Prep: Bella Murekatete (basketball), Washington State.

Spokane Waves Aquatics: Evonne Stehr (swimming), San Diego State; Delaney Phillips (swimming), Boise State.

– Lists provided by schools