Southern Miss athletic programs received signed letters of intent from several recruits during the NCAA early signing period.
Baseball Adds Four
Coach Scott Berry announced the signing of four recruits including two junior college players and two from high school. The two junior college transfers are Matt Shaw, a 6'4" right-handed pitcher from Northwest Mississippi Community College and Ashley Graeter, a 6'1" infielder and right-handed pitcher from Pearl River Community College.
Shaw joins the Golden Eagles from Northwest where he currently plays for former Southern Miss standouts Mark Carson and Bill Selby. As a freshman with the Rangers last season he was 3-4 with a 5.82 ERA in 10 games while firing three complete games. He worked 39.2 innings allowing 33 earned runs while striking out 33 and holding opposing hitters to a .89 average. He was a two-time All-State selection out of Oxford High School in 2007 and 2008.
Graeter, who was an all-state selection at Poplarville High School, is currently playing for coach Jamie McMahon at Pearl River. As a freshman last season, he was a first team All-State selection and the Wildcats second leading hitter with a .366 average. Over 42 games he had 49 hits including seven doubles, two triples and six home runs for a .562 slugging percentage. On the mound he led the PRCC staff with a 1.67 ERA. In his seven appearances he accumulated a 3-2 record while working 21.0 innings, allowing only five earned runs while striking out 20 and walking six.
The Golden Eagles added to their youth with outfielder Joe Martin and a left-handed pitcher Josh Rogers.
Martin joins the Southern Miss program from Zachary High School in Zachary, Louisiana where he has been a three-year starter on a team that has won three-consecutive Louisiana State 4A championships. As a junior, Martin helped the Broncos the Class 4A championship by hitting .395 with 10 home runs and 41 RBI. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound Martin also had 16 stolen bases. He was an all-state selection the previous two seasons while also garnering preseason All-American honors.
Rogers is a left-handed pitcher from Hillcrest Christian in Jackson, Mississippi. where he has been pitching since the eighth grade. He was an all-state selection the past two seasons and an all-district selection the previous four years (eighth grade through junior year).
Men's Basketball Inks Three
Coach Larry Eustachy announced the signing of Trency Jackson of Jackson, Mississippi, Rashad Perkins of Starkville, Mississippi and Carrington Tankson of San Jacinto Junior College to play with the Golden Eagles next year.
Jackson, a 6-2 guard, is a senior at fifth-ranked Jackson-Wingfield High School. As a junior, he averaged 22 points, 4.2 rebounds and four assists. He is a member of the Clarion-Ledger's Dandy Dozen, and is rated as the No. 131 shooting guard in the country by ESPN. Last year, he was selected Second Team All-Metro. Jackson also received offers from Indiana, Marquette, Missouri, Missouri State, UAB and USC.
Perkins, a 6-5 forward, is a senior at fourth-ranked Starkville High School. Rated a three-star prospect by Rivals.com, Perkins averaged 19 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while helping the Yellow Jackets finish 21-5 last year. He was named to the 2009-10 Clarion-Ledger's Dandy Dozen. As a sophomore, he averaged 11 points and six rebounds off the bench. Perkins also received offers from Alabama, Mississippi State and UAB.
Tankson, a 6-4 guard, is in his second season at San Jacinto (Texas) Junior College. He is currently ranked as the 30th-rated player by JucoJunction.com, who also rates him as a two-star player. Last year, he was named NJCAA Region 14 All-Region Honorable Mention, playing in all 32 games, starting 26. He was third on the team with 12.6 points per game, while averaging four rebounds. He also shot 78-percent from the free throw line. He is originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he played for Osseo High School. He helped Osseo to three-consecutive conference championships. As a senior, he averaged 17.3 points and 4.7 rebounds while leading the Orioles to a 22-7 record and a berth in the Class AAAA state finals. Tankson averaged 17.0 points, 4.5 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.8 steals as a senior. He was named the Conference Most Valuable Player, First Team All-State, First Team All-Conference, and is a member of the 1,000-point club.
Women's Basketball Signs Four
Coach Joye Lee-McNelis announced the signing of four, including the high ranked recruit since her return to Hattiesburg. Janairrika Bland of Edwards, Mississippi, Niesha and Nitesha Pierce of Gulfport, Mississippi and Jamierra Faulkner of West Palm Beach, Florida.
Bland, a 6-3 center, averaged 15.4 points and 10.0 rebounds last as a junior, helping Raymond High School win the Class 3A state championship. She also averaged three blocks per game. She was named to the All-Metro team as a sophomore and junior. She scored a season-high 27 points against Terry High School. She also played in the Mississippi North-South All-Star Game this past summer. Bland, a member of the Clarion Ledger Dandy Dozen, was a three-year letterwinner for Coach Shay Jackson and earned all-state honors two straight seasons as well as all-south and all-district for three years.
Niesha Pierce, a 5-10 guard, plays at Harrison Central High School, where she is a four-year letterwinner for Coach Nancy Ladner. As a junior, she averaged 18.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.9 assists and .28 steals per game, while helping her team advance to the semifinals of the Class 5A State Tournament and finishing with a 22-2 record. She shot 44.5 percent from the field and 76.5 percent from the free throw line. She scored a career-high 35 points against Pass Christian. She was named the Sun Herald All-Coast Player of the Year, All-Sun Herald team and the Class 5A Division 8 MHASS All-Star Team. She also was a member of the Mississippi Sports Medicine North-South Junior All-Star team. Pierce earned her team's MVP award and named the team's best defensive player for two consecutive years.
Nitesha Pierce, a 5-10 forward, plays at No. 2 ranked Harrison Central High School for Coach Nancy Ladner. As a junior, she averaged 18.0 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3.1 steals in leading her team to the semifinals of the Class 5A State Tournament. She also played in the Mississippi North-South All-Star game this past summer. She was named her team's best offensive player for two straight seasons.
Pierce was named to the 2009 Clarion Ledger Dandy Dozen team for the No. 2 ranked Red Rebelettes. She was tabbed the Sun Herald All-Coast Player of the Year, the All-Sun Herald Team and selected to the Class 5A Division 8 MHSAA All-Star Team. Pierce also played volleyball and participated in track and field. She was named the team's Most Outstanding Athlete last season. She was named to the 2009 Clarion Ledger Dandy Dozen team for the No. 2 ranked Red Rebelettes. She was tabbed the Sun Herald All-Coast Player of the Year, the All-Sun Herald Team and selected to the Class 5A Division 8 MHSAA All-Star Team. Pierce also played volleyball and participated in track and field. She was named the team's Most Outstanding Athlete last season.
Faulkner, a 5-6 point guard, plays at Trinity Christian Academy for Coach Luther McCray. Faulkner has scored 1,136 points in her career. Over the past three seasons, she has 351 steals and 619 assists. As a sophomore, she led her team to their first 1A State Championship and was selected the MVP. Faulkner was named Palm Beach Post first team all-county for three straight years. She has been ranked No. 69 overall in the ESPNU HoopGurlz 100 players and No. 20 in point guards
Men's Golf Adds Two New Faces
Coach Jerry Weeks announced the signing of Trent Hillis of Poplar Bluff, Missouri and Zach Estep of Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Hillis earned All-State honors in both 2007 and 2008 while earning fourth-place at the 2008 Missouri High School State Championship. In 2008 on the junior circuit, Hillis captured the Future Collegiate World Tour (FCWT) St. Andrews Classic, while taking second-place at FCWT the Mission Inn - Las Colinas Open. Both finishes helped him earn 2008 FCWT Third Team All-American. Healso finished in fourth place at the 2008 Missouri Junior Amateur and sixth-place at the 2009 American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Lockton Kansas City Junior.
Estep shot a 71 to lead Peachtree Ridge High School to the Georgia State Championship in 2009, while helping them to a second-place finish in 2008. In 2007 and 2008, he was named to the Gwinnett County Super 6 Team. Estep earned two Top Ten finishes on the AJGA circuit in 2009, including a fifth-place finish at the Ringgold Telephone Company Junior Classic. Over the last three years, Estep earned eight Top Five finishes on the Southeastern Junior Golf Tour (SJGT), including victories at the 2007 SJGT Championship, the 2007 SJGT Southern Junior and the 2008 SJGT Greystone Junior Classic. He has twice represented Georgia in the Georgia vs. South Carolina Junior Cup matches, as well as being a two-time nominee for the AJGA Scholastic All-American Awar
Softball Adds Four
Coach Howard Dobson announced the signing of four athletes. Joining the Southern Miss family is Taylor Brown, a first baseman/outfielder from Cypress, Texas, Brittany Lilly, a third baseman from Houston, Texas, MacKenzie Sher, a catcher from Bellaire, Texas and Kayla Stanley, a utility player from Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Brown comes to the Black and Gold from Cypress Springs High School in Cypress, Texas where she is a three-time all-district selection while twice leading her team in batting average, she hit .405 as a freshman and .580 in her sophomore campaign.
She also played for the Texas Eclipse Gold travel team which participated in the 2009 ASA Gold National Championships in Oklahoma City.
Lilly comes to Southern Miss from M.B. Lamar High School where she has been the starting third baseman and an all-district selection the previous three seasons. As a freshman she led the district with a .555 average while swiping 20 bases, which was tops on her team. In her sophomore campaign she hit .576 while leading the greater Houston area in extra base hits (25 double, 15 triples and four home runs). She earned her third consecutive all-district selection as a junior, hitting .400 with seven doubles and three triples. She played on the Texas Storm DeMarini Gold Summer Team, with current Golden Eagles players Leslie LeJune and Beth Dietrich, and reached the 2008 ASA Gold Nationals.
Sher is a catcher out of Bellaire High School in Bellaire, Texas where she is a three-time all-district selection and as a freshman in 2007 she was selected Newcomer of the Year. As a sophomore in 2008 she blasted 10 home runs, which led the Houston area for long balls. She followed with her junior season, in which she blasted eight more home runs and hit .390. She also played on the Texas Eclipse Gold travel team, with fellow signee Taylor Brown.
Southern Miss did not have to go very far to find their last signee, from just down the road at Oak Grove High school. Kayla Stanley becomes the latest Oak Grove player to join the Golden Eagles, along with current players Courtney Hill, Megan Hill and Logan James. Stanley is a three-time all district selection and a five-year letter winner while serving as the team captain the previous three season for the Warriors. As an eighth grader she was a starter for the 2006 5A state Championship team. She is a true utility player who has started at seven different positions in her high school career and boasts a .980 career fielding percentage. As a junior last year she hit .390 with 29 RBI and eight triples.
