Fall Signing Day 2015. Photo courtesy of MySouthlakeNews.com.
Girls volleyball's Remy Fairchild, Megan Porter and Brayden Gruenewald announced their college commitments at Carroll Senior High School's signing ceremony back in November. The three senior standouts will play at the next level, but not very close in proximity.
Porter is the only one of the three to stay in state, selecting Texas State as her new alma mater. Gruenewald will stay south, but is also heading east, selecting the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She will play beach volleyball there.
Finally, Fairchild heads northeast to play at Villanova University, home of the 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball champions.
"It is amazing to have the opportunity to coach talented kids like Remy, Megan, and Brayden and when you get kids like this that are committed to play beyond high school it speaks to their dedication and commitment as an athlete," said head coach Ryan Mitchell. "It is fun to see them grow as players and then know they are going to continue to play a sport they love for four more years is very rewarding as a coach. It is also great to know that they will take the skills and lessons learned in high school and be able to impact programs across the nation."
Fairchild's Wildcats finished 25-8 in the regular season, and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Dayton. UAB Beach Volleyball is in season, currently, with a 12-8 record. The Blazers begin the conference tournament on April 22. Finally, Texas State's Bobcats went 19-12 this year.
"It takes a lot of skill and talent to make it as a D1 athlete but beyond that it takes a kid that is committed and dedicated to constantly improving," Mitchell continued. "Just making it to a D1 University to play sports is a lot of work but then to be successful at that arena becomes even more challenging. Athletes have to learn how to balance the rigor of playing a sport in college in addition to the challenging coursework that is expected of them."
For a full list of fall commits, click here.