Nine McLennan student-athletes sign national Letters of Intent
Nine McLennan Community College student-athletes, including six baseball players and three golfers, signed National Letters of Intent this afternoon in the Signing Ceremony at The Highlands.
Golfer Makenna Davidson, a sophomore from Frisco, signed with the University of the Incarnate Word while fellow sophomore golfers Joely Henderson of Midlothian and Tyler Morrison of Copperas Cove signed with Texas Wesleyan University and the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, respectively. As freshmen, the trio led the Highlassies to the NJCAA Region V Championship, the program's 20th-consecutive appearance at the NJCAA National Championship, a third place at the national tournament and an NJCAA Honorable Mention Academic Team of the Year honor. All three were named to the all-region squad, and Davidson earned NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American honors for finishing in 17th place individually at the national tournament. Davidson and Henderson also earned individual NJCAA academic honors.
Six sophomore members of the Highlanders' baseball team also signed with four-year programs. As freshmen, these Highlanders helped the program to the NTJCAC Championship, the Region V Championship, a fifth-place finish at the JUCO World Series and NJCAA Academic Team of the Year Honorable Mention recognition.
Left-handed pitcher Bailey Horn will join former Highlander Brendan Venter at Auburn University next fall. Horn from West appeared in 17 games as a freshman, recording a 7-0 record on the mound with a 3.86 ERA and 77 strikeouts to earn all-conference and all-region selections.
Shortstop George Callil from Australia will head to the University of South Carolina. Callil appeared in 58 games as a freshman, recording a .304 batting average with 11 doubles and 26 RBIs.
Catcher Josh Breaux of Tomball signed with the University of Arkansas. Breaux played in 59 of the Highlanders' games last season, recording the second-highest batting average (.401) on the squad and leading the team with 19 home runs and 82 RBIs. He also made 14 appearances on the mound, picking up two saves and 22 strikeouts in 13.1 innings. He was a first-team all-conference and all-region selection, and was selected in the 36th round of the MLB Draft with the 1,081st overall pick by the Houston Astros. He spent the summer playing for the Falmouth Commodores in the Cape Cod League and earned the 2017 Silva Sportsmanship Award.
Right-handed pitcher Logan Freeman of Buffalo is headed just across town to Baylor University. He pitched in 14 games last season, recording a 9-1 record with a 5.01 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 55.2 innings. He was also an NJCAA All-Academic Second-Team selection.
Infielder Griffin Paxton of West and catcher Nick Thornquist of Flower Mound will be teammates at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Paxton played in 41 games as a freshman, recording a .298 batting average with 34 RBIs and was an NJCAA All-Academic Second-Team selection. Thornquist appeared in 30 games last season, recording the third-highest batting average (.367) on the team with 16 RBIs and was an NJCAA All-Academic Third-Team selection.