Maroon Weekly

By Cody Lillich

It is that one day in fall where High School athletes nationwide sign on the dotted line to commit to a university, and when athletic departments get a gauge on the future of their programs.

Last week, athletes from around the country signed with Texas A&M in basketball, softball and men’s golf.

On Nov. 11 Men’s basketball coach Mark Turgeon signed his 2010 class with three high school seniors from Texas and one from Louisiana. Some analysts are calling this class the best in the country, featuring Daniel Alexander from Dripping Springs, Texas, Keith Davis from DeSoto, Texas, Tobi Oyedeji from Houston, and Kourtney Roberson from Arcadia, Louisiana.

The new recruits will be towering over the court, with all four being at least six-foot-8-inches tall. Coach Turgeon said he prides on the fact of eyeing regional talent.

“These guys are great kids and come from great families,” he said. “This class has a great balance of length, skill and athleticism. It’s great to be able to keep Texas kids home and in the Big 12.”

Women’s basketball coach Gary Blair also inked one of the nation’s best signing class featuring two hoops standouts. Karla Gilbert is a hometown star on the A&M Consolidated High School team. Gilbert is playing volleyball and throwing the discus for the Tigers in her senior year. Gilbert will enter A&M as the highest-ever rated player in school history. She is rated the No. 9 overall prospect and the No. 1 post player in the nation by ESPN HoopGurlz.

Coming in with Gilbert will be Kristen Grant from Lamar High School in Arlington, Texas. Grant is rated the No. 20 overall prospect and the seventh ranked shooting guard in the nation. She intends to major in biomedical science with hopes of attending veterinary school.

Softball coach Jo Evans has another high caliber class coming into Texas A&M in the 2010 year. She signed five high school seniors to her Aggie Softball team.

Coach Evans’ 2010 class also features all Texas talent, recruiting Emily Albus from Brenham, Amber Garza from Missouri City, Nicole Morgan from The Woodlands, Taran Tyler from Katy, and Cassie Tysarczyk from San Antonio.

Albus, Morgan, Tyler, and Tysarczyk all played on the Impact Gold travel team, while Garza played for the Missouri City Magic.

Coach Evans said this class ranks as one of the best she has ever signed to the program.

“This recruiting class is one of the best recruiting classes I have had in my 25 years of being a head coach,” Evans said. “This class has the ability to compete at the level of our 2008 class that featured three NCAA All-Americans and competed in two Women’s College World Series. They have a love for the game, work extremely hard and are great teammates. ”

National Champion Men’s golf coach J.T. Higgins also signed Gregory Yates from Mansfield to his squad.

Yates led his team to a third-place finish at the 5A State Championships last year and finished fifth place individually. At Mansfield, he is a two-time all-region and three-time all-district golfer.

“I chose Texas A&M because of its academic strength and strong history,” Yates said. “The school also has incredible facilities not only on campus but at the Traditions golf course. I also chose Texas A&M because of the golf team’s history. It is a great team with great players.

So glance at the list of signees to Texas A&M and you can see the future is bright for these sports picking up some high-profile high school athletes.