Local signees prove worth with scholarships

It’s not breaking news that the NCAA transfer portal has made life more difficult for college-athletes across the board at the highest levels.
Back in the old days (imagine that statement in reference to 2018), any high schooler who was talented enough pretty much found their spot at the next level no matter what.
Be it at the NAIA level, the junior college level or the NCAA. If you were good enough, you pretty much got your chance to continue living your dream.
That’s changed in a very short amount of time for high school athletes. Where it used to be that the majority of recruiting slots in a given class went to kids entering the college ranks, nowadays so many of those spots are occupied by those who have been in the system.
Call it what you’d like to. De facto free agency, pay-to-play. I’m not picky about the term you use.
But, the truth of the matter is that these days, only the most elite kids are signing scholarships to play pretty much anywhere.
Look at your recruiting websites. There is no way a player like Lafayette Christian’s Ju’juan Johnson (one of the state’s top prospects in the Class of 2024) is going without an opportunity.
However, those kids who might’ve previously been talented enough to scrape a Group of Five scholarship are in all likelihood getting pushed to the FCS levels or even lower out of high school to get a chance to play.
That’s across the board as well. Kids at the lower end of the recruiting spectrum, those who play at smaller or less exposed schools, are having to work that much harder despite their talent.
There’s also a silver lining in all of this, especially for local kids who do get that opportunity.
It happened two seasons ago when Ville Platte basketball star Shayla Hickerson signed to play at LSUE. It happened last year when Ville Platte’s Vandryua Wilson got a chance to play at Baton Rouge Community College.
It’s happening right now when Sacred Heart’s Kali Shiver and Pine Prairie’s Ava Kordish are signing scholarships in their respective sports to play at LSUE.
Speaking from experience, both Shiver and Kordish are two of the area’s most underrated prospects who take care of business the right way.
Shiver, a shooting guard with a knack for taking over games in tough moments, has the work ethic and grades to make a name for herself in the right spot at the next level.
The same goes for Kordish, who was among the state’s leader in strikeouts in the circle for Pine Prairie last season.
Both of these young women are deserving of the spot they’re getting. And it’s made all the more impressive based on my previous statement, that these spots are that much harder to come by.
Just a few years ago, Jeff Willis’ LSUE baseball program was pulling in transfers from Division I NCAA schools to supplement their program.
Now, they’ve had to adjust their game to refocus on high school talent once again. It’s not a coincidence that those championships have been more difficult to come by since that shift occurred.
It’s a gift for these kids. In some ways, it’s made their lives that much easier. Junior colleges are now looking for more diamonds at the high school level than they ever have.
But, it’s also made the competition for those precious few spots that much more difficult.
So, when you see a kid signing on the dotted line out of the high school ranks these days, it should be taken as a true testament to their abilities and potential.
Players like Shiver and Kordish aren’t flashes in the pan or accidents. It’s based entirely on their work ethics and results.
Furthermore, their journey isn’t written just at the JUCO level. Now more than ever, bigger schools are looking to the lower ranks for kids who can step up and contribute.
Experience matters just as much as talent for bigger schools these days.
We know the talent is there for Kordish and Shiver. Ultimately, their step up to the next levels of the college ranks depend entirely on performing and the results they get.
I have no doubt they’ll work hard enough to get there. After all, they’ve already signed on for the chance they needed.