Busy day; Buster athletes signing national letters of intent (Audio)
Garden City, KS (westernkansasnews.com)-Before the start of the 2014-2015 college basketball season, Garden City women’s coach Nick Salazar proclaimed he had legitimate, Division-I talent on his roster. On Wednesday, the second-year skipper backed up his big words.
Point guard Loysha Morris signed a national letter of intent with the University of Memphis, and Taleah Williams penned with Georgia State. Kim Carbonell also inked; she chose Bethel College.
The soft-spoken Morris, garnered offers from more than 20 schools including Ole Miss. But it was Tiger blue that won her heart.
Baseball
Nine months ago, if you would have told Buster pitcher Garrett Bryant that he would get a chance to play Division-II baseball, the Colorado native might have rolled his eyes. On Wednesday, that exact reality played out inside the Hall of Fame Room at the Perryman Athletic Complex.
“It was definitely a long process to get back,” said Bryant, who fell down a flight of stairs last summer and spent nearly two months in intensive care. “I’m still not where I want to be; it’s taken longer than I thought. But I’m getting better everyday.”
Bryant signed with Washburn University; the same program that called his number coming out of high school.
As for other offers, Bryant had previously inked with Louisiana Tech, but because he fell short on credits due to his stint in the hospital, he decided to come back to Garden City for one more year.
Boomer…Buster…Red Wolves
From Woodward, Okla. to Southwest Kansas, Buster catcher Frankie Alvarez knows the journey all too well.
“I couldn’t block a beach ball when I first got here,” Alvarez said jokingly during his press conference on Wednesday. “But these coaches got me better; in every facet of the game.”
No joke there. The sophomore had a sensational second season, hitting .371 with a team-best 11 homers and 38 RBIs. Those numbers earned him male athlete of the year and a full ride to Arkansas State.
Volleyball
Abigail Reinick was very cautious when she joined the Broncbuster volleyball program two years ago.
“Coach Sanders didn’t recruit us,” she said. “But he made us feel at home right away. He invited us into his home and introduced us to his family and kids. We were a family from there.”
24 months later, Reinick signed a national letter of intent to play at Oklahoma Panhandle State.
“They have the degree I want,” Reinick proclaimed. “I want to study Ag education.”
