100 Fort Bend ISD athletes part of signing day extravaganza
In less than 48 hours, Ridge Point senior Ryan Ramey was honored with a state award, verbally committed to Old Dominion University and put his football future in ink.
Ramey was among 100 Fort Bend ISD student-athletes celebrating Wednesday’s National Signing Day at Hopson Field House. Many national Letters of Intent were signed during the November and December periods.
For others, the opportunity presented itself in the days leading up to the event.
“I actually made my first visit last weekend, and they proposed to me,” Ramey said. “It’s just a great environment, great people, great school. I really liked it there.”
Ramey, a defensive back who intends to study business in college, finished his high school career strong with 12 pass breakups, 43 tackles and two blocked kicks among his highlights.
That was enough to earn a spot on the Texas High School Coaches Association’s super-elite first team, where he joined linebacker Marshall and FBISD Arkansas State signee Jordan Sample.
They were among 48 football players enjoying the atmosphere at Hopson, including several Ramey teammates from a 10-3 season highlighted by district and regional championships.
“It was awesome,” Ramey said. “We play from little league through college. We all grew up together competing and it was fun.”
Ridge Point has produced an impressive signing class, with 36 district-top athletes on the roster with spring signing dates yet to come. Marshall’s class included 14 signers, with Kempner sending 10 to college programs.
The Cougars were particularly well represented despite a 1-9 season. The group included Georgetown linebacker and signee Cody Nguyen-Pham.
“Normally it’s not like that, but we’re trying to change the culture here,” Pham said. “Signing with my brothers is the best thing I could have had, to be honest.”
An all-state THSCA academic selection, Pham plans to study marketing or environmental engineering at Georgetown, which signed him Wednesday morning.
“It’s a blessing,” Pham said. “It’s really something that I’ve been looking at for a while. It’s a very important decision, something that I really had to think about and pray about, talk about it with my family.”
The FBISD stars have signed in nine different sports, including 13 in football, 12 in baseball and 10 in volleyball.
All were congratulated by two accomplished speakers, both FBISD graduates. Clements graduate and Rangers coach Nicole Kitagawa, who played at TCU, advised being open to opportunities and taking advantage of them. A four-sport athlete at Clements, Kitagawa earned his football scholarship by taking on a player the TCU coach was looking for.
Hightower football coach and Elkins graduate Cornelius Anthony, who later played at Texas A&M and with the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers, reminded them to maximize every hour of the day to separate themselves from others.
Genesis Griffin, a Marshall State Athletics medalist and University of Houston signee, is looking to hit elite standards of 21 feet in the long jump and 41 feet in the triple jump as a senior, in the hope to help the Buffalos win a third straight state championship.
For college development, Griffin didn’t have to look far to find an elite in the field.
“My coach is one of the best jumpers in the world, Carl Lewis,” Griffin said. “Being supervised by someone like him, I feel like I can go very far.
Griffin, who won Class 5A bronze in the long jump last year, signed in November but was eager to share Wednesday’s celebration.
“It means a lot,” Griffin said. “It took a lot of hard work and dedication to get here. I’m so proud of my team’s accomplishments and my accomplishments, and I can’t wait to see what the college level has for me.”
Dulles outfielder Kellan Ton also fulfilled her dream in November when she signed with the Colorado School of Mines.
“It’s really exciting,” Ton said. “I’ve always wanted to sign, like since I was little. I’ve always wanted to play college softball. It’s always been a dream of mine and it’s really nice to achieve it.”
A .628 hitter last year, Ton found her perfect field of study in Mines, where teammate Renata Bolado signed a volleyball scholarship.
“It has a really nice campus and it’s an engineering-focused school,” Ton said. “The coaches are really nice and the program is new, so it’s exciting to go to a new program.”
Hightower middle tackle Mia Daniel also enjoyed the setting and atmosphere at her campus in November, joining a New Mexico State team that hasn’t had a losing season since 2000 and made 10 NCAA Tournament appearances during this time.
“I took a tour and really liked the area,” Daniel said. “It wasn’t too big or too small. They have a lot of scenery, there are mountains. I was able to visit the school and meet the team. They have good chemistry and I like the way whose coaches work with the team. . It was really fun to be there, and I felt very comfortable.”
A THSCA All-State Academic Screening last fall, Daniel plans to study kinesiology at NMSU, considering a career in physical therapy or occupational therapy.
On the court, Daniel had 213 kills and a team-high 92 blocks to cap a successful high school career at Hightower, which won 45 games over the past two seasons.
“Hightower is probably one of the main things that made me the person I am today,” Daniel said. “The good and the bad with all the different teams over the years have made me better. I have to thank my coach, because she saw it in me from day one. It took me a little while to assert myself, and now I am there.”
Fort Bend ISD Signatories
AUSTIN
Alyssa Carter, Softball, University of Houston-Victoria
Gabrielle De Jesus, Soccer, McNeese State University
Tyler Do, baseball, Eastfield College
Rayon Holmes, Football, Bethel College
Solae Young, soccer, Sam Houston State University
BUSH
Allen Aldridge III, football, East Texas Baptist University
Angelina Ballester-Lopez, football, North American University
Broc Boutte, Soccer, Midwestern State University
Paul Omodia, Soccer, Illinois State University
CLEMENTS
Hayden Bellotti, Swimming, University of Virginia
Logan Brown, swimming, Texas A&M University
Kaylin Daniels, volleyball, Northeastern University
Isabelle Kent, Soccer, Rice University
Nicholas Piazza, football, East Texas Baptist University
Ferris Refai, Football, Trinity College
DULES
Renata Bolado, volleyball, Colorado School of Mines
Madison Hamilton, volleyball, York University
Kylie Mueller, Beach Volleyball, Louisiana State University
Trayveon Richard, Football, Texas A&M University-Kingsville
Kellan Ton, Softball, Colorado School of Mines
MOKS
Malia Black, volleyball, Mississippi Valley State University
Ashton Payne, Soccer, Trinity Community College
Aircraft StewartFootballBlinn Junior College
Viviana Vargas, Softball, University of St. Thomas
HIGH TOWER
Mia Daniel, volleyball, New Mexico State University
Jayden Deemer, Soccer, University of Texas-Permian Basin
Darion Terrell Embers, Football, Alcorn State University
Kenyon Grant, Soccer, Sul Ross State University
Kristopher Hodges, Football, Texas College
Chisom Onwuzurigo, Football, Holy Cross University
Karlton Owens, Football, Minnesota West Community & Technical College
Santana Wilson, Soccer, Stephen F. Austin University
KEMPNER
Basit Adesanya, Football, Concordia University, St. Paul
Charles Ebo, Soccer, Midwest State University
Corban Evers, Soccer, Arkansas Technological University
Caleb Harris, Football, Louisiana Christian University
Steven Hernandez, Soccer, Midwestern State University
Antonio Jacobs, soccer, Louisiana Christian University
Cody Kuffel, baseball, Galveston College
Cody Nguyen-Pham, Soccer, Georgetown University
Tylon Riser, Soccer, Midway University
Noah Yassine, Soccer, Sul Ross State University
MARSHAL
Ja’koby Banks, Soccer, University of Houston
Zachary Chapman, Football, Texas Christian University
Arveyon Davis, Athletics, Texas A&M University
Logan Granville, Football, University of the Incarnate Word
Genesis Griffin, Athletics, University of Houston
Ky Guillory, Football, Texas A&M-Kingsville
Jaland Lowe, Basketball, University of Pittsburgh
Biehawn Mitchell, Football, Texas A&M-Kingsville
Michael Patterson, Soccer, University of Houston
Jordan Sample, Football, Arkansas State University
Elijah Sims, soccer, Abilene Christian University
Trent Thomas, Soccer, Baylor University
Jaron Wallace, Football, Texas A&M-Kingsville
Jy’Adrian Wortham, Soccer, Angelo State University
PARTY TIP
Alicia Audu, Soccer, Texas Southern University
Kara Canetti, Soccer, Iona University
Kaile Correa, softball, Texas College
Taylor Davis, Soccer, University of Kansas
Payton Doucet, Football, Louisiana Christian University
James Eaglin, Soccer, University of Tulsa
Peyton Farmer, Soccer, Rice University
Sydney Geter, Soccer, University of Texas at Dallas
Kellen Gradisar, Baseball, Lenoir-Rhyne University
Bailey Gray, softball, Smith College
Reagen Green, Softball, Prairie View A&M University
Carter Groen, Baseball, University of Iona
Landry Hamm, baseball, Colorado Christian University
Ethan Hunter, Diving, Southern Methodist University
Ezell Jolly Jr., Soccer, University of Texas at El Paso
Sydney Jordan, volleyball, University of Colorado
Kennedy Joseph, Cheerleading, Texas Tech University
Dylan Kalmus, baseball, Hendrix College
DK Kalu, Soccer, Baylor University
JJ Kennett, baseball, Dallas Baptist University
Zoe Main, Soccer, University of Oklahoma
Logan Martin, baseball, Allen Community College
Parker Martin, baseball, Allen Community College
Brayden McCormick, baseball, Navarro Junior College
Georgia Mulholland, Soccer, Baylor University
Ashley Pugne, soccer, University of St. Thomas
Ryan Ramey, Football, Old Dominion University
Ethan Ramos, Football, Benedictine College
Charlotte Richardson, Soccer, University of Houston
Arissa Smith, volleyball, Mississippi State University
Seth Steiner, cross country, Elon University
Zion Stephens, baseball, Abilene Christian University
Jade Uresti, Softball, Prairie View A&M University
Travis Vlasek, Baseball, New Mexico Junior College
Hannah Warnken, Soccer, University of Texas at San Antonio
James Walley Jr., Soccer, University of Texas at San Antonio
TRAVIS
Brianna Bejar, Athletics, University of the Incarnate Word
Ariel Kowalewski, Softball, University of Florida
Kynzie Lilly, volleyball, University of New Mexico
Briahnna Munoz, soccer, Oklahoma Christian University
Ryan Williams, volleyball, University of New Orleans
WILLOWRIDGE
Isaac Orellana, football, East Texas Baptist University
Tulio Nunez, Football, Missouri Baptist University
Nicholas Shock, football, Missouri Baptist University
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