By Dean Backes
MaxPreps.com
Kansas defeated Nebraska on the football field a season ago. Now they’re beating the Huskers on the recruiting trail, as well, at least for one recruit.
The Jayhawks’ latest victory over their Big 12 North rival was for the services of Olathe North defensive end Kevin Young. The 6-foot-4, 227-pound senior delivered the good news of his commitment to Jayhawk assistant coach Clint Bowen Sunday.
Early in the recruiting process, Young became frustrated when he didn’t receive the early offers he had hoped for. But soon he was flooded with mail from the Jayhawks and Huskers, SMU, UNLV, Washington State, Illinois, Kansas State, Colorado and Iowa State.
“It got real crazy,” Young told JayhawkSlant.com. “It all started off with a couple of offers and then things really started picking up. I got it narrowed down to two schools with Kansas and Nebraska. I just started to feel that KU was showing me more interest when they sent me more emails, post cards and things like that. KU just started to feel like home to me.”
Young, who was credited with 80 tackles and 12 sacks a season ago, led the Eagles to the semifinals of the 2007 state football playoffs. He is believed to be one of the top 35 defensive ends in the country by some experts.
Olathe South stopped the North playoff run with a 24-6 win, and then fell to four-time state champion Hutchinson 37-14 in the title game.
Baseball: Garrett Leaving Olathe South Baseball
Walking away from the Olathe South baseball program wasn’t an easy decision for former coach Carl Garrett, especially since the two-year coach had the Falcon program heading in the direction he had been hoping for.
But Garrett announced to his Legion baseball team Tuesday that he was giving up 15 years of passion for an opportunity to become the vice principal at Prairie Trail Junior High School.
“I truly loved coaching at Olathe South,” Garrett told the Olathe News. “The players and the parents have been nothing but supportive, and it was just an awesome opportunity for me and my family. I’m sad in my heart, but I know the program is going in the right direction and I’m excited about what opportunities lay ahead of me as well.
“It’s difficult because that’s what I’ve done my whole life,” the new administrator continued. “I’ve been a baseball coach for 15 years. …I told the kids last night it was hard to even say the words because they just didn’t sound right coming out of my mouth.”
Garrett, who will still have his fingerprint on the program during the summer months, led his team to an 8-14 campaign during the 2007 season, including an upset of Blue Valley during the first round of the Kansas state baseball playoffs.
The Falcons were 7-14 in 2008. However, the Falcon sub-varsity teams were 42-10 collectively this year. That’s the main reason for his optimism.
South will also have a solid nucleus of players for his replacement to build a team around with the return of infielder Kegan Knight, third baseman Mike Schneider, catcher Corey Heintz and pitchers Keith Picht and Corbin Pierson.
Girls Basketball: Howard Commitment Gives OSU a Kansas Trifecta
Oklahoma State women’s basketball coach Kurt Budke may have a strong presence of Kansas girls basketball on his roster in a little more than a year from now.
Three top-notch girls basketball players from the Sunflower state have made known their intentions to play basketball for the Cowgirls by verbally committing to Budke’s program for the 2009 season.
Shawnee Mission West senior Heather Howard became the latest player to verbally accept an offer from the Big 12 school.
Now that she is finished with the recruiting process, Howard can concentrate on helping the Vikings improve on last year’s 51-32 first round loss to Wichita Heights at the state basketball tournament.
“(Now) I don’t have to worry about recruiting or anything like that,” Howard told the Kansas City Star. “We want to make it to state and hopefully win it.”
Howard, who led the Vikings in scoring in 13 of the 23 games West played during her junior season, averaged 13 points, seven rebounds and two blocks per game for Mark Rabbitt’s 19-4 squad.
The 6-3 senior, a 6A honorable mention all-state selection during the 2007-08 season, will more than likely join Goddard’s Lindsey Keller and Washburn Rural’s LaSharra Riley on future Oklahoma State rosters.
Keller, a 6A first team all-state selection, averaged 18.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.7 blocks per game for the 2008 6A runner-ups. Riley who averaged 11.8 points, 10 rebounds and 2.6 blocks for the Blues was tabbed a 6A second-team all-stater.
Both Keller and Riley verbally committed to OSU on earlier dates.
