Davis stays close
Marquesha Davis wanted to play college basketball close to home, and University of Arkansas women's Coach Mike Neighbors is glad she did.
Davis, a 6-foot senior at Springdale, signed a national letter of intent Wednesday at Bulldog Gym. Wednesday was the first day of the fall signing period.
"I have a lot of family here and a lot of community support here, so that's what made Arkansas special to me and why I wanted to play there," Davis said.
Davis is one of four signees Wednesday to sign letters of intent for Neighbors' program, bumping the class to No. 15 nationally and No. 4 in the SEC by All-Star Girls Report, a national scouting service.
Davis averaged a 7A-West Conference-best 21 points and 10.2 rebounds per game for a 20-10 team last season as a junior.
Davis, who moved to Springdale from McGehee as an eighth-grader, has scored more than 1,000 career points as a Lady Bulldog and last season established school records for points and rebounds in a season.
Three Warriors sign
Little Rock Christian guard Amber Brown and Reagan Bradley signed with separate Division I women's programs, and catcher Cason Tollett signed with the University of Arkansas.
Brown, 5-10, signed with Pittsburgh after playing last year at Monroe Carroll in Louisiana. She averaged 30 points a game as a junior.
"It's always been a dream of mine. I'm very excited and very thankful," said Brown, who plans to attend medical school.
Bradley, 5-8, signed with SMU. She has averaged 16.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.1 steals a game during her career as a Warrior.
"I feel in love with the coaching staff, the school," Bradley said of SMU. "It's going to put me into the best place for the future, and I'm really excited to get there and get going."
She was happy to share the stage with her classmates.
"They're such great people, and we've been here for a long time with each other," Bradley said.
Tollett, 6-2, 205 pounds, batted .513 as a junior and is on pace to be the school's career leader in hits, walks, doubles, RBI and home runs. Tollett was committed to the Hogs for more than two years.
"I've always wanted to play for the Razorbacks," he said. "They've always had a really good team, and I think it's going to continue to be that way."
Golfing for Hogs
Denver Davis and his Fayetteville teammates celebrated winning the state golf championship in 2017 by jumping into a water hazard at the Fayetteville Country Club.
Davis hopes to make a splash as well in his college career.
Davis, a three-time all-state golfer, signed with Arkansas on Wednesday during a signing ceremony at Fayetteville High School. Davis played four years at Fayetteville and helped the Bulldogs win three state championships.
Davis will join an Arkansas team that was ranked 14th nationally this past season.
First impression stands
Blake Adams got his first college offer before he ever suited up for a high school baseball game.
Almost four years later, that first offer is the only one he really needed.
Adams, a right-handed pitcher at Springdale Har-Ber, signed a national letter of intent to play baseball at Arkansas in front of a large gathering of students, teachers and coaches in Wildcat Arena.
"I've had season tickets to Arkansas games since I was 4 years old," Adams said. "I've been to a lot of baseball games with my grandparents. I have always loved the atmosphere at Razorbacks games, and it's always been my dream school."
As a junior, the 6-1, 180-pounder led Har-Ber to a 30-win season and a state championship. Adams pitched a shutout in the championship game at Baum Stadium, defeating Conway 6-0 to earn MVP honors.
Adams led the Wildcats last season with a .411 batting average, 8 home runs, 42 RBI, 25 runs scored and 26 walks. On the mound, he was 7-2 with a 2.05 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 58 innings.
More signings
• Kylen Milton, a 6-3 guard from Conway, signed to play for Oral Roberts men's basketball team.
• De'myla Brown, a 5-6 guard from North Little Rock, signed with the Western Kentucky women's team.
Sports on 11/15/2018