The Cardington girls’ basketball team’s recent success has been noticed by colleges, as two players have already signed committments, with two others expected to follow.
Senior guard Sage Brannon has already signed with Ashland University, while junior guard Kynlee Edwards recently committed to the University of Findlay. Pirate head coach Jamie Edwards, who also is Kynlee’s father, added that senior forward Kyndall Spires (who committed to Saginaw Valley State University after this interview) and sophomore forward Casey Bertke also have gotten a lot of attention.
The coach added that having the committments happen to end the recruiting progress is a stress relief, both for the players and for him, as he’s fielded a lot of phone calls inquiring about his players.
“Especially in the summer,” he said. “Not only as the coach of the four players being recruited, but as the father of one, I know for me personally and Sage’s mom will agree, it’s nice they don’t have to worry about who is watching, but just go out and play.
“Some times, Kynlee would come out and say, ‘I played terrible; that coach won’t be looking any more’” he continued. “It’s a lot of stress.”
For her part, Kynlee Edwards, the first 2019 commit for Findlay, noted that it didn’t take long to decide that school was a perfect fit.
“I’d been on college visits and talked to a lot of coaches,” she said. “As soon as I went to Findlay, I saw that was where I wanted to go. I think the coaching staff and players reminded me of high school and I really liked them.”
Jamie Edwards noted that Findlay also worked as far a potential playing time, adding that they will graduate eight players right before she joins the program.
“They liked how she wasn’t just a point guard,” he said. “They like how she’s fast on defense and a ball-hawk and like how she plays more than one way on the floor.”
While three of his players have announced their college decisions, Edwards noted that Bertke still is attracting a lot of attention.
“Casey Bertke is already getting Division I and II looks,” he said, noting that Providence University is among the DI schools looking at her. “She’s been at all the exposure elements with these guys and there are a lot of media specialists that tweet about her.”
But with three of his players having decided, it’s a lot easier for everyone involved to focus on this year with the Cardington program. Edwards has high hopes for both the 2017-18 year and the future.
“We’re on the Ohio Girls Basketball Report top 10 list, so they’re already expecting us to have a successful season,” he said. “We’re returning a solid line-up and have a really good eighth grade class coming up.”
