Myca Trail is working to lead St. Louis Catholic to another basketball state championship, but she took a brief break Wednesday, along with several other Southwest Louisiana athletes, as they set their futures in motion.
Trail, the 2021 Louisiana Sports Writers Association Class 3A all-state MVP, signed with Louisiana-Monroe. She averaged 20.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 6.0 steals to lead the Saints to a 31-1 record. With Trail in the lineup, the Saints have played in three consecutive Division II state finals.
“It feels great,” Trail said about signing the letter of intent. “I am really excited and it is a very emotional time. I am ready. (ULM has) a genuine love and support off the court. They never failed to make me feel wanted, like they wanted me (to be) part of their school.
“I prayed about it, and that is where God wanted me to be. I was so excited. I was ready to leave before school even started. I am ready for that to be my home for the next four years.”
Trail will try to help turn around a program that hasn’t seen a winning record in a decade and was a combined 6-46 the last two seasons under former McNeese State head coach Brooks Donald Williams.
St. Louis’ Ryan Baron and Sam Houston’s Luke Yuhasz signed with the Louisiana-Lafayette baseball team, which was 32-23 and reached the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament last season.
Baron, a switch-hitting outfielder and left-handed pitcher, helped lead the Saints to the Division II state championship in May.
“I couldn’t be more excited,” Baron said. “I have worked hard for this opportunity. It has been my dream since I was 5 years old. I couldn’t be happier to be part of the Cajun nation. I felt at home, and that I would be surrounded by winners.”
Yuhasz, a center fielder, is a two-sport athlete for the Broncos and originally committed to Texas A&M.
“It is kind of unreal,” Yuhasz said. “This is the dream since being a little kid. I got a good offer, and it is an hour away from home. (The Sun Belt) is a pretty good conference that is on the rise, so it is going to be fun.”
Yuhasz, along with Tulane signee Andrew Glass, helped Sam Houston reach the Class 5A semifinals. Glass, who pitches and plays first base, hit three home runs in the Broncos’ three-game quarterfinals win over Central-Baton Rouge.
“It is a great experience that I have been waiting for for a while now,” Glass said. “(Tulane head coach Travis Jewett) really had a big impact on me.”
Tulane was 31-24 and reached the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament last season.
Sam Houston utility player Maddy England signed with the ULM softball team after helping lead the Broncos to the Class 5A quarterfinals last season while batting over .400.
“When I was going to camps this summer and playing travel ball, I noticed how supportive and involved the coaches were and making players better people, not just better athletes,” England said. “That made me really want to be a part of something like that. I am really excited. I have been waiting for this day for a really long time.”
ULM was 17-32 last season, the fourth year without a winning record.
Jennings swimmer Brennon Conner signed with the South Dakota Coyotes of the Summit League.
As a sophomore in 2019, Conner set Division III records in the 50 (21.33 seconds) and 100-yard freestyle
(46.24), winning gold in both events. His records were later broken by Episcopal Eugene Jiang in 2020. Conner finished as runner-up to Jiang in the 50 and 100.
