Somerset — Southwestern basketball standout Stephanie Salyers still has one more season with the Lady Warriors. However, after a phenomenal junior prep season and a couple of good summer AAU seasons, the 6’1” post player has already signed a national letter of intent to join the Morehead State women's basketball program. Salyers is the first 2009-10 recruit for Lady Eagle coach Mike Bradbury.
“Stephanie was our first commitment for the 09-10 group,” Bradbury said. “We liked Stephanie for her versatility. She is a good rebounder and she is a good defender.”
Salyers has been a starting center for Southwestern since her 8th-grade year. She was the 2007-08 Commonwealth Journal Player of the Year and the 2008 District 48 Tournament MVP when she averaged 15 points and nine rebounds per game for the season. Salyers was also named to the 2007 12th Regional All-Tournament team and was the 2007-08 WYMT Most Improved Player.
Southwestern coach Tim Rice remembers Salyers in her early years as a Lady Warrior and he reflects with pride on how much she worked to earn a Division-1 college scholarship.
“Stephanie came a long way,” Rice commented. “She came to us as an eighth-grader and she was not as graceful around the basket as we would have liked for here to be, but she was the kind of player who wanted to stay late after practice and come into the gym on the weekends.”
“She ran a lot on her own and she put a lot of energy in making herself a better player,” Rice continued. “Then, she sort of blossomed as a player her sophomore year and she filled in when we had a couple of injuries and she came in and picked us up. She has had an outstanding career from then on.”
Salyers’ sudden progression even amazed her and the college offer she received from her basketball skills.
“When I first started playing basketball I never dreamed of playing for a college like Morehead,” Salyers admitted. “I started to play a lot of AAU basketball and I think that is where the Morehead coaches first saw me play. In high school, I hadn’t really done much until last year.”
“I really thought if I got a chance to play college basketball, it would probably be somewhere small,” Salyers added. “But I just kept working hard and it was my dream to play Division 1 ball. I know it will be a lot of work to play at this level, but that is what I want. I know I could probably go somewhere small and play right off, but I want to be part of something bigger than just me playing.”
Salyers has been a member of the Kentucky Xtreme AAU program where she was a catalyst in leading her team to the 2006, 2007 and 2008 Kentucky state AAU titles. In 2007, the Xtreme finished ninth in the nation at the AAU National Tournament.
“The coaches at Morehead know hat ‘the sky is the limit’ for Stephanie because she has not even tapped her potential,” Rice said. “I think once she gets into college and plays against some girls her own size everyday in practice, then I think she will become an even stronger collegiate player.”
“Stephanie should be able to hold her own inside at the college level,” Rice, a former college coach, explained. “She is a legitimate 6’1”, she has a good solid body, and she has done a lot of conditioning and training to help with her footwork. So, I think she will be able to hold her own in the D1 college ranks. Stephanie has the knowledge, the attitude and ‘the want to’ to be prosperous as a college basketball player.”
Salyers explained that she was impressed with Morehead University after her initial college visit. Likewise, the Lady Eagle coaching staff was impressed with Salyers.
“Morehead was my first college visit and they offered me a college scholarship right there on the spot,” Salyers recalled. “That was really surprising and it took me a little while but I ended up committing early last season. I just knew that when I got there, that is what I wanted.”
“Morehead has a lot of class diversity, which is good for me since I am not real sure what I want to do yet,” Salyers added. “I like the coaches and their style of play. There were other colleges, but once I visited Morehead I knew that is where I wanted to go.”
Salyers is a member of the National Honor Society, the National Honor Roll, Who's Who Among American High School Students, and the National Society of High School Scholars. She is a student representative of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Title IX Committee.
Local Sports
Related Photos
-
On hand for Salyers’ signing was front row from left, Steve Salyers, Stephanie Salyers, Bonnie Salyers and Greg Salyers; back row from left, Tim Eaton, Tim Rice and Greg Scholl. Sherry Super Photo
Stephanie Salyers signs with Morehead State
- Local Sports
-
-
Trevor Herd signs with Union College
During his four years on the Somerset High School soccer team, Trevor Herd scored 50 goals and notched 13 assists. During his junior year, Herd scored 27 goals in 21 matches, which earned him Commonwealth Journal's All-County Player of the Year. Despite being riddled by injuries during his senior campaign, Herd still scored nine goals, had five assists, and was named to both All-District and All-Tournament Teams throughout his career.
And while Herd’s injuries were serious enough to end his future as a soccer player at the next level, the talented Somerset High School senior set his mind on continuing to play and recently signed to play at the next level for Union College. -
Lady Warriors win 7th straight crown
Since joining the 48th District, the Southwestern Lady Warriors have owned their tournament. In the first six seasons, one with Coach Derrick Harris and five under Jim Woodall, Southwestern had been 12-0 with six straight 48th District crowns—and they outscored their opponents 106-5 in the process.
-
Somerset grabs district crown from Pulaski
Early in the 2012 high school baseball season, the Somerset Briar Jumpers were having their fair share of struggles at the plate.
However, Phil Grundy’s club appears to be hitting its stride at the perfect time of the year. -
Lady Jumpers win back-to-back district titles
In 2011, the Somerset Lady Jumper softball team — who had won its first regional crown the year before in 2010 — brought home its first ever district title with a win in the finals over Pulaski County.
-
Warriors squeak out 5-4 win over McCreary
Heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, visiting McCreary Central had a slight edge over Southwestern, as they held a 4-3 lead over the homestanding Warriors.
But Alex Eaton’s Warriors would not let that slight edge affect them, as they plated a pair of runs in the bottom half of the frame to grab a 5-4 victory in the opening round of the 48th District Baseball Tournament last night at Warrior Stadium. -
Impact of a state track meet
For most high school track athletes, the state championship is the grand finale to a to grueling high school track season or the cultivation of a long prep career filled with sweat, pain, nagging injuries and constant sore muscles.
-
An old friend and a new face
On Wednesday afternoon, Somerset High School announced their new basketball head coaches for the upcoming season.
-
A ‘Storm’ is heading to UK
Somerset High School’s WB Jones Auditorium was packed with ‘purple and gold’ clad students on Tuesday afternoon during their annual year-end award cermony.
-
Warriors top Pulaski in Scott McAninch Memorial
Over the past three weeks, not a single baseball team inside the 12th Region had been any hotter than the Southwestern Warriors or the Pulaski County Maroons.
-
Somerset track teams win Region, again
Both the Somerset High School boys and girls track teams claimed regional team titles late Saturday night in the Class A Region 6 Track and Field Championships at Somerset’s Joan Spurlock Track Complex.
- More Local Sports Headlines
-
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
Neighbors of Etan Patz's Suspect: It's Shocking
Gulf Fishermen Reel From Seafood Troubles
Stuntman Makes Skydive Without Parachute in UK
