Thirteen Eagles Sign To Play In College

Track and Field Leads December's Signings With Seven Signings.

Thirteen students put pen to paper and signed National Letters of Intent with 12 colleges and universities at Niceville High School on Wednesday afternoon.

At the end of the school day, about 300 students, parents, and well-wishers file into the NHS Auditorium to witness the signings.

Seven members of the track and field team, and members of the football cheerleading, girls basketball, baseball, softball, and golf teams made their intentions official.

“If you’re an underclassman, if you looked at this stage and said, ‘Man, I hope when I’m a senior that I have the chance to do that,’ you are in the best position possible to have a chance to do that, because you played at Niceville High School,” said Principal Charlie Marello, “The rest is up to you.”

Athletic Director Daniel Griffin noted that, nationally, 1.68% of high school athletes go to college on an athletic scholarship. Niceville High School had 608 students participate in sports in the 2022-2023 school year – which means Niceville should produce, according to the law of averages, about 10 scholarship athletes every year. Last year, Niceville had 38 athletes sign for colleges. “I think you’ll see, we are well above the curve,” Griffin said.

Signings

November Signings

Three athletes signed letters of intent to compete in college in November – meaning NHS has produced a total of 15 collegiate athletes so far this school year.

Those that signed in November include:

🟡 Asa Adams | Wrestling | Briar Cliff College

🦅 Raedyn Register | Acrobatics and Tumbling | University of Montevallo

🏴‍☠️ Felicity McCallen | Swimming | UMary

Special Note - A First Time For Everything

A full-circle moment took place at this year’s signing event. Niceville High School and Troy University Alumni Drew Frederic signed his first recruit as the Recruitment Director for Pensacola State College when Jeremiah Blair decided to play for the Pirates.

“I love Niceville,” Frederic said, “the athletes that come out of Niceville, I know they are being taught to do things the right way, on the field, in the community, and the classroom. When you get a kid out of a school like Niceville, you know that you’re going to get the right kind of person, that they’re going to be a good fit on a baseball team at the college level.”

Blair played catcher and outfield for most of his underclassmen years at Niceville. Frederic says he will get some pitching time this year with the Eagles – and then they will slot him into the place that suits him best in the future. “We like to get guys who can do a bunch of different things. He’s one of those athletes that can do many different things and impact the game in many different ways. So, what his role is, I can’t tell you – but I know that he will impact our team in many different ways.”