By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Austin Alexander, a two-way starter on the Cooper football team that was Class 5A state runner-up last season, announced his commitment with the University of North Carolina during a ceremony at the high school on Friday.
The 6-foot-3, 245-pound junior was recruited by several Division I college teams and narrowed his choices to six before his announcement. The other finalists were Notre Dame, Kentucky, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Stanford.
According to a story on 247sports.com, Alexander called the coaching staff at North Carolina to schedule a visit while he was on spring break last year. He was asked to return for a summer camp in June and the coaches offered him a scholarship after the camp.
North Carolina recruited Alexander as a defensive player. As a defensive end and outside linebacker for Cooper last season, he made 81 tackles (57 solo, 24 assisted) and 19 quarterback sacks, which ranked second in statewide statistics.
Alexander also played tight end and wide receiver for the Jaguars, catching 67 passes for 1,138 yards and 19 touchdowns. In the team’s five Class 5A playoff games, he had 21 receptions for 351 yards and eight TDs.
An outstanding student with a 4.46 GPA, Alexander is the third member of his family recruited by a major college football team. His uncle, Boone County graduate Shaun Alexander, was a running back for Alabama and the Seattle Seahawks. One of his cousins, Holy Cross graduate Derrick Barnes, was a linebacker for Purdue and now plays for the Detroit Lions.
North Carolina finished 8-5 overall and 4-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference last season. The Tar Heels earned a bowl bid for the fifth consecutive season and lost to West Virginia, 30-10, in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
9th Region Coach of the Year in boys basketball makes career move
Nathan Browning is making a career move after being named 9th Region Coach of the Year for guiding the Boone County boys basketball team to its best record in nine years last season.
On Friday, Browning was named Conner’s new head coach. He takes charge of a program that won 131 games and played in five 9th Region tournaments over the last eight years under former coach Matt Otte.
In his first four seasons as Boone County’s head coach, Browning’s teams compiled a 33-71 record. But the Rebels reversed that trend by posting an 18-10 record this past season. The team’s success revolved around four players with double-figure scoring averages who were all seniors.
Conner finished with an 11-17 record, but there was only one senior in the starting lineup. The leading scorers were sophomore guard Finn Louden and junior forward Landon Warner, who averaged 15.9 snd 12.5 points per game. Both of those players shot 45 percent from the field.
Boone County now joins the list of local high schools looking for head basketball coaches. Holmes and Dixie Heights need to hire boys head coaches. There are girls head coaching vacancies at Beechwood, Villa Madonna, Newport Central Catholic, Ludlow and Dayton.
Ryle graduate will finish college basketball career at Texas Christian
Ryle graduate Maddie Scherr will play her final season of women’s college basketball for Texas Christian University, a team that made it to the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Conference tournament and finished with a 21-12 record.
Scherr entered the NCAA transfer portal after playing two seasons for the University of Kentucky. The 5-foot-10 senior point guard averaged 12.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game for the Wildcats last season.
After being named Ms. Kentucky Basketball in high school, Scherr began her college career at the University of Oregon before transferring to Kentucky. She’ll be joining a TCU team that includes another former Oregon player, Sedona Prince, and head coach Mark Campbell was an assistant at Oregon while Scherr played there.
In his first season as head coach at TCU, Campbell transformed a team that finished 8-23 in 2022-23. The Horned Frogs won 21 games and made their first post-season tournament appearance in five years in the WNIT.
Ryle High School retired Scherr’s jersey number last season to honor her basketball achievements. The Raiders won three 9th Region championships and the 2019 state tournament with her in the lineup. She was the program’s all-time leader in points, rebounds and assists when she graduated.