By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Standout performers on two Northern Kentucky football teams that made strong runs in last season’s playoffs have announced commitments with NCAA Division I programs.
Beechwood quarterback Emmett Queen accepted a scholarship offer from Wake Forest University in North Carolina and Highlands tight end Tayden Lorenzen did the same with Miami University of Ohio. Both recruits have one season of high school football remaining.
“It was the perfect fit for me and I think I made the right decision,” Lorenzen said of joining the Miami team that was Mid-America Conference runner-up last season and played in a bowl game for the fifth consecutive year.
Lorenzen said he was recruited as a tight end, but the 6-foot-3, 235-pound junior played several positions, including quarterback, on the Highlands team that made it to the region finals in the Class 4A state playoffs last season. He ended up with 541 yards rushing, 105 yards passing, 321 yards receiving and a team-high 18 touchdowns.
“I committed as a tight end, but obviously I can play anywhere,” said Lorenzen. “It just depends on what they need. They watched my films and been to a few games, so they know what I can do.”
Lorenzen’s father, Jared, was a quarterback for the University of Kentucky and the New York Giants in the NFL. He passed away in 2019.
Beechwood made it to the semifinals in the Class 2A playoffs last year with Queen at quarterback. He passed for 2,710 yards and 39 TDs with only two interceptions in his first season with the Tigers.
“You came to Beechwood humble and motivated, and took coaching extremely well, to not only elevate your game, but those of your teammates around you,” Beechwood offensive coordinator Greg Hergott said in a post to Queen on X.
The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Queen will be joining a Wake Forest team that capped a 9-4 season under first-year head coach Jake Dickert with a bowl game victory in January. It was the third straight year that the Deacons won a bowl game.
“Thanks to the Beechwood community and my teammates, what a special group to play Friday nights with,” Queen said in a post announcing his college commitment. “Couldn’t have done this without you all.”
Beechwood has another highly recruited football player in wide receiver Tyler Fryman, who caught 62 passes for 1,320 yards and 23 TDs during his junior season. He already made a commitment with the University of Louisville baseball team, but he has football offers from several teams, including Notre Dame, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Arizona State, Purdue and Wisconsin.
Ryle grad on college basketball team competing in NIT
Ryle graduate Sarah Baker is a starting forward on the Youngstown State women’s basketball team that advanced to the round of the 16 in the National Invitational Tournament with a 61-42 home-court victory over Maryland Eastern Shore on Tuesday.
Baker, a 6-foot-2 redshirt freshman, had 12 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists for the Penquins. They will take a 25-9 record into a home game against Marshall University (24-9) at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
Youngstown State received a berth in the NIT for being runner-up in the Horizon League tournament that also included Northern Kentucky University.
Going into Friday’s game, Baker is averaging 11.4 points and 4.3 rebounds and shooting 52.2 percent (174 of 333) from the field this season. She was one of five players named to the Horizon League All Freshman Team.
In her first season, she missed the final 22 games due to an injury and received a medical redshirt to remain a freshman on the roster.
In high school, Baker had career totals of 1,331 points and 793 rebounds for Ryle. She was a seventh-grader on the 2019 state championship team and worked her way into the varsity starting lineup over the next five seasons.
Brossart senior earns All-America honors in shot put
Brossart senior Ava Walters placed third in the girls shot put event at the Adidas Indoor Nationals with a mark of 40 feet, 7.75 inches that earned All-America honors.
At the Kentucky indoor track and field state championships earlier this month, Walters set a state indoor record when she won the Class 1A shot put event with a mark of 42-10.25.
She added that gold medal to the ones she earned in the shot put and discus at last year’s Class 1A outdoor state meet. She also won the shot put event at the 2024 outdoor state meet.
Walters signed a letter of intent with Eastern Kentucky University in March. At the signing ceremony, Brossart coach Dave Schuh said she has shown the desire, dedication and determination to have a successful college career.