The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student-athletes at approximately 1,100 institutions in three divisions all over the country. Across the current NCAA landscape are dozens of Roanoke Valley natives competing at all three levels.
There is a price to pay for accomplishing lofty goals. In addition to high school students being really good at their respective sport, to earn a D-1 or D-2 athletic scholarship requires much sacrifice and hard work. While athletic scholarships are not offered on the D-3 level, such schools do offer tons of financial assistance to their student-athletes.
The NCAA officially recognizes 24 varsity sports. It’s not a coincidence that many area natives have found success after graduating from high school. They include:
- Julien Wooden (Northside High, James Madison University, basketball)
- Dashaun Grogan (William Fleming, Columbia International, basketball)
- Owen Dawyot (Cave Spring, Virginia Tech, basketball)
- Kylie Cooper (Franklin County, Virginia Tech, track & field)
- Kalia Waters (Patrick Henry, Hollins University, track & field)
- Andy Lutes (Salem High, UVA, football)
- KJ Bratten (Lord Botetourt, UVA, football)
- Kyndall Stanley (Christiansburg High, Radford, softball)
- Luca Gustafson (Salem High, Roanoke College, soccer)
One of the biggest upsets so far this college basketball season was on Nov. 6 when the JMU Dukes went to East Lansing to defeat the Michigan State Spartans, 79-76. In the game, Wooden started and contributed two steals, two rebounds and five points.
Ever the hard worker, Wooden, like many other area athletes in different sports, has outperformed more talented individuals through sheer work ethic.
Stanley made a lot of people happy when she committed to play softball at Radford over other offers. Even in high school, teammates and competitors alike say she was a “we” rather than “me” type of individual.
The trajectory from high school students to scholarship college athletes did not happen overnight for any of the aforementioned names. This time next year, Patrick Henry High basketball standout Jada Cook (Murray State), among many others, will continue the Star City to NCAA pipeline.
