Young ones: Iowa RB leads new wave of college recruits – American Press

Iowa’s Ronald Young has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past two years. After not playing his sophomore year, he led Iowa to the semifinals for the first time in program history last fall.

On Wednesday, he took the next step and signed a national letter of intent to play for Prairie View A&M.

“It feels good,” Young said. “It is really incredible.”

Prairie View is a Division I Football Championship Subdivision program located 45 minutes northwest of Houston. The Panthers play in the Southwestern Athletic Conference and last season won 6-5 and finished second in the West Division.

“I like the facilities, the atmosphere and the culture,” Young said of the school. “Everything is different there – the culture, the coaches, the staff, everyone. I bring a lot to the table. It just depends on where they take me.”

In two seasons that the Yellow Jackets started as a running back, Young rushed for 2,968 yards and 39 touchdowns and led Iowa to a 21-4 record. Iowa went 11-2 last fall, securing first place in the Division II Non-Select and advancing to the state semifinals.

“That right there, everyone really wanted it, so we ran away,” Young said. “It was amazing. I can not explain. I liked being with my teammates. We like to laugh and like to go out. We do a lot together.”

As a senior, Young rushed for 1,870 yards and 24 touchdowns while averaging 7.1 yards per carry.

track

Mason Abshire of St. Louis Catholic, a two-time pole vault state champion, signed a contract with the Louisiana-Lafayette track program.

Abshire won the 2022 indoor (Division II) and outdoor (Class 3A) state pole vault titles and recently set a personal best of 15 feet, 61/2 inches at the LSU High School Qualifiers indoor meeting.

His best outdoor jump is 15-3.

A list of Southwest Louisiana high school athletes intending to continue playing at the collegiate level.

Soccer

NCAA Division I

Ronald Young, Iowa, Prairie View A&M

walk ons

Ronnie Crosby, DeRidder, Texas A&M

Grant Evans, Catholic St. Louis, McNeese State

Dennis Gardere, Sam Houston, McNeese State

Bryant Merriwether, Rosepine, Louisiana-Lafayette

NCAA Division II

Bryant Hammond, DeRidder, Henderson State

NCAA Division III

Donovan Winey, Iowa, Centennial

National Junior College

sports club

Courtlande Collins, Lake Charles College Prep, Highland Community (Kan.) College

Kevon Freeman, Lake Charles College Prep, Highland Community (Kan.) College

Jamorian Jackson, Sam Houston, Blinn (Texas) College

NAIA

Alex Archield, DeRidder, Louisiana Christian

Brian Doga, Sam Houston, Missouri Valley

Brandon Jupiter, Westlake, Louisiana Christian

Jason Legre, Barbe, Louisiana Christian

Josh Lemonnier, Sam Houston, Missouri Valley

Trenton Miller, Sam Houston, Missouri Valley

Kent Fencebreaker, Grand Lake, Louisiana Christian

soft ball

NJCAA

Cyndi Reed, Iowa, LSU- Eunice

athletics

NCAA Division I

Mason Abshire, St. Louis, Louisiana-Lafayette