Senior athletes from faith-based private schools in Johnson County will continue to show off their talents at colleges around the country.

Throughout last fall and spring, high school seniors from private schools around Johnson County have been signing letters of intent announcing their plans to play sports in college.

From basketball to soccer to football, among other sports, they will participate in athletics at colleges and universities nationwide.

Here’s a look at the seniors from each high school that plan to play a college sport this fall:

Bishop Miege High School in Roeland Park

• Drew Bergfeld, soccer at Johnson County Community College
• Caroline Bock, soccer at Illinois Institute of Technology
• Finn Cusick, football at Butler Community College
• Addie Duckers, soccer at Benedictine College
• Bella Franco, volleyball at Benedictine College
• Gabby Gallaher, bowling at Avila University
• Naomi Harris, soccer at Baker University
• Teryn Jackson, football at Butler Community College
• Phil Jones, football at University of Nebraska-Kearney
• Sammy Kirk, volleyball at University of Saint Mary
• Brayden Lane, football at University of Nebraska-Kearney
• Lauren Lopez, volleyball at Rockhurst University
• Rose Lopez, soccer at Benedictine College
• Andre Randle, football at Coffeyville Community College
• Nikki Rattan, lacrosse at Hampton University
• Ary Rodriguez, volleyball at Independence Community College
• Marco Rodriguez, football at Dodge City Community College
• Paul Rodriguez, soccer at Kansas City Kansas Community College
• Trinniti Stevens, volleyball at Middle Tennessee State University
• John Tucker IV, basketball at Avila University
• Sophia van Asselt, cross country at Park University
• Kirston Verhulst, basketball at Middle Tennessee State University

Kansas City Christian School in Prairie Village

• Derrius Derell, basketball at Link Year Prep
• Brooklyn Veer, soccer at Oklahoma Baptist

St. James Academy in Lenexa

• Michael Bianco, cross country and track at Creighton University
• Jacob Fratzel, golf at Washburn University
• Quinn Hays, cross country and track at Creighton University
• Mattingly Harris, lacrosse at William Jewell College
• Coryn Jespersen, soccer at University of Central Missouri
• Jake Kolich, golf at Washburn University
• Reese Messer, volleyball at University of Southern California
• Keely Niehues, soccer at Abilene Christian University
• Rebecca Pickert, swimming at University of Kansas

St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Overland Park

• Katherine Adkins, golf at Pittsburg State University
• Kaden Allen, wrestling at U.S. Naval Academy
• Michael Bernart, football at Benedictine College
• Westin Boyle, baseball at Purdue University
• London Burton, basketball at Rockhurst University
• Anisten Cabantac, soccer at Purdue University
• Cooper Coats, rugby at California State University Long Beach
• Anna Rose DiCarlo, soccer at Benedictine College
• Amelia Disidore, gymnastics at University of Florida
• Shalynn Elmore, softball at Community College of Baltimore County Catonsville
• Caden Gallet, wrestling at University of Saint Mary
• Delanie Gaona, soccer at Fort Hays State University
• Joey Goodenow, track and field at Princeton University
• Alea Goolsby, volleyball at Iowa State University
• Oscar Green, baseball at Ottawa University of Arizona
• Andrew Ham, football at Washington University St. Louis
• Cru Huenfeld, baseball at University of Kansas
• Brooklyn Marn, soccer at University of Mississippi
• LJ Maslowski, track and field at Amherst College
• Trever Mogren, rugby at Iowa State University
• JR Murrell, football at Washington University
• Emma Nash, volleyball at University of South Carolina Upstate
• Conor O’Donnell, football at Benedictine College
• Ella Przybylski, hockey at University of Arkansas
• Elzie Slaughter, football at U.S. Military Academy West Point
• Gabe Spiess, football at Washburn University
• Evelyn Thompson, cheerleading at Kansas State University
• Allie Vervynck, lacrosse at Illinois Wesleyan University

Other high school letters of intent lists:

WINTHROP, Mass. — Winthrop, Mass. – The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) announced its 2024-25 Academic All-Conference Team on Monday (June 16) afternoon. The list includes a 1,648 student-athletes, which eclipses a new league-high.

In order to be eligible for academic all-conference, a student-athlete must maintain a 3.25 cumulative GPA and have completed second-year academic status. Student-athletes must also have competed in at least one of the conference’s 21 championship sports.

This the sixth year in a row that more than 1000 student-athletes have earned Academic All-Conference honors.

This year’s impressive list marks the sixth consecutive year that more than 1,000 GNAC student-athletes have received selection, and (at least) the 17th straight year that the GNAC has had a conference-record total:

Saint Joseph’s has had at least 40 athletes honored in each of the institution’s 18 years as a member of the GNAC (2008 – 42, 2009 – 61, 2010 – 59, 2011 – 58, 2012 – 75, 2013 – 70, 2014 – 82, 2015 – 86, 2016 – 89; 2017 – 92, 2018 – 95, 2019 – 115, 2020 – 117, 2021 – 120, 2022 – 118, 2023 – 114, 2024 – 132, 2025 – 132; 1,658 total).

The Saint Joseph’s College men’s lacrosse program led the 2024-25 academic honorees with an impressive 18 student-athletes recognized. Baseball followed closely with 16 selections, while the field hockey and women’s soccer teams each featured 8 honorees. Women’s basketball and women’s lacrosse both landed 7 student-athletes on this year’s list. In total, 13 multi-sport Monks were also honored for their academic achievements across seasons.

The Monks’ group of 132 honorees features 84 repeat-honorees, including 28 who earned the award third time (***) and 56 for the second time (**) during their respective collegiate careers.

View the full list of the 132 Saint Joseph’s GNAC All-Academic Honorees here!

ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 14 member institutions and over 3,500 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.

Stay up to date with all the latest news from the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC)!

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HANOVER, N.H.—Dartmouth’s Haldeman Family Director of Athletics and Recreation, Mike Harrity and Dartmouth College announce a project to renovate Dartmouth’s Rupert C. Thompson Arena, that will modernize locker rooms and team spaces, and benefit team building, student-athlete development, and future recruiting.

Thompson Arena has been the home of Dartmouth men’s and women’s hockey since opening in 1975. The 11,050-square-foot renovation will provide both programs with new locker rooms, team lounges, sports medicine spaces, a weight room, a coaches’ suite, as well as a new donor and fan hospitality space on the concourse level.

Over the last year, Dartmouth women’s hockey welcomed new head coach Maura Crowell, who brings a record of sustained success from the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD). Crowell led UMD to three consecutive 20 plus win seasons and two NCAA Frozen Four appearances (2021, 2022). She was named the USCHO Division I Women’s Coach of the Year and the CCM/AHCA National Coach of the Year in 2016–17 and was a finalist for the CCM/AHCA award again in both 2021 and 2022. Her leadership signals a new chapter for Dartmouth women’s hockey, rooted in competitive excellence and academic achievement.

The men’s hockey program continues to thrive under Koenig Family Head Coach of Dartmouth Men’s Hockey, Reid Cashman. The program is coming off a historic 2024–25 season, returning to the Top 20 rankings and winning the Ivy League Championship outright for the first time since 1979–80. In addition, Cashman and his staff were named Ivy League coaching staff of the year in 2024-25, while Cashman was named Tim Taylor ECAC Coach of the Year previously for the 2023-24 season. This success reflects the program’s continued investment in holistic student-athlete development—combining elite performance with academic rigor.

“This renovation will create a modern space to facilitate individual student-athlete development and team cohesion both on and off the ice,” Harrity shared. “We’re able to provide our teams with this enhancement because of the tremendous support from our alumni, the college, and the athletics and recreation department.”

The Thompson Arena locker rooms were last renovated in the summer of 2016 with both the men’s and women’s locker rooms receiving improvements. Part of the 2016 renovation also saw updates to the playing surface including new dasher boards and glass and a new refrigeration system. 

Crowell is excited about the upgraded locker room, which will be among the best in Division I hockey. “An upgraded locker room is meaningful to our team because it will give us the ability to have more space and create a true hockey epicenter, which is important to our program. The upgraded stalls and design will put us among the best locker rooms in the nation.”

Cashman is looking forward to having a central hub for Dartmouth hockey. “One of the great positives from this renovation is that everything related to Dartmouth hockey will now be under the Thompson roof. Our new coaches’ suite will allow our coaches to have more integration with our student-athletes. The new locker rooms and lounges will give our student-athletes an unbelievable atmosphere to prepare on and off the ice.”

The project will be divided into three phases, with the final phase expected to be completed in the fall of 2026.

“Renovated facilities are great for the current student-athletes but also should enhance recruiting to grow our program. Thompson Arena is already an incredible rink but the decision to renovate is a testament to Dartmouth’s commitment to constant improvement in all areas,” Dartmouth women’s hockey player Izee Powell ’26 added. “This renovation will create a better training facility for our team which is an important signal that Dartmouth is investing in the student-athletes so that we can be the best we can possibly be. I’m really lucky to be a part of it and I can’t wait for the future success of Dartmouth women’s hockey.”

Matt Fusco ’27 of the men’s hockey team is excited about all of the renovations. “The plans for the rink look unbelievable. We will have so many resources at our disposal, and everything we need will be right there for our whole team. This addition will be big and will help us separate from the rest of college hockey. Having all of the benefits of what Dartmouth offers its students plus the addition to the rink; it makes Dartmouth the place to be in college hockey.”

Phase one, which started in January 2025, focuses on adding to the building infrastructure of the arena.  Phase two focuses on the energy upgrades to the mechanical systems which is part of Dartmouth’s decarbonization effort to reach carbon-zero operations by 2050.

Phase three will complete the interior renovations and all site work upgrades with the completion anticipated in time for the start of the season in fall 2026.

Throughout the renovations, both Dartmouth men’s and women’s hockey will continue to call Thompson Arena home. Dartmouth Athletics and Recreation is grateful to campus leaders for their support in updating Thompson Arena for the first time in 50 years. Dartmouth hockey has benefitted from an energized alumni and fan base with millions of dollars in private support committed to this project. For more information on how you can make a transformational gift to the Thompson Arena renovation, contact Steve Maciejewski, Senior Associate Athletics Director for Development (steven.j.maciejewski@dartmouth.edu).

2025-26 season ticket deposits are now on sale, to secure your season ticket for 2025-26, click here for men’s hockey and click here for women’s hockey.