Forty seniors signed a National Letter of Intent on Feb. 5 to take their high school sport to a college level. The NLI is a binding agreement between an NCAA school and a student-athlete in which the student-athlete agrees to attend the school for one year. Although seniors still have the opportunity to accept athletic scholarships before the year ends, Feb. 5 was the first day they could officially accept offers.

“[When signing early] you get the cream of the crop,” Jay Barlow said. “You get to pick your [uniform] number first, dorms, whichever one you want, and it’s just better when you sign early.”

As starting running back for the varsity football team, Barlow said he is proud that all his hard work has paid off and that he can make a large contribution in funding his college education at Oklahoma Baptist University.

“It’s one of the best feelings in the world,” Barlow said. “Knowing that your parents don’t have to pay a dime for your school, you know that’s really, that’s a great feeling right there.”

Two-time state champion golfer Jordy LaBarbera received offers from several Division I colleges including Colorado State, Texas State, Texas Tech, Iowa and University of Texas at San Antonio. After narrowing down her offers to schools that seemed to be the best fit for her, LaBarbera committed to the University of Arkansas.

“Arkansas has an awesome golf facility, and the campus is really cool, but the coaches are mainly why I signed there,” LaBarbera said. “I’m looking forward to all the stuff because the first day you get there it’s like Christmas, and also playing, that’s pretty cool too.”

Power forward Jamuni McNeace caught the attention of college recruiters with his slam dunks and prominent post presence. The nearly 7-foot basketball player said that he spends the majority of his time in the gym above the rim, sometimes sending the student section into a frenzy after a big dunk. Even with offers from colleges across the nation, McNeace said choosing to play for the University of Oklahoma was easy after receiving a full-ride scholarship.

“I felt comfortable with Coach Kruger at OU. I felt like he could help me develop and maybe make it to the next level,” McNeace said. “Also Coach McCullough said it would be a great fit for me, and I value his opinion a lot.”

Spending countless hours in the gym running plays with his team working on midrange jumpers and choreographing his dunks, McNeace said he is elated knowing that what he has worked for counts for something special.

“I can finally say, ‘Mama, we made it,’” McNeace said. “It’s a great feeling knowing that after all the time and effort spent working [on my game] that there’s a reward for it all.”