Some of the Ohio Valley’s top basketball talent has come off the board recently. Wheeling Park’s Alex Vargo made his decision to play Division I ball at Youngstown State while Shanley Woods is keeping her game close to home and will suit up for Wheeling University next winter.
Both of those announcements came within the last month, while other area seniors like Barnesville’s Luke Powell, Magnolia’s Kyndra Pilant, Beaver Local’s Jenna Riccardo, and Wheeling Central’s D-I duo of Eden Gainer and Kaylee Reinbeau made their selections known earlier in the school year. But not all the players have made their choices, and the Valley still boasts some top-notch talent waiting to find that perfect fit.
While the ongoing coronavirus saga has grounded athletic competition to a screeching halt nationwide, it hasn’t hampered potential recruits’ abilities to talk sports.
Wheeling Central’s Hannah White showed no signs of her injury slowing her down senior year, and became one of the area’s best two-way players, showing a tenacity on defense to go with a versatile offensive skill set. 
Wheeling Central’s Kaylee Reinbeau earlier signed to play at Division-I Bucknell
More Exposure Couldn’t Hurt Though
The conclusion of high school basketball season usually signals the start of travel and AAU seasons. While representing their schools is how players make a name for themselves locally, it’s on the road, at travel tournaments and collegiate ID camps where players are more visible to scouts and coaches. That’s obviously not an option presently with the sports’ hiatus.
Bellaire’s Katrina Davis had planned on one finals season of AAU ball. The senior recently was named the Player of the Year in Ohio’s Division III and was a finalist in the voting for Ms. Basketball. She averaged 27.1 points a game this season and finished as the Big Reds’ all-time leader in steals (433) and wins (79) while she totaled the third-most points (1,564) and second-most assists (301).
She’s on multiple radars, but a little more “out there” never hurts.
“I was planning on playing AAU to get more exposure, so it’s put a hold on other offers that could’ve been coming my way,” Davis said. “But I’m focusing more on the schools that contacted me.”
Davis is communicating with a number of schools, including Mountain East Conference teams like Wheeling and Glenville State, along with former WVIAC member Bluefield State in Division II; Marietta and Misericordia in D-III along with Rio Grande.
Wheeling Central’s Hannah White is another of the area’s top seniors, who, as of yet, has not made her collegiate selection. White, who scored a career-high 33 points in the Maroon Knights’ regional final win against Ritchie County, is keeping her decision close to the vest.
Though White, too, could have benefited from one more season of AAU. As a junior, White suffered a season-ending knee injury that forced her to miss her junior track season, as well as travel basketball during the all-important junior-to-senior season transition. She finished with 980 points, despite missing most of her junior year, and averaged 18 points a game as a senior. But like Davis, her talents had long been known to college coaches, including the Horizon League’s Cleveland State University, which had the then-sophomore in for a visit in October 2018.
Finding the Proper Fit
Davis was set to play in Ohio’s North-South all-star game which was recently canceled, as it was for another OVAC senior whose services are still available in Shadyside’s Kelly Hendershot. Hendershot capped a fine senior season with a 19.2 ppg scoring average, becoming the school’s all-time boys’ leading scorer in the process. He also earned honorable-mention all-Ohio as a receiver during football season and is quite adept on the baseball diamond as well.
Hendershot has multiple avenues he could pursue, but he’s currently weighing his options as well, both in school, and in sport.
“If I do get the opportunity to play at the next level, I would like to play at a school that will be the best fit for me,” Hendershot said. “I’ll play whatever roll the coach would want me to fill to help the team win.”
Davis is hoping her roll consists of running the show from the point guard position. That’s where she feels her size and skill set can contribute best on the collegiate level and the interested coaches have agreed.
“I see myself running the point guard position at the next level and the coaches and I have been on the same page with this,” Davis said. “Being as small as I am, that’s the position that best first me and my style of place, especially in college.”
That fits her play style, but Davis is equally concerned about finding the right fit for herself academically. Davis carries a 4.16 grade point average and noted she intends to study occupational therapy, a degree field not every university offers. In fact, of the schools Davis is currently exploring, only Misericordia, a Division-III program in Northeastern Pennsylvania, offers an undergraduate program in OT.
Whichever schools gains the services of either of these athletes will be acquiring welcome additions that could help their respective programs immediately.
“The Ohio Valley has seen countless athletes come through over the years. In my opinion, I would put Katrina Davis, Hannah White and Kelly Hendershot up as some of the most talented, dedicated, and humbling athletes this area has ever seen,” said Jeremy Hays, owner and CEO of Fadeaway Fitness. “Their tireless work ethics and desire to be the best athlete he/she could become has really been put on display this year. Leading their teams to numerous wins but also demonstrating tremendous leadership for their teammates to follow. It’s hard not to root for kids like that. In addition to their athletic achievements, they are even better people.”
Since starting his training and skill development company, Hays has worked with some of the best high school and collegiate athletes in the area and beyond, working to develop their skills and prepare them for the next level.
Keeping the Skills Sharp
Hendershot was likely prepping for baseball season, so AAU basketball wasn’t in the plans. Like his counterparts across the valley and beyond, those plans are on hold at this point, with it growing increasingly likely that spring sports will be a no-go. In the meantime, he’s resorting to what many have to keep his skills sharp—a little backyard hoop.
“I have a court in my back yard so I just go out there and work on the things I struggled with this past season,” Hendershot noted.
Davis has also seen her senior softball season put on hold as she was again looking to double-up AAU basketball and Big Reds’ softball. The break has given her an unexpected amount of free time. The trick is finding places to work out.
“I try to keep in shape and get out and run about four times a week,” Davis said. “I haven’t really been able to get in the gym because of the virus, but I try to keep up on my footwork and quickness as much as I can.”
