SportzBuzz - March 2024

In the wake of a sensational football season, the Lamar Texans are sending a haul of talent to play collegiate football. The Texans had 13 players make their commitments official on National Signing Day. “I think it’s an incredible group of seniors and the best I’ve been around since I started coaching at Lamar,” said Texans head football coach Mike Lindsey. “These are young men who make excellent grades and do things the right way both off and on the playing field.”

As for high academics, leading the way is Brown University signee Jadon Garza-Pender. “Jadon is an outstanding player who ranks fifth in his class,” said Lindsey. “He will be a computer science major at a school that has the nation’s premiere computer science program. Another one of our outstanding student-athletes is defensive end Robert Jones, who will play for Davidson University in North Carolina.”

Meantime, the Texans have a pair of signees who’ll be suiting up for major football conferences with Lamar’s all-time leading receiver Tristen Brown signing with Vanderbilt University and defensive back Chris Boykins heading to Old Dominion. “The other thing we’re really proud of regarding our signees is that they attended HISD middle schools with most having gone to Pershing or Lanier,” added Lindsey.

SHINING KNIGHTS The SPC football champion Episcopal Knights will be well represented at the collegiate level including signees (pictured, sitting from left) Breylan Thompson (Yale), Karson Gordon (UCLA), Billy Wheless (Brown University), and Morrow Evans (Ohio State). Standing, from left, are Episcopal offensive coordinator Dan Casey, former head coach Steve Leisz, and defensive coordinator Jimmy Moynahan.

Led by highly recruited quarterback Karson Gordon, the SPC Episcopal Knights will be well represented at the collegiate level. Gordon, who is also a national track and field champion in the triple jump, signed to play for the UCLA Bruins. “He’s just a tremendous athlete and one of the best leaders to ever walk on this campus,” said former Episcopal football coach Steve Leisz.

Also heading to play for one of the so-called Power 5 conferences is Knights long-snapper Morrow Evans, who signed with Ohio State University. Morrow is the nation’s number one ranked long-snapper and recently played in the U.S Army All-American Bowl. 

Knights cornerback Breylan Thompson chose Yale University over offers from many of the nation’s elite college football programs. “Breylan had 20-plus offers, but his response was you go to Episcopal to go to schools like Yale. He’s our student body president and one of our best basketball players,” said Leisz.

Keeping it in the Ivy League is Knights 6-5, 290-pound offensive tackle Billy Wheless who signed with Brown University. Other Episcopal signees included long-snapper Anthony Saragusa to Charlotte University and cornerback Sean Thompson signed with Hendrix University in Arkansas. Plus, Knights offensive tackle Cullen Witt and wide receiver Jackson Ranucci signed as preferred walk-ons for Rice University. 

BACK ON CAMPUS Former St. Thomas Eagles baseball star Cavan Biggio, who’s now entering his sixth season with the Toronto Blue Jays, had this jersey retired during a special ceremony at the school’s all-new Father Wilson Field. Joining Biggio for the ceremony were his parents Craig and Patty Biggio and brother Conor Biggio.

It was a happy homecoming for former St. Thomas Eagles baseball star Cavan Biggio who had his jersey number 23 retired during a special ceremony at the school’s all-new Father Wilson baseball field. A 2013 St. Thomas graduate, Biggio is now entering his sixth season with major league baseball’s Toronto Blue Jays. “It means the world to me honestly,” said Biggio. “I can remember being here at St. Thomas like it was yesterday, just going out there and playing with my friends and teammates.

“It’s just a huge honor especially at a program that has such a rich tradition,” added Biggio, who led St. Thomas to a pair of state championship in his varsity career before a standout college career at the University of Notre Dame. “To have the support of the St. Thomas community truly means a lot to me and looking at this amazing new stadium, the tradition is only going to continue to grow for this baseball program.”

The ceremony was meaningful as well for Cavan’s dad Craig Biggio, who himself coached baseball at St. Thomas for seven years after his Hall of Fame career with the Houston Astros. “My emotions are a little bit of a roller coaster,” said Biggio. “Just seeing a lot of Cavan’s ex-teammates and players that I coached here is special. As Cavan mentioned during his speech, he’s made memories and friends at St. Thomas that he’ll have the rest of his life. Obviously, every time he gets the opportunity to come to a baseball game and see his number out there on the outfield wall is pretty cool.”

Along with Cavan, the school also retired the number 17 jersey of Jeff McCurry, a class of ’88 graduate who was a sensational all-state player in both baseball and basketball at St. Thomas. The star pitcher helped lead San Jacinto College to a national championship before being drafted in 1990 by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Along with the Pirates, McCurry also pitched for Detroit, Colorado, and the hometown Houston Astros during his major league career.

Editor’s note: Todd Freed is the host and executive producer of H-Town High School Sports, which airs Saturday at 10:30 p.m. on CW39 and Monday-Thursday on AT&T SportsNet SW. To submit high school sports news for possible inclusion in SportzBuzz, please email [email protected].