Chatham County’s collegiate winter sports athletes are reaching the final stretches of their regular seasons while the county’s former diamond sports standouts are joining the party. Here’s an update on some of the county’s athletes on the next level:
Men’s Basketball
Drake Powell (UNC, Northwood)
Powell is coming on as one of the Tar Heels’ most reliable three-point shooters, shooting a team-best 38.7% from beyond the arc amongst players with at least 10 attempted three-pointers. He hit two huge threes and grabbed a season-high three steals in the win over Pitt Saturday.
Jarin Stevenson (Alabama, Seaforth)
Stevenson put together some solid performances in Alabama’s six-game win streak from Jan. 18 to Saturday. In a 103-87 win over Vanderbilt on Jan. 21, Stevenson put out one of his best games of the season with 10 points and seven rebounds on a 67% shooting clip.
Max Frazier (Central Connecticut, Northwood)
Frazier is continuing a gritty sophomore season off the bench, averaging 4.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game as of Sunday. He recorded a season-high five blocks in a win over LIU on Jan. 30, but he also suffered an injury that same night which kept him out of the next two games. Frazier is second on the team in blocks with 19.
Aaron Ross (Chowan, Northwood)
Ross has provided major contributions to Chowan winning four of its last five games as of Sunday. The senior guard scored double digits in all five of those games, including a 22-point, 14-rebound double-double (season highs in points and rebounds) in a road win over Erskine on Feb. 1.
Women’s Basketball
Meah Brooks (Greensboro College, Chatham Charter)
Brooks has worked her way back into Greensboro’s starting lineup, and she’s been posting some efficient stat lines as of late. Although the Pride is on a seven-game losing streak, Brooks hasn’t shot less than 50% from the floor in the last four games as of Sunday. She scored 14 points in a loss to N.C. Wesleyan on Feb. 1, and she followed that with 13 points and six rebounds against Methodist Friday.
Olivia Porter (Marquette, Northwood)
Porter has struggled in the scoring column recently, making just three field goals in Marquette’s last three games prior to Sunday. She’s been a solid facilitator, though, dishing out six assists in a win over Xavier on Jan. 29 and in a loss to Villanova on Feb. 2. Porter leads the team with 75 assists.
McKenna Snively (Christopher Newport, Northwood/North Raleigh Christian Academy)
Snively has had a solid last few weeks coming off the bench and helping red hot Christopher Newport reach No. 5 in the WBCA NCAA Division II Coaches’ Poll. In a win over Mary Washington on Jan. 25, Snively scored a season-high 14 points, making two threes and going six-for-six from the free throw line. She cooled down with just one made field goal in the following two games, putting her average at 5.1 points per outing
Hannah Ajayi (Guilford, Seaforth)
Ajayi is getting back into the groove of things after missing some time earlier in the winter. She had one of her best games of her freshman season in a win over Lynchburg on Feb. 1 in which she scored five points and grabbed three rebounds in 10 minutes.
Skylar Adams (Shaw, Northwood)
Adams returned from injury halfway through January, and she has made four starts in Shaw’s last eight games. She set a new career-high with 16 points in a loss to Winston-Salem State on Jan. 22, making two threes and shooting eight-for-eight from the free throw line. Adams has been effective with getting to the line this season, shooting the fifth-most free throws on the team and making them at the second-best clip (78.7%) amongst Bears with at least 10 free throw attempts.
Baseball
Former Chatham Central pitcher Anthony Lopossay made his first college appearance for Cleveland Community College in a 9-6 win over USC Lancaster on Feb. 5. Lopossay pitched one inning and recorded one strikeout and gave up a hit and a run.
Aidan Allred (Chatham Charter) and Ian McMillan (Jordan-Matthews) began their college careers at Brunswick Community College Saturday. Allred recorded a double in his first collegiate at-bat during a win over East Carolina Club.
Sam Murchison (Jordan-Matthews) will start his fifth year at UNC Greensboro. UNCG will open the season at home against Creighton Friday.
Softball
Logan Gunter (Jordan-Matthews) is making an immediate impact during her freshman year at Furman. As the leadoff hitter in Furman’s season opening loss to South Carolina State, Gunter reached first base on a dropped fly. She’s recorded one put out and six assists in the field in her first two games.
Jaylee Williams (Chatham Centra) has started her sophomore year as an outfielder at App State, recording a stolen base in a loss to Auburn Saturday.
Hailie Edmondson (Chatham Charter), a pitcher and outfielder, will begin her sophomore year at Wake Tech. The Eagles open their season against Caldwell Sunday.