Four more Republic athletes have signed their letters of intent to play sports next year in college. Rylee Moseman will attend Neosho County Community College in Kansas to play volleyball. Carly McAtee will play tennis at Evangel University in Springfield. Jordan Carter has signed to play baseball at Kansas Wesleyan in Salina, Kansas. Josh Calhoon will also play baseball at North Arkansas College in Harrison.
Rylee Moseman
Rylee Moseman was an all-district and all-conference performer for three seasons, and she was also a member of the academic all-state team three years in a row.
“Her athletic ability, her work ethic, and her leadership skills in the one year that I her … gave her a positive reputation, not only in our conference but in our district,” said first-year Republic volleyball coach Allison Davis. “I wish I would have the opportunity to coach her for another couple years, but I’m really excited for the opportunity she has to play at the next level.”
Moseman said she’s looking forward to the faster pace of play at the college level, but also looking forward to the people she’ll be joining.
“I already have a good bond with the team, so I’m really excited to be able to work with different people, even though I’m going to miss my team a ton,” she said. “The community is super nice. Everybody knows everybody, and that’s what I really like about being in a small place.”
Carly McAtee
Carly McAtee has been a three-year varsity starter at Republic, and she was 16-2 in singles play as a senior. She will be on the ground floor of Evangel Tennis, with the program starting up next year.
“I always wanted a Christian college. That’s something that’s always been important to me. So we went to check out the college and see what the tennis program looked like, because I heard it was starting up next year, and I thought that was a good chance to get in there,” she said.
“When we went and talked to the coach, he just immediately made me feel comfortable. I was always scared for college. I still am a little bit, but I felt really comfortable with him and with the whole entire school. Knowing that I’m in a Christian environment, that’s something that I think is going to be amazing. So that’s why I chose Evangel.”
Coach Dan Vales said McAtee’s work ethic is an example to other players.
“She embraced coming to summer hit club and anything we offered. If you want something and you put in the effort, you can go get it. That’s what she did,” Vales said.
“She’s a great teammate. She was always supporting her teammates when they were playing. It wasn’t just about her, it was about the team.”
Josh Calhoon
Josh Calhoon will attend North Arkansas College in Harrison and said he’s most excited “to get to meet new people. It’s going to be fun to get to play at the next level, better competition,” he said. “It’s going to be a lot harder, and I’m really excited for the challenge.”
Calhoon said he chose North Arkansas because playing junior college will allow him to grow and improve over the next couple of years, with the goal of stepping up to a four-year college. That improvement is already underway, according to Republic baseball coach Curt Plotner.
“He’s continuing to get better each and every year, and I think probably his best baseball is still ahead of him, so we’re really excited about the opportunity that he’s going to have,” Plotner said.
Jordan Carter
Jordan Carter will be making a five-hour trip to Salina, Kansas, to play for Kansas Wesleyan University. He said he was impressed by the campus and the facilities there during a visit. He’s most looking forward to “better competition, getting better as a player, furthering my education.”
Plotner said Carter was “a big part of our success last year on the mound, and we’re looking forward to having him up there again this spring. If you would describe what makes a guy successful on the mound, he has a lot of those qualities. He’s able to throw multiple pitches for strikes, he can throw any pitch in any count, and he just keeps hitters off balance and he does a really good job.”
