Moving On: Five Raiders Sign with DI Schools
NICEVILLE, Fla. – Five Northwest Florida athletes have signed to play at NCAA Division I institutions this week.
Men's basketball's Seth Millner and Shakwon Barrett, women's basketball's Rayven Peeples and Fapou Semebene, and baseball's Noah Bailey all inked their names to continue their collegiate career.
Miller signed with Mid-American Conference member Toledo. The 6-6 sophomore guard was an All-Panhandle Conference First Team selection after he finished second on the team averaging 14.6 points per game. He shot 80 percent from the free throw line, the 10th-best mark in Region VII.
With 22 double-digit scoring performances, Millner was key in the Raiders offensive attack. He shot 41.3 percent from the field for the season, tallied 5.3 rebounds per contest, and chopped in with over an assist per game.
Toledo finished third in the MAC West Division with a 16-15 record. The Rockets were fifth in the 12-team league in scoring averaging 74.6 points per game. Toledo participated in the NIT in 2019 following a 25-8 campaign.
Barrett signed to play with Tennessee State following a solid year on the court. The 6-4 guard paced Northwest Florida with 3.1 assists per game. He scored in double-digits 12 times and had five or more assists in six games.
Tennessee State went 18-15 last season to finish fifth in the Ohio Valley Conference standings. The Tigers were one of the best shooting teams in the league knocking down 47 percent of their field goals on the year.
Peeples and Semebene will reunite at St. John's as the pair inked with head coach Joe Tartamella. The Red Storm were 19-12 overall a year ago and finished third in the Big East Conference.
Both were named All-Panhandle Conference, while Peeples landed NJCAA All-American honors.
Peeples, a 6-3 forward, scored in double figures 25 times and posted eight double-doubles. She averaged 14.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per contest and shot 64.2 percent from the field, the fourth-best mark in the country.
Semebene nearly averaged a double-double with 10.4 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. A 6-1 forward, Semebene turned in 22 boards against Tyler on Nov. 8 and had 10-plus rebounds 14 times last season.
Infielder Noah Bailey officially signed with South Alabama following a stellar year on the diamond. The Niceville native hit .353 with three home runs and 17 runs batted in 23 games as a sophomore for the Raiders.
A perennial contender in the Sun Belt Conference, South Alabama has qualified for the NCAA Tournament 27 times, most recently in 2017, and have won 16 Sun Belt titles. Bailey will join fellow Raider Jackson Boyd on campus in Mobile.
2019-20 Northwest Florida 4-Year Signees
Men's Basketball
Shakwon Barrett – Tennessee State
Seth Millner – Toledo
Indrek Sunelik – Arkansas State
Women's Basketball
Fapou Semebene – St. John's
Rayven Peeples – St. John's
Gabriela Sales – UTEP
Baseball
Jackson Boyd – South Alabama
Jacob Kush – Missouri
Graham Firoved – Virginia Tech
Justice Thompson – North Carolina
Brock Franks – Pittsburgh
Beck Way – LSU
Calvin Starnes – Purdue
Noah Bailey – South Alabama
Softball
Brookelyn Sweeney – Delta State
For more information on Northwest Florida athletics, visit NWFRaiders.com or follow us on Twitter at @NWF_Raiders.