Shore Conference Athletes Make Their Pledge on Signing Day

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Long Branch's Kaymar Mimes and St. John Vianney's Haaziq Daniels will sign with Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) programs Wednesday, the first day of the NCAA's regular signing period, to lead a group of Shore Conference football players who will make their college commitments official.

Mimes, a defensive end, will sign with the University of Pittsburgh and Daniels, a quarterback, will sign with the United States Air Force Academy. Mimes was originally verbally committed to Rutgers University but re-opened his commitment following an offer from Pittsburg in December. Mimes was an integral part of Long Branch's Central Jersey Group IV state championship team in 2017, recording 87 tackles and 10 sacks. Daniels was a two-year starter for the Lancers who helped them win two of their four consecutive Class A Central division titles and extend their Shore Conference winning streak to 38 games.

Shore Conference football players signing with Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Division II or NAIA schools on Wednesday include eight players from Red Bank Catholic: running back Zack Bair (Dartmouth), defensive lineman Emmett McNamara (Princeton), offensive lineman Connor Smith (Yale), defensive back Matt Ansell (Wagner), wide receiver Brandon Lombana (Stonehill), defensive lineman Christian Pritzlaff (Marist), wide receiver/defensive back Tahj Berardesco (East Stroudsburg) and offensive lineman Rich Christie (Southern Connecticut).

(L-R): Jyllissa Harris, Brianna Urbanski, Emmett McNamara, Zachary Bair, Matthew Ansell, Michael Griggs, Tahjmir Berardesco, Christian Pritzlaff, Brandon Lombana, Conor Smith, Richard Christie. (Photo courtesy of Red Bank Catholic athletic department).

St. John Vianney will have five players joining Daniels in singing NLI: defensive end Nick Densieski (Pace), wide receiver/defensive back Sam East (Gannon), linebacker Josiah Walker (Mayville State), offensive lineman Donovan Reiser (Sacred Heart) and defensive lineman Dominick Spano (Stonehill).

Other players signing include Howell quarterback Eddie Morales (Monmouth), Howell offensive lineman Scott Prendergast (Monmouth), Rumson-Fair Haven running back Peter Lucas (Lehigh), Rumson-Fair Haven offensive lineman Alex Sloan (Holy Cross), Marlboro wide receiver Justin Marcus (Monmouth), Marlboro offensive lineman Chris Manginelli (American International). Wall quarterback Eddie Scott (Holy Cross), Mater Dei Prep linebacker Jaden Johnson (Marist), Central's Jonathan Banks (Pace) and Matawan's David and Jonathan Ogunbenro (New Haven).

Matawan's David and Jonathan Ogunbenro sign with New Haven. (Photo provided by John Kaye).

Freehold quarterback Ashante Worthy has committed to Lackawanna Collge, a junior college in Scranton Pennsylvania.

The Shore Sports Network’s inaugural MVP, Worthy had the greatest statistical season in Shore Conference and state history to lead the Colonials to an 8-4 record and a trip to the Central Jersey Group IV championship game. Worthy ran for a state single-season record 2,860 yards with 41 touchdowns and added 2,106 yards passing and 20 touchdowns. HIs 61 combined touchdowns between rushing and passing set a state single-season record, and he became the first player in state history to rush and throw for 2,000 yards in a single season. Read more about Worthy’s unbelievable year here.

This scholastic year is the first featuring an early signing period for Division I football players, which took place Dec. 20 to Dec. 22. Rumson-Fair Haven outside linebacker Elijah McAllister (Vanderbilt), Mater Dei Prep quarterback George Pearson (Central Michigan), Lakewood offensive lineman Jean Paul Rodriguez (Temple) and Donovan Catholic long snapper Jack Hadley (West Virginia) each signed their National Letters of Intent during that period.

Also signing during the early period were Manalapan running back Naim Mayfield (Fordham), St. John Vianney linebacker Johnny Buchanan (Delaware), Lakewood defensive end Josh Lezin (Maine), Howell wide receiver Naseim Brantley (Sacred Heart), Long Branch wide receiver T.J. Fosque (Monmouth), Manalapan offensive lineman Matt Mazza (Villanova) and Red Bank Catholic offensive lineman Michael Griggs (Colgate).

Wide receiver Eddie Lewis, a 2016 Mater Dei graduate, signed with Rutgers after spending a year at Milford Academy. Former St. John Vianney standout Chris Chukwuneke spent a post-graduate year at Peddie School and signed with FCS defending national champion James Madison as a defensive back.

Twin brothers Jayson and Justin Ademilola, who played at St. Peter's Prep but are from Jackson, signed with Notre Dame.

Wednesday was also the start of the regular signing period for men's and women's soccer. The Red Bank Catholic duo of Jyllissa Harris (South Carolina) and Brianna Urbanski (Florida Gulf Coast) signed their National Letters of Intent and are pictured above with the eight RBC football players.

From left, John Askin (Monmouth), Conor Kelly (Duke) and Shane Keenan UConn) of CBA celebrate their college signings. (Photo provided by CBA Athletic Dept.)

Boys soccer players to sign with Division I programs are: CBA's Shane Kennan (Connecticut), Conor Kelly (Duke) and John Askin (Monmouth), Brick Memorial's James McCombs (St. Joseph), Middletown North's Liam McGregor (Monmouth), Holmdel's Justin McStay (Army West Point) and Mikey Neff (Monmouth), and Matawan's Denir Radoncic (Loyola).

Other girls soccer players to sign with Division I programs include Freehold Township's Jada and Jasmine Colbert (Albany), Ranney's Abby Boyan (Georgia), Jackson Memorial's Alexis Casella (St. John's), Alyssa Fernandez (Winthrop) and Madison Taylor (Jacksonville), Toms River East's Jillian Conklin (Monmouth) and Shea Holland (Rutgers), Middletown South's Gabby Cook (Rider), St. John Vianney's Cameron Cox (La Salle), Brick Memorial's Mackenzie Scandrett (Winthrop), Long Branch's Mya Daniels (Rutgers) and Dayvonna Gill (Seton Hall), Colts Neck's Lauren Feaster (Monmouth) and Kayla Lee (Columbia), Lacey's Dakota Fielder (Charleston Southern), Wall's Sarah Gordon (James Madison) and Amy Paternoster (Princeton), Manalapan's Ariella Kaplan (University of Maryland-Baltimore County), Toms River North's Riley Kennett (Old Dominion) and Jenna Royson (Georgetown), Manchester's A'Liah Moore (Monmouth) and Rumson-Fair Haven's Margo Ridgeway (University of California-Davis).

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