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DeSoto basketball stars make big commitments, Lady Eagles return seven D1 commits
There's no doubt that DeSoto has a slew of stars on their girl's basketball team. Earlier this week, two of the reigning state champions made big-time commitments to college programs. Three-star senior guard Michayal Gatewood and four-star all-state Sa'Myah Smith took to Twitter earlier this week to announce their commitments to different universities.
Michayla Gatewood
Previously commited to Texas Tech, Gatewood took to Twitter on Monday to announce her commitment to Kansas State:
#gowildcats #committed 💜🤍 pic.twitter.com/bq8EShq2Vk
— mimi 🥀 (@michaylagatewo1) October 19, 2021
Gatewood missed last season due to a torn ACL. Prior to her injury, Gatewood was leading DeSoto in scoring. Her commitment falls in line with teammate Ja'Mia Harris who de-commited from Texas Tech in September and commited to Kansas State on October 3. The three-star recruit will return to the DeSoto squad this season and can be expected to be back at the top of her performance.
Sa'Myah Smith
Smith, the No. 1 recruit in the DFW area and ESPN's HoopGurlz's fifth best player in the state took to Twitter to announce her commitment to play college ball at at LSU:
Locked in⏳🔑. pic.twitter.com/fw6HxUkJB1
— Sa'Myah Smith (@SaMyahSmith2022) October 17, 2021
Despite a season-ending torn ACL during her sophomore season, Smith had an outstanding junior season last year where she was named as the MVP of the UIL Class 6A State Title game after scoring 10 points and nabbing 14 rebounds in DeSoto's win. Smith can be expected to continue her regular dominance on the court this season for DeSoto.
DeSoto's D1 Commits
With the commitments, DeSoto girls basketball now has seven returning athletes who are committed to Division I programs. The Lady Eagles return SMU commit Jiya Perry, Kansas State commits Gatewood and Harris, Mississippi commit Ayanna Thompson, Kentucky commit Tionna Herron, LSU commit Smith, and Texas commit Amina Muhammad.
Family Affair: Grapevine's Drake and Dylan Bequeaith commit to Kansas State
More and more high school athletes are knowing exactly what they're looking for in a college program and what that looks like when they see it. This proved to be the case for Grapevine linemen Drake Bequeaith as he announced his commitment to Kansas State just five days after being offered by the Wildcats' program. Bequeaith shared his commitment on Twitter Monday afternoon:
Committed! #EMAW pic.twitter.com/5XYuMmE3hT
— Drake Bequeaith (@DrakeBequeaith) June 28, 2021
The 6-foot-5 athlete completed K-State's Elite Camp IV just eight days before committing to their program. Bequeaith earned recognition as a First-Team All-District performer as well as an Honorable Mention All-state squad member from the Texas Sports Writers Association.
A little over ten minutes after Drake's announcement on social media, brother Dylan broke his own news: he would also be joining the Wildcats after his time is up in Grapevine.
Committed to being a Wildcat! #EMAW pic.twitter.com/ye2cNLrkai
— Dylan Bequeaith (@BequeaithDylan) June 28, 2021
Originally offered by Kansas State as a preferred walk-on, the 6-foot-1 middle linebacker will join forces with his brother at K-State. Dylan was also an All-District selection following his junior season with Grapevine.
The brothers helped lead the Grapevine Mustangs to an undefeated 7-0 district record in the 2020 football season. The Mustangs finished first in their district over the likes of Fort Worth Creekview, North Side, South Hills, Trimble Tech, and more. The Mustangs posted a 10-4 overall record on the season.