North Platte – Two sophomores from the Region IX Division II champion North Platte Community College Knights softball team, Shelby Belloni and Samantha Gill and have signed letters of intent to play at the next level for the 2017-18 season.

Shelby Belloni, who is from Wheat Ridge, Colo., has signed a letter of intent to play for the Friends University Falcons in Wichita, Kans. Friends is a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics college that participates in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. They finished this past season with a 33-13 record and 16-6 in the KCAC. The Falcons finished in third place in the regular season KCAC standings.

Belloni, an outfielder, started in 100 games while at NPCC, batted .462 during her career with 20 doubles, four home runs, and 46 stolen bases in 48 attempts. Belloni also had an .874 fielding percentage with 161 total chances and 16 defensive assists.

Knights Head Coach Janelle Higgins said, “Our outfielders will have some big shoes to fill as Shelby heads on to Friends University. Shelby’s willingness to play wherever she was needed will be an adjustment, playing all over the outfield and even a few games on the infield was a huge advantage for us this year. In her two years here, she started almost every game and her bat and fielding will be missed. She has the determination and drive to be very successful at Friends.”

Samantha Gill, from LaSalle, Colo, signed a letter of intent to play for the Black Hills State University Yellow Jackets in Spearfish, S. D.

The Yellow Jackets are a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division Two college, and are members of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. They finished the 2017 season with a 7-37 record overall and 5-31 in the conference.

Gill, primarily played catcher for the Knights during her two years and a few games at first and second bases. Gill had a .454 batting average in her two years with the Knights, a .621 slugging percentage with 18 doubles, one triple, 11 home runs, and eight stolen bases in nine attempts.

Defensively, Gill had a career fielding percentage of .962, which is the best fielding percentage in the history of the Knights softball program. She had 343 total chances, 286 put outs, and 13 errors, which is the fewest in history of the school over two years.

“It will be an adjustment not to have Sami in our line up next year as she has been a consistent player for two years, her knowledge and game time experience will help her be an asset right away at BHSU.” Higgins said, “Her work ethic and commitment to the game and our program she has shown the last two years are leaving big shoes to fill by incoming freshman.”

Higgins said, “Both young ladies will be missed on and off the field as they gave so much to our community and our program as a whole.”

North Platte – North Platte Community College Lady Knight volleyball player MaKenna Ketter has signed a letter of intent to play for Benedictine College, located in Atchison, Kan., for the 2017 season.

Ketter, who is from Imperial, played the past two seasons for the Lady Knights. In her career, Ketter had 582 kills, 79 blocks, and 252 digs.

“I’m glad that MaKenna decided to play next year. I think she has recovered well from her shoulder surgery and deserves another attempt at volleyball.“, Lady Knight Head Coach, Alexa McCall said, “She is an athletic player and I think she will continue to get better. She does a great job in serve receive and I think she will continue to gain strength with her attacking.”

Benedictine College belongs to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and is a member of the Heart of America Conference. Benedictine finished last season at 8-19.

North Platte – North Platte Community College Knights basketball player Samuel Kearns has signed a national letter of intent to play his final three seasons of eligibility with the Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles in Tulsa, Okla.

Kearns, a 6’0 freshman point guard, who came to NPCC from San Antonio, Texas, played one season for the Knights. Kearns, in his one season, score 12.8 points per game, had 3.1 assists per game and 2.6 rebounds per game. He was fourth in the nation in three-point shooting percentage at 53.4 percent, going 63 for 118 from behind the arc.

Kearns received First team All-Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference Honors and Second Team All-Nebraska Honors.

Knights Head Coach Kevin O’Connor said, “Obviously we are sad to see him leave but at the same time we are extremely happy for him as that was his goal when he came to NPCC. We will miss his tremendous talent but more importantly we will miss the leadership and character he displayed while he was here.”

The Golden Eagles are a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division One program. They are a member of the Summit League. University of Nebraska at Omaha is also in that conference.

“On my way home from North Platte, they (Oral Roberts) asked me to come for a visit. “ Kearns said, “It just felt like a great fit.”

North Platte – Victor Lewis, who played basketball for the North Platte Community College Knights the past two seasons has signed a national letter of intent with the West Texas A&M Buffaloes, located in Amarillo, Texas for the 2017-18 basketball season.

The Buffaloes are a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division Two program, competing in the Lone Star Conference. They finished the 2016-17 season with a 26-9 record and 12-6 in the conference, losing to Texas A&M-Kingsville in the conference championship game. The Buffaloes qualified for the NCAA South Central Regionals, going 2-1.

Lewis, a 6’4” guard from Arlington, Texas, averaged 9.4 points per game in 53 games for the Knights. During his sophomore season, Lewis averaged 10.7 points per game, 3.1 rebounds per game, and 1.8 assists per game.

Lewis said that he chose West Texas A&M because of their strong business and medical programs. Lewis is going to major in healthcare management and minor in sports and athletic sciences.

“It is a top-tier school academically” Lewis said, “About 90 percent of the graduates have jobs before they graduate. It will give me a chance to suceed after my basketball playing days are over”

Lewis is a member of Phi Theta Kappa, an academic honors society for two-year colleges.

Lewis said, “We will compete against some of the top teams in the country, including a possible exhibition against major Division I colleges.