Wednesday was the first day of the National Letter of Intent signing period, and several Maine high school standouts officially committed to colleges for next season.
Several Mainers are headed to the Division I University of Maine. That group includes baseball pitchers Trevor DeLaite of Bangor, Matt Pushard of Brewer and Cody Laweryson of Valley, women’s basketball player Sierra Tapley of Mount Desert Island, softball player Emily Gilmore of Bangor, men’s basketball player Andrew Fleming of Oxford Hills and Messalonskee field hockey player Riley Field.
Other signees were MDI’s Kelsey Shaw, who will play basketball at Stonehill, and Emily Hogan of Messalonskee, who is headed American University in Washington, D.C.
The left-handed DeLaite has helped Bangor win back-to-back Class A state championships. He went 5-0 as a sophomore and last spring was 8-0 with 81 strikeouts in 51 innings pitched.
DeLaite, who verbally committed as a freshman, also helped the Coffee News Comrades of Bangor win back-to-back American Legion state championships.
Pushard emerged as a top pitcher in the region last spring when the 6-foot-5-inch right-hander led Brewer to the Eastern Maine Class A title game.
Pushard, also a top basketball player in the region, was named first-team All-KVAC in baseball and during the Zone 1 season, when he batted .492 with three home runs and 21 RBIs.
Laweryson, a 6-3 righty from Valley High in Bingham, pitched largely as a closer for the Cavaliers last spring but pitched a 10-strikeout, five-hit complete game in the Western Maine Class D championship game against Richmond, a 4-3 loss.
Laweryson played for both the RTD 39ers American Legion team based in the Skowhegan-Madison area as well as for the Maine Lightning AAU team.
Fleming, a 6-7 forward, averaged 16.6 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.9 steals as a junior and earned a spot on the Bangor Daily News All-Maine Third Team.
Fleming is on the Oxford Hills golf team and plans to play baseball as a pitcher next spring for the first time since 2013.
Gilmore, an outfielder, hit .465 last spring in leading the Rams to a berth in the Eastern Maine Class A championship game. She led the Rams in home-runs (5), doubles (13) and runs scored (30). She was an All-KVAC first-team selection.
As a goalkeeper, she guided Bangor to the state Class A soccer title last Saturday while posting her 13th shutout. Gilmore also is a starting guard on the Bangor basketball team.
The 5-foot-10 Shaw and 5-8 Tapley guided Mount Desert Island to an undefeated regular season last winter.
Shaw averaged 16 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. She was an All-Big Ten first-team selection.
Shaw is versatile player who is an aggressive and highly effective rebounder with a high basketball IQ. She can score inside and hit the mid-range jumper.
Tapley, a 5-8 guard, was a third-team BDN All-Maine pick last season after averaging 16.3 points, three rebounds, four assists and 3.5 steals.
She is a dynamic offensive player who can score with both hands, drive the lane, hit a pull-up jumper or nail 3-pointers.
Hogan and Field are two of the four Miss Maine Field Hockey finalists and piloted the Eagles to an undefeated regular season and a berth in the Class A North final where they were upset by Skowhegan.
Forward Hogan scored 23 goals and also had six assists. She is difficult to mark because of her stick skills and quickness. She also had a hard and accurate shot.
Field, who had two goals and four assists from her right midfield spot, is exceptionally fast and triggered Messalonskee’s transition game thanks to her recovery speed and penchant for getting the ball quickly up to the forwards. She also is a good passer.