Next Level: College commitments and updates on former prep stars

▪  Brett Slusher, who led Beechwood with more than 1,100 yards receiving and 20 touchdown catches last season, announced Thursday he will walk on to the University of Kentucky’s football team. Slusher, who also was recruited as a Division I baseball player while at Beechwood, originally committed to play football at Morehead State.

▪  Morehead State quarterback Austin Gahafer, who played at St. Xavier, was named to the College Football Performance Awards FCS National Performer of the Year watch list on Tuesday. Gahafer, the Pioneer League’s Offensive Player of the Year last season, needs only 1,738 passing yards to break the Eagles’ school record and is a little more than 2,700 yards away from setting the Pioneer League mark. His 8,514 career passing yards are more than any active FCS player.

▪  Morehead plays Virginia Military Institute in its home opener Sept. 10. The school is giving away Phil Simms bobbleheads that day. Simms, a two-time Super Bowl champion with the New York Giants, played at Southern High School in Louisville before starring at Morehead.

▪  Former Miss Basketball Sara Hammond, who played at Louisville after a rock-star career at Rockcastle County, recently left the U.S. to join the SV Halle Lions in Germany. It is Hammond’s second season playing professionally overseas; last year she averaged 9.8 points and 5.5 rebounds for the University Club of Ferrol, based in Spain.

▪  Clem Damron, the only senior on the Scott County team that fell to Paul Laurence Dunbar in the boys’ 11th Region basketball finals last season, signed with Alice Lloyd College in late July. He averaged 8.1 points and 4.3 rebounds a game.

▪  South Warren defensive end Zach Haynes committed to Ball State in July. Haynes, who also plays tight end for the Spartans, recorded 34 tackles and had two touchdowns during South Warren’s undefeated run to the Class 4A title last season.

▪  Former Danville baseball player Collin Harris committed to Tennessee Tech in June. Harris, who was a Mr. Baseball finalist in 2014, led the state with 14 home runs as a senior before spending two years at the junior-college level. Tennessee Tech Coach Matt Bragga played baseball with Danville Coach Paul Morse at the University of Kentucky.

▪  Former Tates Creek girls’ soccer star Destinie Graves, now at Centre, was named a Division III preseason first team All-American by Hero Sports this week.

▪  Eli Boggess, a former Woodford County star who a key figure on the Yellowjackets’ state championship team in 2012, will play baseball at Morehead State this spring. Boggess was at Lincoln Trail College in Illinois the previous two seasons.

This story was originally published August 25, 2016 at 6:13 PM with the headline "Next Level: College commitments and updates on former prep stars."