Ex-Central players competing in college

High school basketball players all over Bedford County are sprinting baseline to baseline and putting in the time to not only help their respective teams win each time out but also because there could be an athletic scholarship on the horizon.

Shelbyville Central continues to flood the hardwood on the next level with talent.

The elder statesman of the group is Mississippi State's Barry Stewart.

The 6-foot-3, 170-pound senior has started all 12 games for Mississippi State (10-2). He's third on the team in scoring with 12.1 points per game, drained a total of 25 3-pointers and is second on team with 33 assists.

Kayla Bryant has hardly missed a beat since transferring from Lambuth to Union (11-1).

The 5-8 junior guard is on the floor for almost 20 minutes each game and is scoring an average of 6.4 points. She's tied at the school in Jackson with 56 3-pointers.

Michael France is putting up the most impressive statistics of the alumni.

The 6-1 sophomore wing has started all 12 games for Trevecca Nazerene (8-4) and is averaging 28.9 minutes per game. The former Golden Eagle is averaging 14.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. He's second on the team in made 3s with 24. Earlier this month he poured in 27 points and grabbed five rebounds in a loss to Warner Southern.

Depending on which states you navigate through or over, Alex Jarrell is roughly 2,200 miles from home as she posts up the opposition for Pepperdine out in Malibu, Calif. That doesn't stop her local fans from supporting the 6-4 sophomore center.

She's played in 11 games for Pepperdine (8-4). In one of her top performances on the young season, she netted eight points and hauled down five rebounds in 16 minutes versus San Jose State.

A trio of freshmen is doing its part as new faces on campus as well.

Ceny Phelps has seen floor time in all 11 games for Martin Methodist (7-4) in Pulaski.

The 5-6 freshman guard is second on the team in made baskets behind the arc and is shooting 48.1 percent from the field. She scored a season-high nine points against Tennessee Temple on Nov. 19.

Hannah Dawson is scoring 7.2 points per game and is nailing 87 percent of her free throws for Samford (8-4) down in Birmingham, Ala.

The 5-11 freshman forward has started eight of 12 games played and tallied 11 points and eight rebounds at Elon on Saturday afternoon

Deonta Twilley is coming off the bench to run the point for Walters State (9-2) over in Morristown. The 5-9, 155-pound point guard put up eight points and two assists against Clinton in nearly 12 minutes on Nov. 9.