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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

CHELSEA – The Chelsea High School Class of 2025 got a special chance to celebrate their athletic success in front of their fellow peers.

Chelsea hosted a senior signee recognition assembly in the high school’s auditorium on Monday, March 17.

The school spotlighted the 21 seniors in the Class of 2025 who signed their National Letters of Intent to play collegiate athletics.

While some of them officially signed prior to the ceremony with their own individual celebrations, this was the athletes’ first chance to celebrate their accomplishments alongside their fellow seniors and in front of their classmates.

Of the 21 senior signees, five will play Division I athletics. Those include Sydney Carroll, who signed with Mississippi State softball, Lauren Buchanan, a Texas Tech volleyball signee, Romello Cooper, who signed with Samford football, Hannah Quick, who will run track and cross-country at South Alabama, and Payton Hunsaker, a Nicholls State baseball signee.

Baseball led the way with six different signees. In addition to Hunsaker, Paxton Stallings and Aiden Hughes both signed to play together at Coastal South Community College, Cade Mims signed with Georgia Highlands Community College, All-County selection Chase Lackey will play at Gadsden State Community College and Mack Breazeale is set to play at Southern Union Community College.

Joining Carroll from the softball team is Katie Hopson and Emma Parmley, who both signed to play at Marion Military Institute, and Alaysha Crews, who will play at Snead State Community College.

Carroll and Hopson are reigning All-County selections while Parmley and Crews secured All-County Honorable Mentions ahead of their strong senior seasons.

Three different track and cross-country athletes will represent Chelsea at the next level as Juliette Edwards will run for Alabama-Huntsville, Conner Campbell will join Lee University’s program and Quick will compete with South Alabama.

Edwards and Quick each helped the Hornets win their first indoor track and field state title in February with their third-place performance in the 4×800-meter relay and Edwards’ fourth-place run in the 3,200-meter run. Both also finished in the top 30 of the cross-country state meet.

Campbell took eighth place in the Class 6A cross-country state championship and was a member of two top-10 finishing relay teams at the indoor track and field state finals.

Football and volleyball each had two signees. Jackson Reynolds joined Cooper as a football signee as the offensive lineman will play for Maryville College in Division III.

As for volleyball, Lila Willett will join Pearl River Community College as she and Buchanan look to carry the Hornets’ volleyball success into their collegiate destinations. Both received All-County honors in 2024 while Buchanan was the Shelby County Player of the Year and an All-State honoree.

The boys and girls soccer teams each had a signee as Harper Jones will play at Wallace State Community College while Harper Carter will join the long and prestigious history of local soccer players at Southern Union Community College.

Jones received an All-County Second Team selection last season after holding down the midfield for the highly-ranked Hornets while Carter earned an All-County Honorable Mention and is currently part of a strong 2025 campaign for Chelsea girls soccer.

After a historic girls basketball season where the Hornets made their first state title game, Alabama All-Star and newly-minted All-State First Team selection Haley Trotter will play college basketball for Shelton State Community College.

Austin Jones will also represent the golf program at the next level as he will hit the links for Covenant College.