BE, Philip Simmons produce four more next-level student-athletes

South Carolina is such a fertile area for high school athletics that the recruiting season in the Palmetto State is year-round. Coaches call, text, send mail and go door-to-door searching for student-athletes who fill their program’s unique needs, while hoping the academic side of college life will entice them to matriculate to their town.

 

The Daniel Island area was a recent hot spot as four student-athletes, including three from Bishop England, announced their commitments. They include: baseball player Asher Western, who is headed to USC-Beaufort; track and field performer Maggie Long, who is headed to Anderson University and football player Charlie Ranney, who is slated to go to Bates College.

 

The lone student-athlete from Philip Simmons is soccer standout Claire Esse, who will attend UNC Greensboro.

 

CLAIRE ESSE

 

Esse is the epitome of a student-athlete with an even more impressive academic record. She has a4.85 GPA on a weighted scale and will study business as her major and interior architecture as her minor. She earned an UNCG Bryan School of Business merit scholarship, with only 25 of 600 applicants receiving the honor.

 

“Throughout both my club and high school seasons, I balanced both my determination for the sport and my focus on academics, maintaining straight A’s,” Esse wrote on her recruiting profile.

 

“Being able to manage my many interests and schoolwork has shown me that I am capable of reaching my goals… I have and always will aim to be the hardest worker on the field and push myself to the best of my abilities.”

 

ASHER WESTERN

 

While the Bishop baseball team had an atypical year, failing to advance out of the Class AAA District 6 playoffs, Western was a powerful force with a .377 batting average. He connected for six doubles and two home runs while driving in 15 runs. The 6-2, 190-pound

outfielder showed good speed with five stolen bases. He played travel ball for the Canes South team. 

 

Before the 2022 season, coach Mike Darnell told Western he should be contributing more and playing a bigger role.

 

“He has been a pleasant surprise and has really blossomed as a leader,” Darnell said. “It has been really great to watch him grow as a young man.”

 

CHARLIE RANNEY

 

Ranney is a senior at Bishop England and hasn’t stopped for rest since the 2022-23 academic year commenced. He will play football at the next level at Bates College, a private liberal arts school in Lewiston, Maine.

 

Ranney played safety for coach John Cantey’s squad and was a force with 112 tackles and seven interceptions. He also plays basketball.

 

MAGGIE LONG

 

Long, the Bishops’ track-and-field standout, is an impressive sprinter/jumper. At last May’s Class AAA state championships at Lower Richland High School, Long won a bronze medal by leaping 16 feet, 8 inches in the long jump while finishing 11th in the triple jump. She also was a member of the 4x100 relay team that finished in seventh.

 

This spring will mark her fourth year in coach Tony Colizzi’s program, which will compete at the Class AA level.