Erie’s Keystone Athletic Academy celebrated its first graduating class, the Class of 2022, with two senior standouts signed to play in NCAA Division I programs for the 2022-23 season.
Yann Farrell will play his college basketball at St. Bonaventure, while Prince Mosengo signed with the University of Akron. The 6-foot 7-inch Farrell projects as a small forward, and the 6-foot 8-inch Mosengo is a powerful forward.
Both players were born in Central Africa. Mosengo is from the Democratic Republic of Congo, while Farrell was born in the Atlantic coastal nation of Gabon.
They were among out-of-town players who joined Keystone Academy, a college prep school that opened in September. The program played an independent basketball schedule outside of the Pennsylvania Interschool Athletic Association while traveling frequently to compete against other independent teams in tournaments. Keystone has partnered with Erie First Christian Academy to allow players to use their dorm and attend classes there.
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One of Keystone’s main missions has been to give players more exposure from recruiting college coaches, and the signings of Farrell and Mosengo fulfill that mission.
Farrell said he liked the small-school feel of Bonaventure.
“It’s not a big school,” he said. “You can really focus on basketball and school without distractions. You can really focus on your goal. I’m excited to go out there and play.”
“Playing for Keystone gave me the chance to compete at the highest level,” said Mosengo. “I feel blessed to be one of the first Keystone players to be a DI player. I’m not taking it for granted. I’m excited to get out there and work.”
Keystone coach Shannon Pullium called Farrell and Mosengo “the first of many to come” in terms of high-profile recruits for the Kings. He said both the Zips and Bonnies are getting high quality players.
“These two raised the bar for our future seniors and freshmen,” he said. “They’re high profile guys and high character guys.
“I think Erie is sleeping at Keystone Academy. We’re not taking anything away from the high school programs. This is top-notch basketball. This is the McDonald’s Classic every night.”
A third Keystone basketball player, Marquell Darnell, who also played football at Erie High, accepted a football scholarship from Akron. Another Erie resident, Dellquan Warren, is a rising junior guard from Keystone who is attracting a lot of interest from Division I schools.
COLLEGE CHOICES
Northeast athletes announce choices: Maddy Hartner was one of four Northeastern athletes who made their college picks officially known on Tuesday.
Hartner, who competed in cross country and track and field for the Grapepickers, will resume participation in each sport while studying at Indiana University in Pennsylvania. She was one of four seniors recognized during a ceremony held in the school’s auditorium.
Also confirming their college intentions that day were Mercede Myers (Allegheny College Athletics), Nathan DiGilio (Penn State Behrend Athletics) and Ryan Mayes (Pennsylvania College of Technology Basketball).
Missing from the ceremony was golfer Lydia Swan, who is bound for Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma. She was homeschooled but played golf for the ‘Pickers’. Swan will graduate as a PIAA Class 2A individual and team gold medalist.
Harbor Creek students make college choices: Harbor Creek held a signing ceremony on Tuesday as 13 Huskies pledged to play at the next level.
PIAA runner-up wrestler Connor Pierce previously announced that he had committed to competing for the national champion Penn State.
Future Lion of Nittany:Connor Pierce of Harbor Creek fulfills wrestling dream with Penn State
The Harbor Creek District 10 champion volleyball team has setter Izzy Gray committed to Allegheny, while Anna Daley is heading to Hood College in Maryland.
The swim and dive team had three appointments with Morgan Ingalls for Baldwin Wallace, diver Alayna Mosbacher for St. Bonaventure and Reilly Koch for Penn State Behrend.
Follow the highlights Max Dailey and Hayden Mahoney committed to Westminster and Slippery Rock, respectively. Monica Curtis will continue her cross country career at Westminster.
Gavin Ennis will play football at Edinboro and Mitch Devore will continue his career at Allegheny.
Justin Hakel has committed to playing football at Mercyhurst.
Caesar Grandinetti completes the group of 13 athletes with a commitment to competitive Gannon cheerleading and dancing.
Northwest Athletes Going to College: The Wildcats had six athletes committed to colleges on Friday, including three football players. Eric Dorr and Ryan Tewell are heading to Allegheny, while Eric Steinle is set to play Gannon.
Cam Perkins, who was also on the football team, will play basketball at Point Park.
Reagan Pettis will continue her racing career in Waynesburg.
Northwestern’s final signing was Mia Soerensen, a volleyball standout headed for Kent State. She was a standout for Meadville for most of her career before moving to Albion. She spent her senior year playing for Cleveland Volleyball Academy.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Goodsel receives maximum honor: The AMCC has named former Penn State volleyball player Behrend and graduate student JP Goodsel as the conference Athletic Faculty Representative (FAR) award winner.
Goodsel is a graduate of Corry Area High School who played volleyball at Fort LeBoeuf High School. He was a four-year member and two-year captain of Behrend’s volleyball team. He was previously named the AMCC Player of the Year.
Goodsel was a triple major in plastics technology, international business/engineering, and finance as an undergraduate, and he posted an average of 3.92 points. He then earned a master’s degree in manufacturing management in May after compiling a 4.0 GPA. He was a two-time Behrend Academic Male Athlete of the Year and was the 2021 International Business and Engineering Student.
BASEBALL
Mercyhurst’s Surowiec Named All-American: Three organizations have named Mercyhurst University first baseman Josh Surowiec to their NCAA Division II All-America teams.
The veteran was a second-team honoree by the American Baseball Coaches Association and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and a third-team selection by the Division II Collegiate Commissioners Association.
Previously, he was named to the Atlantic Region and PSAC West First Teams and was selected as ABCA Atlantic Region Player of the Year and PSAC West Athlete of the Year.
Surowiec led the PSAC with a .430 batting average and set a program record with 17 home runs. He also led Mercyhurst with 56 RBIs.
Gannon’s Sapp Honored: Gannon graduate student Eric Sapp has received several postseason honors recently, including D2CCA Honorable Mention All-America and ABCA/Rawlings Atlantic All-Region first-team recognition.
Sapp, a left-handed pitcher, was selected as the PSAC’s Western Pitcher of the Year. He compiled a 9-1 record and an average of 2.21 runs won. In 77⅓ innings, Sapp racked up a school record of 99 strikeouts, allowing just 51 hits and walking 36.
In his final appearance in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional, Sapp put on a memorable performance in allowing an undeserved run in a 1-0 loss to the University of Charleston. He endured three lightning delays to pitch eight innings and out seven batters.
Please contact Josh Reilly at jreilly@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNreilly.
Mike Copper and Tom Reisenweber contributed to this report.