Six Abilene Cooper athletes sign with college programs, some closer home, some not

Trying to make a choice on where to attend college after high school is no easy matter. Do you stay close to home or take a chance at someplace further away?

When it comes to playing college sports, you sometimes really don’t have much of a choice. Cooper senior Malik Jackson wants to keep playing football, and only one college came calling – ACU.

No, not the ACU on the northeast side of town.

Arizona Christian in Phoenix − nearly 900 miles away.

“It’s kind of scary, man,” said Jackson, a 5-foot-10 receiver. “I’m scared to go by myself, but I’m trying to play football and I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do.”

Jackson said the Firestorm were the only program to make him an offer.

“I just took it,” Jackson said. “It’s a scholarship school.”

Arizona Christian is an NAIA program in the Sooner Athletic Conference. The Firestorm, who won a conference title in 2021, were 8-3 last season playing in league that includes five Texas schools, including Fort Worth-based Texas Wesleyan.

Jackson was one of six Cooper athletes who participated in the school’s signing ceremony Monday at Cougar Gym. It was originally scheduled for National Signing Day last Wednesday but had to be postponed because of an ice storm.

D’Andre Ralston (Hardin-Simmons), Chris Warren (HSU), Michael Ramis (McMurry) and Cameron Herron (Trinity) all will continue playing football, while Karrigan Parrott, a multi-sport star on the girls’ side, chose to play basketball at Texas-Dallas.

Stay or go?

For some like Ramis, staying home was important. Herron, though, is looking forward to getting away.

“I feel like I need to get out of Abilene,” Herron said.

It doesn't hurt that Herron, a 5-7 receiver, is joining a pretty good Division III football program in San Antonio. The No. 5 Tigers didn’t lose a game until falling to No. 3 Mary Hardin-Baylor 24-17 in the second round of the playoffs last season, after beating No. 9 HSU 14-7 in the first round.

Trinity won the Southern College Athletic Conference with a 6-0 record – its sixth undefeated league run in the last eight years. The Tigers are 34-5 the last three years.

“It’ll be something different,” Herron said. “I’ve never been on a winning team like that. It’s going to be something new. I feel like it’s better for me in the long run.”

But it isn’t just the wins and losses on the football field that attracted Herron to Trinity.

“I feel like Trinity will be the best for me,” Herron said. “I’m also a student-athlete, and they’re a high academic school. So, I’m trying to get something better for my future after college.”

Home sweet home

Ramis, a 5-10 defensive back, chose McMurry because he wanted to stay close to home – and it felt like home, too.

“Once I went on a tour there, I knew it was the place for me,” Ramis said. “It just felt like home. I want to still be able to be involved in my community and help out with my parents. And being able to play football where I grew up has always been something I wanted to do.”

For Warren, a 6-0 quarterback, that homey feel also was important, but he didn’t necessarily care if he played in or away from Abilene. HSU just seemed like the best fit for Warren, who was the Coogs’ starting QB the past two seasons.

“When I went up there to see the school, it just felt like home to me,” Warren said. “And what they’ve got going on there, I feel like I’ll fit in and make a big difference.”

Ralston, who played both receiver and running back for the Coogs, also liked the atmosphere and coaching staff at HSU.

“They have really cool coaches, and they seem like they care for the program,” Ralston said. “I feel like I can develop my skill and my character there.”

Like Herron, Warren and Ralston are moving onto to a Division III powerhouse. Only two teams beat HSU last season – Mary Hardin-Baylor and Trinity. The Cowboys, who are usually nationally ranked, haven’t lost more than two games in a season since going 6-3 in 2014.

And Warren and Ralston will continue being teammates.

“It’s a blessing to be able to go to another school with a player, somebody you’ve known your whole life,” Ralston said.

It also means current Cooper teammates Warren and Ralston will play against Ramis at crosstown rival McMurry.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Ramis said. “Some of these people that signed here, I grew up with my whole life. I’ve been playing football with them 12-plus years. It’s definitely going to be a new experience, but I’m looking forward to it.”

Herron, too, might play against other Cooper grads at Trinity, which will be conference rivals with McMurry when the War Hawks move to the SCAC the 2024-25 season.

“It’s going to be a different experience,” said Herron, who also considered attending HSU. “I’m on a different team now. So, whatever happens happens. That’s my brothers right there. But when it’s game day, I’m there to compete.”

Parrott’s choice

Parrott, a 5-6 point guard, is going to one of the top women’s basketball programs in the American Southwest Conference the last decade.

“I really just loved the overall environment at UTD,” Parrott said. “I’m super excited about the coach, and I just love his personality. I’m super excited to see what my future holds at UTD.”

Parrott also plays volleyball, softball and track at Cooper. So, why basketball?

“I like basketball because it’s indoors,” Parrott said. “You don’t really have to deal with the harsh weather in softball or track, and I think it’s a little more fast paced than volleyball.”

She said she also considered HSU, McMurry, Trinity and Dallas Baptist.

Two other Cooper athletes − Skyla Stark and Kyla Speights − signed with colleges in December. Stark will play volleyball at Hill College, and Speights will play basketball at Texas Wesleyan.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Abilene Cooper athletes moving onto college programs