High schools from the New Orleans area have sent many outstanding athletes around the country to play at the collegiate level. The Allstate Sugar Bowl, in partnership with the Louisiana Office of Tourism, will spotlight local stars playing away from the Crescent City throughout the fall of 2024. Fans are encouraged to Feed Your Soul by exploring everything that Louisiana has to offer. 
   
NOVEMBER 15, 2024 SPOTLIGHT – Greedy Vance, USC Football
Vance joined the USC football program after two years each at Louisville and Florida State. He has seen action in all eight games this season. He posted a season-best five tackles against Maryland on Oct. 19 and also added four stops in the Washington game (Nov. 2). A 2020 graduate of Edna Karr High School, the 5-11, 170-pound Vance helped the Cougars to three straight Louisiana high school state championships, including a perfect 15-0 season in 2018. An all-state selection, Vance was one of the top recruited cornerbacks in the nation. He joined the Trojans after earning his bachelor's degree in social science from Florida State in the spring of 2024.
 
NOVEMBER 8, 2024 SPOTLIGHT – Nia Washington, Ole Miss Volleyball
Washington, a 5-10 junior, has been one of the leaders of the Ole Miss program which has posted a 14-8 record this season heading into Friday's match against Oklahoma. The outside hitter leads the team with 281 kills and also has 21 service aces (second on the team), 154 digs, and 30 blocks. She tallied a career-best 28 kills in an Oct. 6 victory over LSU and also added 20 or more kills in SEC matches against Mississippi State, Georgia, and Tennessee. Washington was a three-time Louisiana high school state champion while playing for Metairie Park Country Day. She was a two-time Division V Player of the Year and was twice named the MVP of the state championship game.
 
NOVEMBER 1, 2024 SPOTLIGHT – Grant Jordan, Yale Football
Jordan won the starting quarterback job for the Bulldogs, but then suffered an early-season injury. However, he has come back strong and led Yale to three wins in their last four games. This past Saturday, he completed 24-of-30 passes for 289 yards and four touchdowns in a 31-10 victory over Penn. He connected on a career-best five TDs on Oct. 12 against Dartmouth. The Bulldogs take on Columbia this Friday in New York City. Jordan, a 2020 graduate of Jesuit High School, accounted for 29 touchdowns (19 passing and 10 rushing) as a senior for the Blue Jays. He threw for 2,330 yards and ran for 553 yards while serving as a team captain.
 
OCTOBER 25, 2024 SPOTLIGHT – Gavriella Smith, Penn Tennis
Smith is preparing for her senior season as a key member of the Penn tennis team. Last spring, she posted a 23-11 overall record with multiple victories over nationally-ranked opponents. This fall, her top efforts included going undefeated at the Penn Invitational and posting a 2-1 mark at the Cissie Leary Invitational. Smith will be back in action this weekend at the Ivy League Invitational. A 2021 graduate of Lusher Charter (now The Willow School), Smith won five Louisiana Division III singles championships, including capturing her first title as a seventh-grader. She also won the girls' 16 championship at the 2018 Allstate Sugar Bowl Tennis Classic.
 
OCTOBER 18, 2024 SPOTLIGHT – Taiwan Berryhill, Kansas Football
Berryhill has been a key defensive contributor for the Jayhawks for five years. A 6-2, 230-pound linebacker, he has recorded 19 tackles in the first six games of the year and has 138 total tackles in his career. The Sept. 28 game against TCU was a memorable one as Berryhill attended his mother's wedding in Louisiana on Friday night, then flew in the morning of the game – the tight schedule agreed with him as he registered a season-best seven tackles in the game. A 2020 graduate of St. Augustine High School, Berryhill was a three-star recruit who had scholarship offers from the SEC, the Big Ten and the AAC, as well as from Kansas. He helped the Purple Nights reach the LHSAA Division Quarterfinals in both 2018 and 2019.
 
OCTOBER 11, 2024 SPOTLIGHT – Abby Hunt, Smith Volleyball
Hunt, a 6-3 outside hitter, has been a key part of the Smith College run to a 14-4 record to open the 2024 season. The senior, now in her third season as a prominent player for the Division III Pioneers, ranks third on the team in kills (136) and reception percentage (.896). She has seven matches with double-digit kills, including matching her career-best with 21 kills in a win over Wesleyan on Sept. 14 and tallying 18 in the match against Gallaudet (9/13). A 2022 graduate of Fontainebleau High School, Hunt helped the Bulldogs to the Louisiana Division I quarterfinals in both 2020 and 2021. As a senior, she tallied 417 kills, 264 digs, and 72 blocks and was the District 5-I MVP.
 
OCTOBER 4, 2024 SPOTLIGHT – Bless Harris, TCU football
Harris, a 6-5, 320-pound senior from St. Augustine High School, joined the TCU football team this season as a transfer from Florida State. He was immediately inserted into the lineup, starting every game this season at the all-important left tackle position, including Saturday's key win over Kansas. With Harris as a key part of the pass protection unit, the Horned Frogs rank No. 4 in the country in passing yardage and No. 5 in touchdown passes. A 2019 graduate of St. Aug, Harris was an all-metro and all-district selection. As a senior, he recorded 35 pancake blocks and didn't allow any sacks. He was key to the Purple Knights making back-to-back trips to the LHSAA quarterfinals in 2017 and 2018.
 
SEPTEMBER 27, 2024 SPOTLIGHT – Kate Thomson, Sewanee Soccer
Thomson has keyed the defense for a Sewanee squad that has allowed just two goals as the Tigers have opened the season with a 4-1-3 record. On Monday, she scored her first goal of the season in a 3-0 victory over Piedmont. The senior defender is in her third season as a starter and is hoping to help Sewanee make a second straight trip to the NCAA Division III Championships. The Southern Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Year in 2022, Thomson was also an all-region selection and is a three-time SAA Academic Honor Roll selection as an integrative biology major. A 2021 graduate of St. Mary's Dominican, she helped her high school team to the Louisiana state finals twice.

 
SEPTEMBER 20, 2024 SPOTLIGHT – Caleb Spann, Central Michigan Football
Now in his fourth year at Central Michigan, Caleb Spann has played in 31 games, recording 80 tackles with five tackles for loss. The 6-0, 195-pounder has started all three games at strong safety this season for the Chippewas and he matched his career-best with seven tackles against Illinois on Saturday. A 2021 graduate of John Curtis Christian School, Spann earned all-district honors after helping lead the Patriots to the Division I state semifinals. He ran for 200 yards and six touchdowns, had eight receptions for 100 yards, tallied 54 tackles on defense, and was a top return man as well for the Patriots in his senior season.

 
SEPTEMBER 13, 2024 SPOTLIGHT – Oby Anadi, South Carolina volleyball
Anadi, a senior middle blocker for the Gamecocks, has developed into a top SEC volleyball player. Last season, she had 146 kills, more than her first two seasons combined, and she led her team with 129 blocks, the fourth-most in a single season in the rally-scoring era at South Carolina. "I think I believed in myself more last year, and I had a good support system," Anadi said. "I found myself, and I found my people." This year, she has posted 30 kills and 14 blocks as the Gamecocks have opened the season with a 4-1 record. A four-year letterwinner at Northshore High School in Slidell, Anadi was a two-time all-district selection who recorded 353 kills and 115.5 blocks as a junior.
 
South Carolina Feature Story
 
SEPTEMBER 6, 2024 SPOTLIGHT – Khari Coleman, Ole Miss football
Coleman, who started and recorded a pair of tackles in Saturday's season-opening win over Furman, is expected to be a critical part of the Ole Miss defense in his third year with the Rebels. Last season, the pass-rushing linebacker ranked sixth on the team with his 48 tackles, including a big seven-tackle day against Tulane that included a sack fumble that led to an Ole Miss touchdown. "I love blitzing, especially the interior, because guards can't move like the tackles can move," Coleman said. "That's fun. I just love going against the offensive line, one-on-one." A 6-1, 220-pounder, Coleman attended George Washington Carver High School and was rated as the top linebacker in the state in 2019. He was selected as the district defensive player of the year after tallying 27.5 sacks (fifth-best in the nation) and forcing five fumbles as a senior.

Previous New Orleans Athlete Spotlights:

Spring 2024
Caleb Laird - Baseball, Riverdale High School, William Carey College
Camille Black - Softball, Ursuline Academy, Millsaps College
Stephen Klein - Baseball, De La Salle High School, Delgado Community College, University of Tampa
Claire Sekinger - Softball, St. Mary's Dominican, Southeastern (Fla.) University
D.J. Burns - Basketball, Sophie B. Wright High School, Youngstown State
Ra'Nae Tumblin - Basketball, Booker T. Washington High School, St. Thomas University
Elijah Morgan - Basketball, Jesuit High School, The Citadel
Kennedi Jackson - Basketball, Ursuline Academy, Chareston Southern University

Fall 2023
Jordan Berry - Basketball, Mount Carmel Academy, Charleston Southern University
Caleb Etienne - Football, Warren Easton High School, Brigham Young University
Tyrielle Williams - Basketball, Ursuline Academy, University of South Alabama
Cole Cavallo - Football, Northshore High School, University of Southern Mississippi
Kaci Chairs - Basketball, Metairie Park Country Day School, Grambling State University
Tywan Francis - Football, Landry-Walker High School, Tempel University
Aubrey St. Pierre - Swimming, Northshore High School, University of Maine
Barryn Sorrell - Football, Holy Cross School, University of Texas
Jerkaila Jordan - Basketball, John Curtis Christian School, Mississippi State University
Eddie Smith - Football, Salmen High School, Arkansas State University
MaryElla White - Soccer, St. Scholastica Academy, Mississippi College
Donocan Kaufman - Football, Archbishop Rummel High School, Auburn University

Fall 2022
Caleb Sampson - Football, Northlake Christian School, University of Kansas
Zach Breaux - Football, Brother Martin High School, Jackson State University
Logan Diggs - Football, Archbishop Rummel High School, University of Notre Dame
Quindell Johnson - Football, Edna Karr High School, University of Memphis
Jacoby Windmon - Football, John Ehret High School, Michigan State University
Will Sheppard - Football, Mandeville High School, Vanderbilt University
Jeremy Singleton - Football, Brother Martin High School, Georgia Southern University
Kym Wimberly - Football, Holy Cross School, Harvard University
Edgerrin Cooper - Football, Covington High School, Texas A&M University
Sedrick Van Pran - Football, Warren Easton High School, University of Georgia
Julien Gums - Football, De La Salle High School, Nicholls State University

Fall 2021
Chester Kimbrough - Football, Warren Easton High School, Michigan State University
Montrell Johnson - Football, De La Salle High School, University of Louisiana
Tyrin Arceneaux - Football, St. Charles Catholic High School, West Georgia College
Keytaon Thompson - Football, Landry-Walker High School, University of Virginia
Joe Foucha - Football, McDonogh 35 High School, University of Arkansas