Sugar Bowl

High schools from the New Orleans area have sent many outstanding athletes around the country to play collegiately. The Allstate Sugar Bowl will spotlight local stars playing away from the Crescent City throughout the 2023 season.
 

NOVEMBER 24, 2023 SPOTLIGHT – Jorden Berry, Charleston Southern basketball
A standout basketball and volleyball player at Mount Carmel Academy, Jordan Berry has joined the Charleston Southern women’s basketball program after four years at Ole Miss, where she made three postseason trips. The 5-8 guard has started the first four games to open the 2023-24 season for the Buccaneers. Her mother, Stacey Gaudet-Berry, was one of the top women’s basketball players in New Orleans history and is a member of the Sugar Bowl’s Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame.
 
NOVEMBER 17, 2023 SPOTLIGHT – Caleb Etienne, BYU football
Etienne has been a key player on the BYU offensive line this season, playing in all 10 games, including starting three games at right tackle and one at right guard. The 6-8, 330-pounder, who started all 13 games at Oklahoma State last year before transferring, was one of the top-rated recruits in Louisiana after a stellar career at Warren Easton High School. He helped head coach Jerry Phillips’ squad to a 12-3 record and a state finals appearance as a senior in 2018. Etienne is a redshirt junior this year with one year of eligibility remaining.
 
NOVEMBER 10, 2023 SPOTLIGHT – Tyrielle Williams, South Alabama basketball
A former star at Ursuline Academy, Williams became a key impact player at South Alabama as a freshman in 2021-22 appearing in 24 games with seven starts. Last year, the 5-7 guard was slated for a starting role but was injured 14 minutes into the second game and missed the remainder of the season. She’s now back to health and the Jaguars will look for a big year from the redshirt sophomore as they look to climb in the Sun Belt standings. Williams was a two-time first-team all-state selection at Ursuline and recorded over 1,000 points and 500 assists in her career.
 
NOVEMBER 3, 2023 SPOTLIGHT – Cole Cavallo, Southern Miss football
Cavallo has been a key component of the Southern Miss offense during his standout career in Hattiesburg. An early leg injury has limited him significantly this year making a major dent in the Golden Eagle offensive attack. For his career, he has 41 receptions for 388 yards while being known as one of the best blocking tight ends in the Sun Belt Conference. During his high school days at Northshore High in Slidell, Cavallo was more of a defensive standout, but still earned team Player of the Year recognition before beginning his career as a walk-on at Southern Miss.
 
OCTOBER 27, 2023 SPOTLIGHT – Kaci Chairs, Grambling basketball
Chairs is entering her fourth season with the Grambling State women’s basketball program after a standout career at Metairie Park Country Day School. The 5-9 shooting guard, who has played in 66 career games, will be looked to as a leader for the Tiger program under new head coach Courtney Simmons. Chairs was a three-time all-district selection at Country Day and has been a standout in the classroom and in the community, as well as on the court, at Grambling.
 
OCTOBER 20, 2023 SPOTLIGHT – Tywan Francis, Temple football
Francis has been a major addition to the Temple secondary this year, establishing himself as tackling machine. The redshirt senior leads the team with 55 tackles, including a career-best 11 at Rutgers, 10 vs. UTSA and 9 against Miami. He joined the Owls after four years playing at Colorado State, including an 88-tackle season in 2021. A team captain at Landry-Walker High School, Francis earned all-state and all-metro honors as a senior in 2017. He was the district defensive MVP as a senior and helped Landry-Walker to the LHSAA Class 5A state title in 2016.
 
OCTOBER 13, 2023 SPOTLIGHT – Aubrey St. Pierre, Maine swimming
St. Pierre will be a key competitor for the University of Maine swim team this fall. The senior team captain will lead the Black Bears into their season-opener on Friday, October 20 when they host Maine Maritime Academy at Stanley M. Wallace Pool. An elementary education major, she was selected as Maine’s Teammate of the Year in both 2022 and 2023. A standout for Louisiana’s Nu Wave Swim Club, she starred at Northshore High School in Slidell, winning the 100-meter breaststroke and helping the Panthers to the state title in the 200-meter medley relay at the LHSAA D1 Championships her senior year.
 
OCTOBER 6, 2023 SPOTLIGHT – Barryn Sorrell, Texas football
An all-state and academic all-state honoree and all-district selection who played defensive end, defensive tackle and tight end during his high school career at Holy Cross, Sorrell was also honored as an Allstate Sugar Bowl/National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete. After a solid freshman season at Texas in 2020, he established himself on the Longhorn defense in 2022, earning honorable mention All-Big 12 honors. The 6-4, 261-pounder has started all five games this year at jack linebacker and has 27 career tackles and 6.5 sacks.
 
SEPTEMBER 26, 2023 SPOTLIGHT – JerKaila Jordan, Mississippi State basketball
Jordan completed a legendary career at John Curtis in 2020 after having won four straight LHSAA championships under the guidance of coach Barbara Farris, a member of the Sugar Bowl’s Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame. After an exceptional freshman campaign at Tulane, Jordan transferred to Mississippi State, where she has averaged 12.7 points over the past two seasons. Last year, she scored her 1,000th career point and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time. She’s expected to be a key player for a Bulldog team that will once again contend for March Madness in 2023-24.
 
SEPTEMBER 19, 2023 SPOTLIGHT – Eddie Smith, Arkansas State football
Smith was a star cornerback at Salmen High School from 2015-17, helping the Spartans to a pair of trips to the LHSAA state tournament. As a senior, he had 29 tackles and three interceptions while also catching 35 passes for 628 yards and nine TDs. He spent time at Alabama and Illinois before finding his niche at Arkansas State last year when he tallied 58 tackles and a pair of interceptions. He opened 2023 with three tackles against Oklahoma, eight against Memphis and three more against Stony Brook.
 
SEPTEMBER 12, 2023 SPOTLIGHT – MaryElla White, Mississippi College soccer
White starred at St. Scholastica Academy for head coach Mike Ortner. She helped the Doves to a pair of LHSAA state championships (2018 and 2019) and her team was recognized as the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s Girls’ Prep Team of the Year. She was an All-Gulf South Conference honoree last year after starting all 21 matches for Mississippi College. The star defender was a preseason All-GSC selection this year as the Choctaws are the preseason favorite to win the league.
 
 
SEPTEMBER 5, 2023 SPOTLIGHT – Donovan Kaufman, Auburn football
Kaufman, who starred at Archbishop Rummel and was recognized as one of the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s National Football Foundation Scholar Athletes, is expected to be a key part of the Auburn secondary this season. Despite battling injuries in 2022, he recorded 39 tackles. In the Tiger’s season opener against UMass, he tallied four tackles, two tackles for loss, and a sack, as Auburn rolled, 59-14. The 5-10, 204-pounder, who started his career at Vanderbilt, has now played 23 career collegiate games with 93 tackles and three forced fumbles.
 

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2022 New Orleans Athlete Spotlights

2021 New Orleans Athlete Spotlights