College signings: Elyria Catholic athletes moving on to next level in three sports

ELYRIA — Each year Elyria Catholic churns out a number of athletes who go on to play at the next level and it appears the Class of 2024 is no exception. Tthree Panthers — baseball player Anthony Hutter, soccer player Maria Dee and basketball standout Isabelle Niederst — signed their national letters of intent Thursday in a brief ceremony in the school's cafeteria. Hutter, a second-team All-Ohio selection for the Great Lakes Conference champion Panthers, is headed to Eastern Michigan. Dee, who led her team with 24 goals this season, is headed to Lake Erie College and Niederst, an All-Ohio special mention pick as a junior who averaged 13.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.1 steals last year, will attend Tiffin. "Ever since I committed I've been thinking about this day," Hutter said. "It was great to have a bunch of family and friends here and, of course, coach (Bruce) Lisicky plus other coaches who have coached me in the past. It was nice having them all here. Coach Lisicky has been very hard on me since the first day I stepped in here. I really like the way he coaches. I've been under his wing a lot. I appreciate what he's done for me." Hutter hit .438 last year and showed off his speed by leading the team in triples and stealing 10 bases. "It was an easy decision to choose Eastern Michigan," Hutter said. "I really like coach (Robbie) Britt and the facilities are really nice. I think we're going to really have a winning program in my four years at Eastern Michigan." Niederst, a three-sport athlete in volleyball, basketball and softball, chose Tiffin because she felt the school was the best fit for her as an athlete and as a student. "I really felt at home there plus they have great athletics and great academics, as well," Nederst said. "Overall it's just a really great school." Niederst is the latest in a long line of athletes to move on to college from Elyria Catholic's girls basketball program. "Obviously, Carter (McCray) went D-I last year and now I'm going to a D-II school. It shows how great our program is and great our coaches are," Niederst said. "Our coaches work us really hard and teach us that as an individual you can achieve any goal that you set for yourself while achieving team goals, as well." When it came time to choose a college, Dee looked for somewhere that had the same feel as Elyria Catholic. "It felt amazing to sit up there and sign today after all of the hard work I've put into the sport for many years," Dee said. "I'm really happy I have the chance to play Division II soccer. "I wanted to find a small, close-knit school, kind of like Elyria Catholic. A school with a great sense of community that felt like a family and that's what Lake Erie has." Under first-year coach Jose Perez, Dee was a key part of the resurgence of the program. "It was amazing," Dee said. "I was really happy with the improvements we made from last year and how the coaching staff helped us get to where we wanted to be. I gave all of myself to the soccer program and I'm happy I'm able to leave on a good note." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.