Maples chooses Cleveland State
Elizabeth Maples, Clinton softball standout, signed a letter of intent to continue her academic and athletic career at Cleveland State Community College in Cleveland, Tennessee. She is joined by her parents, Raeshell (left) and Wayne Maples, along with current Lady Dragons coaching staff, former coaches and the school’s athletic director to mark the occasion. (photo:Tony Cox )
She’ll be one of two Lady Dragons headed to Cleveland State, joining teammate Elizabeth Graham. The two signed during a joint ceremony.
“We felt so happy when we were there,” Maples said. “We both just really felt at home.”
Maples said she also considered staying closer to home at Roane State.
“Roane State is right down the road from me, but when I went to Cleveland, it was a great small school and a great community,” she said. “I just fell in love with Cleveland.”
Both players participated in a showcase at Cleveland State, and the Cougars’ coaching staff took immediate notice.
“They had a tryout down there and they had a tremendous tryout,” Clinton coach Leonard Sams said. “Before they were done, the coaches said they wanted both of them.
“I told them it was obviously up to (Maples and Graham), but that I would tell them.”
Maples plans to pursue a career in medical therapeutics and hopes to become a surgical technician.
Sams said both players are poised for success on and off the diamond.
“Both of these young ladies will be successful,” he said. “I’m going to try not to get emotional. These kids come in and you have them for four or five years and they become your kids. When they leave, it’s like we’re losing kids and we don’t get to see them on the holidays anymore.”