As the December early signing period opened, another wave of Baldwin County student-athletes sealed their college commitments with signatures on National Letters of Intent.

Ceremonies were recently held at Daphne, Gulf Shores, Bayside Academy and Baldwin County with more athletes from Foley, Spanish Fort, Fairhope and St. Michael also joining in on the festivities.

Below is a sampling of signings from around Baldwin County, follow @GCMSportsAL on social media for more highlights and visit gulfcoastmedia.com/sports for further sports coverage.

Daphne – Talib Graham (Ole Miss football), Vic Moten (Alabama softball), Kalyse Hill (Mount Olive wrestling), Brayden Davis (Shelton State golf), Farley Harris (Southern Union softball), Blake Cornell (West Florida golf)

The Alabama Gatorade Softball Player of the Year from last season is staying in state as Vic Moten put pen to paper to lock in her commitment to suit up for the Crimson Tide. With another season left, she has already racked up 813 strikeouts over 377 career innings pitched for Daphne to go along with an ERA of 0.48 and an opponent batting average of .086.

One of Moten’s teammates from the 2024 Trojans that earned a Red Map trophy as state runners-up, Farley Harris will continue her career on the diamond with the Southern Union Bison. An all-county selection and Gold Glove winner from last season, Harris owns a career .308 average, including 38 doubles and 12 home runs, 105 RBIs and 79 runs scored.

Most recently named to the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Football Classic, Talib Graham cemented his pledge to play for Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss. During his time as a Daphne Trojan, he tied a team record for single-season sacks with his head coach, Kenny King, at 10 in nine games played.

A three-time defending state champion on the 132-pound wrestling stage, Kalyse Hill will search for a fourth state title before continuing her career at Mount Olive. She’s helped Daphne collect three team state titles in the last four years with a career record of 116-3.

A pair of Trojan golfers will represent Daphne at the next level with Blake Cornell at West Florida and Brayden Davis at Shelton State. Davis owns 24 top finishes including five wins as well as an AJGO Timberline championship, multiple junior tour championships and a Chevrolets Junior Championship.

Cornell will have played six years of varsity golf for the Trojans when he tees off this spring. Already a two-time all-state selection, Cornell is also a two-time SJGT winner and five-time Jimmy Green Tour winner to go along with an AGA Tournament championship.

Gulf Shores – Carter Byrd (Southeastern Louisiana football), Kolin Wilson (Mississippi State football)

Two more state champion Dolphins will represent Gulf Shores in the college ranks as defensive back Carter Byrd and running back Kolin Wilson signed on the dotted line Wednesday. Byrd and Wilson also represented the Dolphins at the third-annual Gulf Coast Media Day before the 2024 season.

Wilson closed the regular season as the state’s 10th-leading rusher according to MaxPreps stats that featured 1,672 yards on 219 carries with 17 touchdowns. A do-it-all man as a senior, Wilson added 118 passing yards, 199 receiving yards and 335 kickoff return yards in his final high school season before joining the Southeastern Conference.

Byrd will join another Gulf Shores alumnus on the Southeastern Louisiana Lions in defensive end Otto Brewer. After a 110-tackle, 5-interception season as a junior en route to the Class 5A state title, Byrd finished his senior season with 77 tackles, nine tackles for loss, two pass breakups and one interception.

Bayside Academy – Madeline Dudley (Lafayette track), Miles Uter (SMU football)

With three state championship trophies and two more runner-up trophies in front of her, Madeline Dudley signed her National Letter of Intent to run track and field for the Lafayette Leopards in the Patriot League. Dudley has contributed to Bayside Academy’s top finishes in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track where she took silver in high jump from the 2023 outdoor championships and followed it up with a silver in high and long jump from the 2024 indoor championships.

With his NLI signature, Miles Uter is officially set to rejoin his brother Graham on the football sidelines with the SMU Mustangs in Dallas. Miles helped the Admirals clinch their first home playoff game since 2015 then advance to their first state quarterfinal appearance since 2016. In his final game at Freedom Field, Miles caught three touchdown passes in Bayside Academy’s first postseason victory since 2021.

Baldwin County – Madilyn Byrd (Florida Atlantic softball), Gabby Bidwell (LBW softball), Jae Heaton (Bishop State volleyball)

With her National Letter of Intent signature to Florida Atlantic, Madilyn Byrd became the first Baldwin County softball player to sign a Division I scholarship. A North-South All-Star selection this past spring, Byrd also helped the Tigers hoist their third regional title in four years.

Another softball player, Gabby Bidwell, helped increase Baldwin County head coach Anthony Cox’s total to 38 signees over his 24 years in the position. Lurleen B. Wallace was the first school to offer the Tiger utility player and Bidwell sealed the deal during a Nov. 20 ceremony.

Jae Heaton played varsity volleyball all four years and finished her final season as Baldwin County’s offensive leader with 197 kills and 164 assists from her setter position. Heaton will be staying in state and joining a Lower Alabama staple in head coach Nicole Keshock who currently leads the Bishop State Wildcats. Keshock also head coached the South Alabama Jaguars for nine seasons and founded the Mobile Storm youth volleyball club.

Foley – AJ Prim (NC State football), Cam Schultz (Texas State football)

2023 graduates of Foley High School and North-South All-Star selections, AJ Prim and Cam Schultz will now work their way to the Division I gridiron after time on the junior college scene.

In two seasons with the Pearl River Wildcats, Prim registered 70 total tackles, including 14 for loss, 5 sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one interception as a defensive lineman. The former Lion leaves Pearl River as the 14th-ranked JUCO prospect in the country according to 247Sports. Prim will join NC State in the Atlantic Coast Conference and join forces with another Baldwin County alum in Gulf Shores’ Ronnie Royal who is a safety for the Wolfpack.

Schultz held things down at right tackle for Jones College and is now set to join Texas State where he’ll retain his Bobcat spots. Schultz was eligible and will transfer as a midyear enrollee alongside another now-former Jones Bobcat offensive lineman in Alan Grimme. Schultz was the No. 101-ranked JUCO prospect in 247Sports’ list.

Fairhope – Mackenzie Little (West Alabama volleyball), Will Sparks (South Alabama baseball)

A member of the Fairhope Pirate volleyball team that made its first appearance in the AHSAA State Tournament since 2021, Mackenzie Little will continue her career in state with the West Alabama Tigers. Fairhope punched its ticket to an eighth-consecutive regional tournament before it took the runner-up seed from the South Championships.

On the baseball diamond, Will Sparks helped the Pirates collect a third-straight area title. In the first-round playoff meeting with Mary G. Montgomery, Sparks delivered the clinching victory in Game 2 with a 12-strikeout effort over 6.1 innings pitched to secure Fairhope’s first state quarterfinal appearance since 2015.

Spanish Fort – Pally Griffith (Coastal Alabama-South softball), Christian Burkhalter (North Alabama football)

An all-county selection following Spanish Fort’s second area title in a row, Madison “Pally” Griffith won’t be going too far away when she plays in college at Coastal Alabama-South. Griffith announced her commitment on July 21 and sealed the deal during a Nov. 14 ceremony at the high school.

A 2021 graduate of Spanish Fort High School, Christian Burkhalter is returning to his home state as a graduate transfer with the North Alabama Lions following time as an outside linebacker at UCLA and a tight end at Georgia Tech. North Alabama announced Burkhalter’s signing on Wednesday as a tight end where he was ESPN’s 13th-ranked prospect coming out of high school when he was also a North-South All-Star selection for the Toros.

St. Michael – Hillel Bill (Southern Union soccer)

Hillel Bill helped St. Michael collect its fourth-consecutive area title this past spring and was eventually a first-team all-state selection alongside three other Cardinals. Bill will be set to join forces with Gulf Shores’ all-time leading scorer, Talan Galvan, who was part of Southern Union’s inaugural squad.