By STEVEN CALHOUN/Staff Writer

JEMISON – Cassani Steele signed to Southern Union State Community College Dec. 7 in the auditorium of Jemison High School.

“It’s overwhelming for real. I feel like I worked hard to get the scholarships and all my friends supported me,” Steele said.

Steele qualified for a sports scholarship that will cover books, fees and tuition at the college in Wadley. She was the first to sign for the 2017-2018 freshmen class at SUSCC.

“When you pull up and strangers have good things to say about a student, you know you’ve got the right one,” Southern Union women’s head basketball coach Lemont Herring said. “She’s a good kid and a good athlete. That’s what we look for.”

Steele has known she wanted to go to the school for some time.

“I visited them at the end of September and it felt like home,” Steele said.

She plans to go for a nursing degree and come back to work at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Clanton.

Her coach, Robert George, believes she will do well in college.

“She’s very athletic, she hustles, she could jump out of the building,” George said. “She has a lot of raw talent.”

George said Steele excels at making free throws and getting rebounds. He also emphasized her humility and teamwork as qualities that will shine in the future.

“She’s in Fellowship of Christian Athletes every Friday, she’s humble and has a big heart. I think she’ll be a good teammate, and I think when you get to the next level you’ve gotta be like that,” George said.