Photo by Kyle Parmley.
From left, Hoover’s Ahman Ellington, CJ Melton, PJ Rudolph, Erin Cannon and Mackenzie Martin sign their letters of intent to play collegiate athletics April 17 at Hoover High School.
There were no television cameras, and the college decisions cemented April 17 weren’t going to make waves on national sports shows.
But that didn’t make the ceremony in the Hoover High School cafeteria any less significant. Five student-athletes were honored as they signed to continue their academic and athletic pursuits at the college level after concluding stellar careers for the Bucs.
“They’re students first,” said Hoover Athletic Director Andy Urban. “All of them have high GPAs and work hard in the classroom, and that carries over into the athletic arena.”
PJ Rudolph is heading to Life University in Marietta, Georgia, to continue his bowling career. Rudolph joined the bowling team during his junior year, despite missing tryouts. Coach Kevin Butler allowed him an impromptu tryout, and he did well enough to compete at the state tournament as a senior.
Mackenzie Martin is going to the University of North Alabama to play beach volleyball. In her time at Hoover, the Bucs made it to the state tournament each season and made it to the final four once.
“Great leader for us, on and off the court, phenomenal in the classroom and the last one to leave every day,” said Hoover volleyball coach Chris Camper. “We love her and can’t wait to see her play for the next four years.”
Erin Cannon will compete in track and field at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Coach Devon Hind was struck by the timing and similarity of Cannon’s career and Tiger Woods winning the Masters Tournament for the first time in 14 years in mid-April.
The same weekend Woods won, Cannon etched another chapter in her own comeback story.
“Erin ran for us starting in eighth grade, when we pulled her up from Bumpus [Middle School],” Hind said. “She helped us in eighth grade, was phenomenal in ninth grade and got what we thought was a sprained ankle in practice her sophomore year.”
But her ankle didn’t get better, and it was soon discovered that it was fractured. That wiped out nearly two years of her high school career, but Cannon returned to the cross-country team this past fall and has since returned to her form of three years ago.
“She has been gradually coming back, trying to beat her freshman time in the 800[-meter run],” Hind said, and on April 13, “she finally did it.”
The final two student-athletes to sign were basketball players Ahman Ellington and CJ Melton, who helped lead the Bucs to the state final four for the first time since 2016. Ellington started on that 2016 team as a freshman and will attend St. Thomas University in Miami, Florida.
Melton will attend Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina. Hoover head coach Charles Burkett lauded Melton’s contributions in light of Hoover replacing two of the top players in program history in Jamari Blackmon and Marion Humphrey.
“CJ was a do-it-all guy for us this year,” Burkett said. “He was our second leading scorer, leading rebounder, leading shot blocker, second leader in steals.”
Burkett said of both players, “The most important thing — I can show you the stats and they are really excellent stats — but the thing I’m most proud of is that they are better kids. That’s going to be a testament for them going forward.”
