Barstow point guard Jacob Gilyard signs with Richmond

The big schools passed on the small size.

The mid-majors jumped at the large potential.

After racking up 17 Division I offers, Barstow senior point guard Jacob Gilyard signed a letter of intent Wednesday to attend Richmond on a basketball scholarship.

The recruitment interest was heavy on Gilyard, a 5-9, 155-pound guard, though none of his 17 offers were from schools in the Power 5 conferences.

“I do think the bigger schools did pass on me because of my size, but that’s OK,” Gilyard said. “I’m going to a place that I fell in love with right away.”

Gilyard averaged 16.5 points, six assists and five steals as a junior last season. He has been a member of a Barstow team that has made the Missouri Class 3 Final Four in three straight seasons. But the program graduated high-profile starters Jeriah Horne and Shea Rush last spring.

“I’m ready to focus on our high school season and get back to state again,” Gilyard said. “I know we lost some key pieces, but we’ll be better than people think.”

Notables:

• Five members of the St. Teresa’s Academy soccer team signed college scholarships Wednesday — Elexa Pierson (Howard), Paige Powell (Rockhurst), Tess Rellihan (Missouri), Meghan Schmidt (Rockhurst) and Macy Trujillo (Kansas State). The Stars have won back-to-back Missouri Class 4 state titles.

• Summit Christian Academy senior Carlie Queen, a three-time Missouri Class 2 state champion in the high jump, signed with Arkansas.

This story was originally published November 9, 2016 at 6:15 PM with the headline "Barstow point guard Jacob Gilyard signs with Richmond."