CALEDONIA — Caledonia boys soccer might have bowed out of the MHSAA Class 4A playoffs a few weeks ago, but the Cavaliers are still making headlines when it comes to the next level.
After two girls soccer players for the Cavaliers committed to playing college soccer during the fall semester, the first senior from the boys team announced his future in the sport.
On Friday, Braden Walters signed his National Letter of Intent to play at Itawamba Community College, continuing what has been a great high school career into junior college.
“It’s definitely a great school,” Walters said. “I’ve been looking at a lot of places, but whenever I went to ICC, I said to myself that this was my place, this is where I wanted to be. It’s close to home, I love the coach and I know some of the guys there. I think it’s a great program I can go into and make a big impact.”
Walters was a key senior leader for a Caledonia team that reached the second round of the postseason before losing a tough 4-1 game on the road against Richland.
However, having a sturdy player in the midfield to be able to distribute balls and orchestrate forward play was key to that playoff run.
“Not to be cliché, but there’s not many words that can express what he’s meant to our program,” Caledonia head coach Louis Alexander said. “He’s going to be hard to replace, impossible to replace. If we can get someone to fill in his role partially, that will be big because a big void is going to be in our program with his departure.”
Last season was a successful season for Itawamba, finishing 9-5-2 overall, with four players being selected to all-conference teams at the end of the season.
Like Caledonia, things ended earlier than those at ICC wanted it to, losing in the NJCAA Gulf Coast District quarterfinals to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, but it’s continued recent success in the program.
The 2022 season was ICC’s sixth straight winning season and the sixth straight playoff appearance for the program, so a player like Walters, who will be competing for a starting role as a freshman, will be a massive help.
“I’ve never had a player of his caliber in terms of soccer IQ and the way he carries himself,” Alexander said. “He’s a natural leader … He’s going to a great program that’s historically done really well. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s going to go and contribute as a freshman.”
The internal competition at Itawamba is going to be tough, but Walters seems to be ready for the challenge in talking with him.
With his senior season over and now, his college decision squared away, the only thing to do now is finish out his senior year and prepare in the summer for the upcoming fall season.
One thing is for sure: Walters is ready to go.
“I’m really excited,” Walters said. “Soccer, it’s a passion of mine since I was 4 years old. It’s a lifestyle, and I love it. I’m ready to go and make an impact there. I’m going to keep improving, keep trying to better my game and hopefully get some minutes there as a freshman.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
