November 30, 2021
By: Dwayne Page
One of DeKalb County High School’s most outstanding Lady Tiger basketball players will soon be trading her black and gold school colors for red, white, and gold.
Kadee Ferrell, a senior and member of the 1,000-point club, signed a letter of intent Tuesday with Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee to play for the Lady Lions next season.
Joining Kadee at the signing were her parent’s Anthony and Trena Ferrell, other family members, as well as fellow players and coaches.
“Out of all the schools I had been to I really liked Bryan the best because it is a small Christian school and the players and coaches there really made me feel welcome. I just had a connection with all the people there and felt like that was the place for me,” said Ferrell.
Her field of study there will be in the Physical Therapy Program.
“I want to be a physical therapist. I will start school at Bryan College to be a physical therapist and then I will have to go to a two-year school after I graduate from there to get my physical therapy degree,” Ferrell continued.
Kadee scored her 1,000th career point last season on January 8th, 2021 at Cannon County leading the team that night with 27 points and 10 rebounds. She is now somewhere between 1,300 and 1,400 points for her career. Kadee is among 13 Lady Tigers all time who have earned membership in the 1,000-point club. Others who came before her were Helen Lee-1959, Betty Carol Fite-1965, Carolyn Bluhm-1969, Genrose Rowland Davis- 1971, Rosa Stokes-1983, Trena Johnson Collins-1990, Mary Ann Puckett-1993, Cynthia Woodward-2010, Martha Webb-2011, Loren Cripps-2015, Ashli Chew-2016, and Emme Colwell-2020.
“It’s really exciting. As I came in as a freshman, I set some goals for myself and that was one of my goals. I wanted to reach at least 1,000 points by the time I graduated but God blessed me and let me reach it as a junior. I would like to get to 2,000 points but if not, I would at least like to reach 1,800 before my high school career is over,” said Kadee.
As notable as it was earning entry into the 1,000-point club, Kadee said the most special experience was making it to the state tournament her freshman year in 2019. The Lady Tigers lost 34 to 31 to Marshall County in the quarterfinals at MTSU and completed a 23-12 season. It’s was the first trip to the state tournament for a DCHS Lady Tiger basketball team since 1965.
“That was the most special memory for me as a high school basketball player. That is something that had not been done here in a long time. It was a fun experience and hopefully something we might get to do again this year,” said Ferrell.
Lady Tiger Coach Danny Fish said Kadee has meant a lot to his program and he is happy for her success.
“Kadee has been a great student athlete here at DCHS. She makes good grades and is a humble person. Kadee is great on the court and great in the locker room. She is probably close to having scored 1,400 points right now for her career but she is also right at 1,000 rebounds and that is hard to do. She is the greatest. She does so many things for her team from ball handling and passing to shooting and taking it to the hole. She does it all. It’s going to be a big loss for us when she moves on but we are very happy for her. She was recruited highly by various schools but she settled on Bryan because it’s close to home here and they run a similar system as we do. It’s a Christian school which was very big for her. It was just a good fit for her. I can’t wait to see what she does in the future,” said DCHS Lady Tiger Coach Danny Fish.
“She is a great fit for our college. Kadee is a great Christian young lady. She fits in the “we” over “me” mentality that we embody and is our culture but then you look at her as a basketball player. She is long and athletic. She defends. She can score. She can rebound. She is a full package. She will fit in at spots we need. We have won our conference the last five years and have been in the national tournament six of the last seven years. She is the kind of player we haven’t normally had and I think she will only push us further. She is coming in with a great high school career but we expect even bigger things from her in college. We are really excited about how she fits in with our program. Kadee is one of our top recruits and we have high expectations for her to come in and contribute as a freshman,” said Bryon Lawhon, head coach of the Lady Lions
Bryan College athletic teams, nicknamed athletically as the Lions, are part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC). Men’s sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, fishing, volleyball, and track & field; while women’s sports include basketball, cheerleading, cross country, fishing, golf, soccer, softball, track & field, and volleyball.
Bryan College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Dayton, Tennessee. It was founded in the aftermath of the 1925 Scopes Trial to establish an institution of higher education that would teach from a Christian worldview. The school was chartered in 1930 as William Jennings Bryan University. In 1958, it was designated William Jennings Bryan College, and the name was shortened to Bryan College in 1993.
Bryan offers associate degrees, bachelor’s degrees in 20 majors with over 60 distinct options, and three master’s degrees: the Master of Business Administration, the Master of Arts in Christian Studies, and the Master of Education. Bryan College also has over 26 different minors available to students with varying interests. Minors include Biblical Studies, Business Administration, Leadership studies, and Theater.
The Adult and Graduate Studies programs are designed for adult learners to attend school part-time. Students can earn degrees online and onsite, and options include associate degrees, as well as bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
In February 2018, Bryan College announced the opening of The Vogel School of Engineering, enabling students to obtain an undergraduate degree in mechanical or civil engineering options.