GREENE COUNTY
Lake Oconee Academy’s golf programs have produced multiple athletes that have gone on to play at the next level, and one of the most recent is Maddox Cantrell.
The Titan senior will be taking his talents to Covenant College after verbally committing a few weeks ago, and he couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity.
“I was reaching out to some D2 and D3 colleges heading into this season, and Covenant pretty much responded right away,” Cantrell said. “Their coach, Eddie Jackson, is a great guy and seemed very interested from the start. Ever since then, we stayed in touch.”
Cantrell is a well-rounded athlete who helped the Titans win back-to-back state golf championships in 2021 and 2022.
Not only that, but he was the second singles player on Lake Oconee Academy’s state championship tennis team last year as well.
With his success, Cantrell earned himself an opportunity to visit the Scots located near Lookout Mountain in the northwest part of the state. It was during that visit when Cantrell realized that he could see himself playing there.
“The courses up there that they play are super nice, and the views up in the mountains are just different. It’s only about three hours from here, so not too far,” Cantrell said. “The overall setting is great, and the people I met were super nice. The boys on the team were super welcoming and I was glad I got to meet them.”
The views were nice, but the idea of attending a faith-based institution catered to Cantrell even more.
On top of having Jackson at the helm, Cantrell believes Covenant is a school he can start off on the right foot at.
“I really do like the faith aspects of the college, seeing as how it’s a Protestant school, and I think it’s just a great way to start your life, building it around faith,” Cantrell said. “Coach Jackson is a great guy too. He wants to not only change our golf game for the better but to help our faith too, and it just felt comfortable for me up there.”
As recently as the middle of September, Cantrell has played in multiple tournaments around the southeastern part of the country.
Over the past two years, Cantrell has never finished worse than 41st at an event and as high as 17th back in 2021. The Titan golfer consistently shoots in the high-70s to low-80s, and only wants to continue to get better.
Cantrell is expected to officially sign with the Scots at some point in January along with two other teammates from the Titans boy’s team and one from the girl’s team.