News

Two Meridian High School grads make history with full-ride basketball scholarships

Meridian High School logo above the Trojan Basketball and Volleyball gym Photo: KPUG/Jake Hazel


Two Meridian High School graduates have signed full-ride basketball scholarships to four-year universities, making them the first in the history of Meridian girls basketball.

Both Kyrin Baklund and Ellesse FitzGerald got the honors.

Ken McLendon of McLendon Athletics in Lynden says their recruit, Baklund, will play women’s basketball at NCAA Division-II Ohio Valley University in West Virginia. FitzGerald is headed to Northwest University in Kirkland.

Baklund led MHS in scoring and helped the Trojans make it to the Class 1A tournament in Yakima two seasons in a row, after the school had not made it to state since 2004.

McLendon says Baklund, who was a 4 -year varsity letter in both basketball and volleball led all scorers in the 2017 all-state game and 2018’s Whatcom County senior all-star game.

Recent Headlines

17 hours ago in Sports

MLB proposes shortening regular season to 154 games in 2029, expanding Division Series to best-of-7

Major League Baseball proposed to shorten the regular season to 154 games from 162 starting in 2029 and to expand the Division Series to best-of-seven in a plan given to players during collective bargaining Thursday.

17 hours ago in Sports

A’ja Wilson wins her third straight WNBA MVP and record fifth overall

A'ja Wilson won the WNBA MVP on Thursday for a third straight year and record fifth time overall. Besides her three-peat, Wilson also won the award in 2020 and 2022.

18 hours ago in Education, High School, Local, Local Sports, Sports, Trending

Mount Vernon School District mulls upgrades to athletic facilities

A district committee recommended two six-year capital levy options to fund a covered stadium, among other improvements.

23 hours ago in Sports

Fan interference denies Anthony Volpe a tying homer as Yankees get swept by Rays in ALDS

With the Yankees' season at stake, Anthony Volpe was denied a tying home run against the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 3 of their AL Division Series when a replay review determined a fan interfered with his drive to deep left field Wednesday night.

24 hours ago in Sports

Brewers eliminate Padres with 3-1 win in Game 4, advance to NLCS rematch with Dodgers

Although outfielder Garrett Mitchell gracefully accepted congratulations for robbing Manny Machado of a tying home run late in the Milwaukee Brewers' Division Series-clinching victory, he clearly wasn't all that impressed with himself.