Former Nevada High athletes taking their game to the next level

Former Nevada High star forward Clay Gayman elevates for a jumper.

Matt Resnick | Daily Mail

Clay Gayman and Braeden Hinton, 2018 Nevada High alums, are now excelling at the collegiate-level.

Gayman, a 6-foot-6, 220 pound sophomore forward at NCAA Division I Abilene Christian University, poured in 21 points in ACU's near-upset of the Drexel University Dragons Sunday in downtown Philadelphia. Gayman connected on 8-of-9 shots from the field en route to a 21 point performance as ACU was edged out by the Dragons in overtime, 86-83. It was Gayman's second consecutive double-digit performance to open the season, as the former NHS star tallied 14 points in ACU's 90-39 season-opening defeat of Arlington Baptist University (Nov. 5).

Against Drexel Gayman was 5-of-5 from inside the arc, and 3-of-4 from long-range. He also sank both of his free throw attempts, while pulling down a pair of rebounds. ACU head coach Joe Golding was thoroughly impressed with Gayman's performance against the Dragons. According to ACUsports.com, Golding said Gayman helped alleviate early foul trouble by slotting into the center position. "Clay came in and gave us some great offense," Golding said.

Gayman and company are gearing up for a west coast swing, as ACU is slated for non-conference tilts with Pepperdine (Nov. 16) and UNLV (Nov. 18).

Future Gorilla

In this Daily Mail file photo from May 2018, Nevada High's Braeden Hinton, fields-and-fires to first base. Hinton, now a sophomore at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, is soon expected to sign with Pittsburg State University, and will continue his baseball career with the Gorillas in the fall of 2020.

File Photo

There's more good news to report on the NHS alum-front, as Braeden Hinton has committed to play baseball for Pittsburg State University. Hinton concluded a solid freshman campaign for the Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College Golden Norsemen, with a .313 batting average, to go along with four homers, 42 RBI, 36 runs, and seven stolen bases. Primarily a catcher and right fielder, the versatile Hinton garnered NJCAA Region II Player of the Week accolades in mid-April, raking to the tune of a .462 BA, while collecting five doubles and 10 RBI for the week.

The verbal commitment to PSU was recently posted by Hinton on his Twitter page. "Blessed to receive an offer to continue my academic and baseball career at Pittsburg State University," Hinton said, via his tweet. Hinton, who plans on signing on the dotted line in the coming weeks, will be utilized primarily as a catcher at Pitt State. Eyeing a Bachelor of Social Work degree, Hinton will complete his sophomore campaign at NEO, then make the jump to PSU.