Christian Heritage duo makes college decision; Stallion to play basketball at Brenau, Strickland goes beach volleyball at Truett McConnell
Apr. 29—A pair of Christian Heritage School seniors recently made their collegiate destinations official, each signing with a different in-state school and athletics program at a joint ceremony.
Brooklyn Stallion will play women's basketball at Brenau University, while Riley Strickland will compete with the beach volleyball team at Truett McConnell University.
Stallion is bound for Brenau, an NAIA program in Gainesville. Stallion, a small forward, averaged 11.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 3.1 steals per game during her senior year for the Lady Lions and was named Region 7-A DII first team. Stallion helped lead Christian Heritage to an appearance in the Elite 8 of the Class A DII playoffs. Brenau, coached by Kris Stewart, competes in the NAIA's Appalachian Athletic Conference. The team went 9-15 in 2023-24.
Strickland excelled at indoor volleyball for the Christian Heritage team as a setter and hitter, but she'll be joining the beach volleyball team at Truett McConnell, an NAIA school in Cleveland. Instead of six players occupying an indoor court, beach volleyball is played on a smaller, outdoor, sand-filled court, and only two players occupy the court at a time from each team. The NAIA began sponsoring beach volleyball in 2022 as an official championship sport. Truett McConnell's program, started in 2022, went 15-13 during the 2024 season.
