Keegan Bell signs with Benedictine College

Nevada High School senior Keegan Bell gathers with his mother, father, grandmother, sister -- former Nevada Lady Tigers basketball player Jordan Bell -- and a host of Nevada High School coaches, including assistant football coach Lance Sargent, Tigers head football coach Erik Yoakam, Tigers assistant football coach Robert Miner, Tigers head basketball coach and Nevada High School athletic director John McNeley, Tigers assistant basketball coach Kyle Talley, Tigers assistant basketball coach Shaun Gray and Tigers assistant football coach Jerrod Alexander.

By Eric Wade

Daily Mail Sports Editor

Keegan Bell has spent the majority of his high school career playing multiple sports for the Tigers, making a name for himself most recently as the point guard for head coach John McNeley's Tigers basketball team, playing an integral role in the Tigers' success on the court.

"I would hate to think where our basketball team would be without Keegan,"McNeley said Friday.

On top of his basketball success, Bell was a starter for the Tigers football team for the past three seasons, starting on defense and working his way into a substantial role on the offensive side of the ball in his junior and senior seasons. In those two seasons, Bell played on both sides of the ball, amassing 129 tackles and six interceptions from the Tigers' defensive backfield and made even more significant contributions on the offensive side, where he carried the ball 25 times for 178 yards and three touchdowns, and hauled in 14 receptions for 245 yards and two touchdowns.

In 2012, he was an All-District and All-Southwest Missouri Region second team defensive back. In 2013, he was an All-District first team defensive back, an All-Southwest Missouri second team defensive back and an All-Southwest Missouri Honorable Mention receiver.

That successful football career got the attention of the coaching staff at Benedictine College, who eventually offered Bell a scholarship to join the Ravens football squad. In front of family, friends and coaches at Nevada High School Friday afternoon, Bell made his acceptance of that scholarship offer official when he signed a letter of intent to join the Ravens next fall.

Bell said there were a number of factors that played a role in his decision to sign with the Ravens. The most significant of those reasons, however, was the simple fact that being in Atchison, Kan., Benedictine offered him an opportunity to stay somewhat close to home.

"It's relatively close to Nevada and I'm a family kid," he said. "I like to stay close to my mom and dad, especially.

"And I talked to their coaching staff and it seemed like I was talking to my dad. I really liked that."

Bell said he wasn't quite sure what he would like to study at Benedictine, but his current focus looks to be mechanical engineering.

Though he has already begun to feel a significant amount of the excitement that comes with graduating from high school and moving on to college, Bell did say there were a few things about high school he would miss. Unlike most high school students, however, Bell said the one thing at the top of that list is the opportunities he has had to give to those who have helped him.

"I would have to say, the overall experience," he said when asked what he will miss most. "Just what coaches and family members and friends did for me, and how I could give back to them."