As the reigning Howard County Player of the Year in girls basketball, Oakland Mills' Jasmine Hill has the credentials to play Division I basketball. Instead she has chosen California University of Pennsylvania, an NCAA Division II school.

Hill signed a National Letter of Intent Nov. 7, accepting the Vulcans' offer of a full athletic scholarship.

"They have a really good team. They told me they were like the UCONN of Division II," Hill said. "I did not want to go to Division I. I wanted to be able to enjoy my college experience.

"It's the best of both worlds, it's a good education and I can still play basketball. I am so glad that they had my major and that I could find a good Division II school (nearby). It was like destiny."

Hill plans to study computer engineering.

She wasn't the only local player to take advantage of the NCAA early signing period. Also signing National Letters of Intent were:

Baseball

Tyler Henderson, Glenelg Country School, Limestone College

Basketball

Brittany Butler, Howard, Loyola University

Lacrosse

Rachel Benzing, Centennial, UMBC

Peter Bradley, Marriotts Ridge, Virginia Military Institute

Rachel Donovan, Howard, Denver University

Molly Fleming, Marriotts Ridge, University of Maryland

Nicole Grote, Marriotts Ridge, University of New Hampshire

Meagan Guthrie, Glenelg, Hofstra University

Anna Kelly, Centennial, LaSalle University

Meghan Milani, Glenelg, UMBC

Tori Thompson, Marriotts Ridge, University of Connecticut

Megan Wallenhorst, Centennial, Winthrop University

Anne Zabel, Marriotts Ridge, UMBC

Wrestling

Nathan Kraisser, Centennial, University of North Carolina

Volleyball

Maddie Chervenak, Hammond, Mars Hill College