MORGANTOWN – Three Mohigans signed their names to continue their athletic and academic careers on Wednesday morning at Morgantown High.
MHS kicker Aidan Stire, pitcher Judd Messerly, and lacrosse player Jarrod Thompson all put pen to paper to secure their futures after graduation in the spring.
Thompson, a state champion with the Mohigans lacrosse team, will join the lacrosse program at Malone University in Canton, Ohio.
Coming from a family of lacrosse players, Jarrod says he knew he wanted to play at an early age.
“My entire family played lacrosse, so I started when I was young,” he said. “That proved beneficial later on as I kept raising the level of lacrosse I was playing. I fell in love with the sport quickly as a kid, and being able to continue playing the sport I love collegiately is a dream come true.”
The Morgantown baseball program continued its trend of recent pitching signees, as lefty Judd Messerly signed to join Potomac State University next fall.
Messerly has a 1.13 career ERA as a varsity pitcher for MHS and head coach Pat Sherald and finished second in ERA for the 2025 class last season.
He helped lift the Mohigans to the state semifinals last season, earning a save while striking out the side in the Region I championship series against Bridgeport.
“I instantly fell in love when I visited campus,” Messerly said. “It’s a beautiful place, and they have some great facilities. I have a few coaches who played for Coach (Doug) Little, who all speak highly of him. If you had told me as a freshman that I would be playing baseball in college, I wouldn’t have believed you. I’m grateful for the opportunity.”
Aidan Stire, one of the best specialists in the state, will remain in Morgantown as he signed to join WVU next fall.
Stire says he has been a fan of the Mountaineers all his life, attending games with his family since childhood.
“I’ve always loved everything about WVU,” he said. “The coaches are what really drew me in. They made me feel like a member of the team the second I stepped into the facility, and the whole atmosphere among the program just feels like one big family.”
Stire says being able to play for the Mountaineers feels like a “fever dream”.
“I’ve dreamt of this since I can remember,” he said. “It’s always been a goal of mine to join the program, and being able to do it in my hometown makes it even more special.”
Stire says he was slightly disappointed by the recent firing of WVU head coach Neal Brown, as Brown initiated the offer to Stire for a preferred walk-on position.
“I was a little taken back when I heard that Coach Brown was being let go,” he said. “He gave me my offer, and he’s just one of the best people you’d ever want to know. He was very down-to-earth when we met. My position coaches (Jeff Koonz and Tony Thompson) haven’t changed, but once the new head coach is announced, I will see where it goes from there.”
As a multisport athlete growing up, Stire says he realized football would be the sport he would pursue at the next level once he joined the Mohigans program.
“I would say it took off for me around the end of my freshman year to the beginning of my sophomore year,” he said. “That’s when I noticed the most improvement kicking-wise. I got in touch with some coaches who gave me some good advice about my potential, and that’s when I started to get serious about football and focused on training to become the best version of myself as a kicker.”
Regardless of the sport, all MHS athletes agree on how much being a Mohigan has shaped them into who they are today.
“I will always bleed red and blue,” Stire said. “I love the Mohigans. I love Morgantown. I will never forget this period of my life and will always hold my time here close to me. It helped me become the person I am today.”
