May 23, 2008
San Antonio – St. Mary’s University men’s basketball coach Jim Zeleznak announced on Thursday the signing of San Antonio native Kelly Carpenter to a national letter of intent to join the Rattlers, starting with the 2008-09 academic year. Carpenter is the third signee for the Rattlers this offseason.
Carpenter (Fr., San Antonio) comes to St. Mary’s after a strong high school career playing for coach Ed Ybarra at Central Catholic High School. As a junior in 2006-07 he was a first team all-district and first team all-state honoree after averaging 18 points and seven rebounds per game. He was selected to play in the TAPPS All-Star Game for his play. As a senior he was even better, averaging 24 points, six rebounds and two assists per game. He was a first team all-district and first team all-state pick and was named District 2-6A MVP and again named to the TAPPS All-State Game.
He helped CCHS to three state tournament appearances during his career, including a regional tournament berth in 2005-06, a state semifinals appearance in 2006-07 and a second regional tournament berth this past season.
In addition to his strong work on the court, Carpenter was also an excellent student, as he earned Honor Roll recognition and was a member of the Principal’s List. He was also named TAPPS Academic All-State each of the last two seasons.
“Kelly is a very versatile offensive player with good ball handling skills and an excellent shooter with range,” Zeleznak said. “His size and length with allow him to compete for playing time at several positions. Kelly is one of the key components for this year’s class that will be the foundation for St. Mary’s basketball over the next four years.”
St. Mary’s finished the 2007-08 season with a 17-13 record and won the Heartland Conference Tournament title. They fell to Tarleton State University in the first round of the NCAA South Central Region Tournament.