A few Chatham County athletes made their college decisions last week.
Chatham Central boys’ basketball standout Brennen Oldham committed to Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, North Carolina.
Oldham, a senior 6-foot-6 forward, averaged 15.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game this past winter. He also recorded nine double-doubles, including a 31-point, 13-rebound performance against South Davidson on Feb. 5.
Prior to his one season at Chatham Central, Oldham played for Jordan-Matthews his junior year, and he spent his first two high school seasons at Chatham Charter.
During his 2023-24 campaign at Jordan-Matthews, Oldham led the Jets to their most wins since the 2015-16 season, averaging a team-high 15.6 points per game on a 51% shooting clip.
As a freshman, he helped lead Chatham Charter to the 2022 1A state championship game.
Oldham is joining a Catawba Valley CC program that went 14-13 in the winter, averaging 90.5 points per game. The Red Hawks finished sixth in the NJCAA Division II Region 10 conference this past season.
Chatham Central softball senior Caleigh Warf signed to North Carolina Wesleyan on May 5.
Warf, a catcher, has helped the Bears to four playoff appearances. In her senior season as of Sunday, Warf has achieved a .303 batting average. Behind the plate, she has recorded 152 putouts and turned two double plays.
Throughout her entire career (as of Sunday), Warf has batted at an .328 average with 76 hits, 66 RBIs and 59 runs. As a baserunner, she’s stolen 22 bases (five so far in her senior season), and she’s up to 504 putouts with only seven errors.
NC Wesleyan finished its 2025 campaign with a 29-16 record, falling to Pfeiffer in the USA South Conference championship series last week. The Battling Bishops finished second in the regular season conference standings.
Sydney Ballard, a senior from the Northwood girls’ basketball team signed with North Greenville University in Tigerville, South Carolina to continue her career on the hardwood.
Ballard, a 6-foot-3 forward, averaged 5.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in her senior season.
Prior to her lone season with the Chargers, Ballard spent her first three years at Seaforth where she helped the Hawks reach the 2A state title game in 2023.
As a freshman, Ballard had her best statistical season, averaging 7.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, including a career-high 17 points against Cummings. In her whole career, Ballard achieved averages of 5.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and one block.
North Greenville went 7-21 in its 2024-25 campaign.
Sydney Nezos, a junior on the Seaforth girls’ soccer team, announced her commitment to the University of Lynchburg.
Nezos, a defender and midfielder, has notched a team-high 92 steals as of Sunday, including a season-high 15 steals against Southeast Alamance on April 10.
Across three seasons, she’s recorded 291 steals and five goals.
Nezos helped Seaforth win the 2024 2A state title over Pine Lake Prep as a sophomore.
Lynchburg, her future home, is also a winning program. The Hornets are the fourth winningest program in NCAA Division III women’s soccer history and won the national title in 2014. Since 1994, all Lynchburg recruits have won an Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship. Lynchburg went 12-5-3 in 2024.