CONWAY — Central Arkansas picked up the first piece of its 2017-18 signing class on Wednesday as the Sugar Bears added 5-foot-11 guard Carley Hudspeth on the opening day of the signing period.
Hudspeth, from Grenada, Miss., was the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools AAA Player of the Year last season as a junior, and led her team to a AAA state championship and overall state runner-up. A three-time AAA all-state tournament performer, she was also selected to the overall state all-tournament team a year ago. She has also been selected to the all-conference team in each of her three seasons at Kirk Academy while helping her team to three consecutive district championships.
"We are very happy to have Carley join our program," said Sugar Bear head coach Sandra Rushing. "She has the ability to shoot the 3 and attack the rim. Her length on the defensive end will create problems for our opponents, and she has the ability to play more than one position on either end of the floor. She has a great work ethic and is passionate about the game. She is a great fit for our program and we're very pleased that she is going to be a Sugar Bear for the next four years."
Hudspeth has also been a standout performer for the Kirk cross country and track teams, being a three-time all-state selection and winning three straight state championships in cross country, and also winning a state title in the 4x400m relay.
A 4.0 student, she is a three-year member of the National Honor Society and was selected as vice president this year, and has served as class secretary, vice president and president over the last four years at Kirk.
Hudspeth will come to Conway with a family tie to UCA, as her father Mark – the head football coach of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns – was a graduate assistant with the Bears in 1992-93 while earning his master's degree and returned to coach defensive backs in 1998 before serving two seasons as offensive coordinator at Delta State under current UCA head coach Steve Campbell in 1999 and 2000.
The Sugar Bears open the season Friday in the Farris Center against crosstown foe Hendrix College, before taking on No. 3 Baylor next Tuesday in Waco, the first of three games against Top 25 opponents in the non-conference season. The Sugar Bears will be looking for their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance this season after winning the last two Southland Conference tournaments, having gone 54-9 over the past two seasons while also winning a Southland regular season championship last season.
