The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Continuing the trend of Bahamian basketball players making the transition to football, Michael Cartwright and Devanno Whitfield have shot up the recruiting ranks in the state of Florida this offseason.

Both former junior national basketball team standouts have now made the conversion to football since a shift to high school in the United States and have fielded offers from collegiate programmes.

Cartwright, a 6'5" 280-pound offensive lineman for the Champagnat Lions out of Hialeah, Florida, has developed into a highly sought after recruit.

Cartwright's blocking skills have been sought after by major programmes both in the state of Florida and around the United States. He has received offers from the Tulane Green Wave, FIU Golden Panthers, Indiana Hoosiers, Marshall Thundering Herd, FAU Owls, Southern Mississippi Eagles, Arkansas Pine Bluff Golden Lions and the Pittsburgh Panthers.

A junior in the class of 2019, Cartwright is expected to field even more offers for a Lions team that has become a powerhouse in their division.

Last season, the Lions won their second Class A Florida High School state title 24-7 over eight-time state champion Jacksonville University Christian.

Cartwright, a former student at Aquinas College, has also blossomed into a three-sport star for the Lions. On the basketball court he averaged 12.6 points and 15 rebounds per game and in athletics, he became the school's first multiple district champion in the shot put.

Cartwright was a member of the Bahamas' Caribbean Basketball Confederation Under-16 team that won gold in the British Virgin Islands.

Whitfield was a member of the 2017 Centrobasket U-17 team but has undergone a physical transformation as a football player.

He was 6'4", 240 pounds when he began playing tight end but has been listed at 255 in just three months. This spring he has posted impressive performances at the Nike and Rivals camps and also at the Adidas 7 on 7 East Coast Regionals.

A junior at Doral Academy, and former student at Anatol Rodgers, Whitfield has had several unofficial visits with FIU, FAU, Central Florida and University of Florida.