Marty Gordon
NRVsports@ourvalley.org
Senior Austin Bissell has helped Blacksburg High School to multiple soccer championships during his prep career and will now take his game to Radford University in the fall.
He joined three other Bruin student-athletes to sign letter of intents this afternoon in the school’s library.
Cole Beck signed on the dotted line to play football and run track at Virginia Tech. Davis Roberson will play football at Concord, while Camden Wise will kick for James Madison University.
Also, Chase Orndorff will continue his football career at the University of Charleston. The group made their decisions official in front of family, friends, coaches and teammates.
Ever since Bissell was a kid, he’s wanted to play collegiate soccer. He and his brother, Cameron, who graduated from Blacksburg in 2016 after his own successful high school career, would always talk about it, practicing every day and pushing each other to their limits.
“When I first started talking to Radford, I told my brother, and he was just as excited as I was. This was a chance to make my dream come true. After a long talk with my parents and many phone calls back and forth to Cameron, I knew that it was the right choice. When I first walked onto Radford’s campus, I knew that this was the place for me. It just felt right,” he said.
Bissell has also received a $6,000 academic scholarship and will major in biology at RU. He plans to attend medical school to become an orthopedic surgeon.
Bissell, who is a midfielder, will be the senior leader of a young Blacksburg team this spring and is expected to be a starter for the third consecutive year. He hopes the Bruins can bring back another state title. Bissell has played on three Conference 32 championship teams, three West regional champions and three state runner-up squads.
Individually, Bissell received first team all-conference and all-region honors in 2017. NCAA Division III schools Lynchburg College and Roanoke College also recruited him.
