The Covington News Athlete Alumni Check-In is a space to highlight former Newton County student athletes while also providing updates on where they are in their respective careers.

Stephon Castle, Katie Oakley and Quindrelin Hammonds are the three athletes featured in this week’s edition.

Stephon Castle

Castle graduated from Newton High School in 2023, and he has seemed to already turn heads as a freshman for the University of Connecticut (UCONN).

Coming off a senior season at Newton that saw Castle be a consensus five-star prospect, the freshman made a splash during the summer for head coach Dan Hurley.

Castle led the team in scoring with 16.7 during UCONN’s three-game foreign tour.

In two games of the regular season against Stonehill and Northern Arizona, Castle finished both games with double digit points and a shooting percentage above .600.

Against Stonehill, Castle scored 17 points to go along with eight rebounds. Castle scored 12 against North Arizona while going 3-for-5 from the field.

Castle is currently sidelined due to a knee injury, but is set to make his return in early December, according to Hurley.

Katie Oakley

Oakley was part of Eastside’s 2021 graduating class and is currently the starting goalkeeper for the Georgia Southern Eagles.

Currently in her sophomore season, Oakley has seen a good amount of playing time on the pitch.

Oakley started every game her freshman season, and her seven shutout games are tied for second most in Georgia Southern history.

After her freshman year, Oakley earned a spot on the Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference.

Oakley finished the year with a 0.79 goals allowed on average to pair with a 0.825 save percentage.

Quindrelin Hammonds

Hammonds graduated from Alcovy High School in 2018, and is currently a senior in the Army West Point football program.

Currently in his fifth season, Hammonds is a starting defensive back under head coach Jeff Monken.

With one more game left to play against Navy, Hammonds is in the midst of his most productive season yet.

Hammonds is second on the team in tackles with 58 and is tied in third with 2.5 sacks. 

The ball hawk ability from Hammonds has shown in his fifth year.

Hammonds’ three interceptions leads the Black Knights and ranks second among all FBS-Division I Independent players.

Check back in to future editions of The Covington News for more Athlete Alumni Check-Ins.