NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana has signed McKenna Wheatley of Madison, Miss., to a women's tennis scholarship.
        Wheatley on Thursday made it official with XULA at St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Ridgeland, Miss., where she will graduate in May. Wheatley will be a biology/pre-medical major at XULA.
        Wheatley was the 2021 Mississippi Player of the Year in girls tennis — selected by the Jackson Clarion-Ledger newspaper — and is a four-time Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 3A state singles champion. She has helped the Saints win three state team championships.
        A winner of 66 titles in her junior and prep career — 42 in singles, 24 in doubles — Wheatley received four of a possible five stars at tennisrecruiting.net. She has won nearly 75 percent of her more than 500 USTA junior matches.
        "McKenna is an experienced and excellent tennis player, an outstanding student and a high-energy personality," said Alan Green, head coach of XULA's women and men and the director of tennis. "We had several freshmen this fall make a strong impact on the court. McKenna has a great chance to do those same things when she gets to Xavier."
        Wheatley is the niece of Donald "Slick" Watts, a legendary basketball player for XULA during the early 1970s. Watts played six seasons in the NBA and was a 2012 inductee to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Watts and McKenna's mother, Felicia Wheatley, are siblings.
        Wheatley is the latest Jackson-area player to join the Gold Nuggets. Dominique Bell was the program's first NAIA All-American in 2007, and she earned that honor the following year. Current player Lailaa Bashir teamed with Angela Charles-Alfred to win ITA-NAIA national doubles championships in 2019 and 2020 and the ITA Cup Small College national doubles title in 2019. Another current player, Ridgeland-born Juliette Finch, reached the singles and doubles quarterfinals of the NAIA Gulf ITA Regional Championships in October.
        XULA's women — an NAIA national team semifinalist in six of their past eight attempts — will begin their schedule of dual matches in late January.

In the above group photo:
        •  Back row, from left — XULA Coach Alan Green, St. Andrew's Coach Emilia Viljoen, personal coaches David Mejia, Cleon McKnight and Guillermo Chaves.
        •  Front row, from left — Kenneth Wheatley (father), McKenna Wheatley, Aiden Wheatley (brother), Felicia Wheatley (mother).