Seven FEIA basketball players sign NCAA contracts

There’s no room for slackers at Fort Erie International Academy’s (FEIA) basketball program.

“The days they’ve spent grinding here in Fort Erie, all those 5 a.m. runs, all those hours spent mopping the gym floors, that’s what has made them ready to take this next step,” said coach Charles Hantoumakos as he watched seven of his players sign contracts to play Division I ball for NCAA schools Sunday afternoon; contracts that include full scholarships.

“That’s always the goal here: to use basketball to get them the education which is going to set them up for the best possible future,” said Hantoumakos.

In just four years, FEIA has turned an old abandoned building–the former Fort Erie Secondary School–into the home of elite high school basketball, with both a boys and girls team who regularly compete at the national level.

Hantoumakos said the players come to be like a family, and they are treated as such, through thick and thin. For a player like Bashir N’Galang, who found himself in a spot of trouble back home during the off-season last year, that made all the difference.

“If I were at a different school, I know for sure they wouldn’t have stuck with me through that bad time,” said N’Galang, who signed with the University of Maine. “But here at Fort Erie, they never gave up on me, and I’m so grateful for that, and grateful for this opportunity.”

With women’s basketball in the midst of an explosion in popularity, bolstered by recent NCAA stars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, schools across the United States are scrambling to beef up the rosters on their women’s teams.

That led to five FEIA girls–Cearah Parchment, Keyarah Gregory, Maya Foz, Nyadieng Yiech, and Mildred Dibua–getting contracts alongside the two boys.

“I’ve watched them grow so much, and I’m very proud of them,” said Lisa Dunn, assistant coach of FEIA’s girls squad. “And now I just can’t wait to see the places they’ll go.”

Seven contracts for NCAA squads make this a banner year for FEIA, which already boasts an impressive track record for producing basketball stars, including recent grad Leonard Miller, who was drafted to the NBA in 2023 by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Hantoumakos said by the end of this season, he expects six more of his players to have signed on to play Division I ball with NCAA teams.

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