BATON ROUGE - This past week was the start of the early signing period for many college sports, including women’s bowling. 

Included in the group of national bowling signees of prominence was the signing by Sam Houston in Huntsville, Texas, of Albany’s Caroline Engeron.

I have a feeling Sam Houston is going to end up with a pretty good part of their roster in future seasons.

She becomes the first-ever signee from the Bayou State in program history. She joins the Bearkats as one of the most competitive youth athletes to come out of Louisiana, bringing with her a strong record of success at both the state and national levels.

"Caroline is a very talented young lady who has flown completely under the radar, and we're beyond excited she chose the Bearkats to continue her academic and athletic career," head coach Brad Hagen said in a university release. "Among her peers, she's excelled at the state level and most recently made quite the impression nationally, which is what caught our attention. Her potential is truly endless."

That national impression came in the 2025 Junior Gold Youth Championships, where she finished 56^th in the U18 division. Highlighting her performance was a perfect 300 game

Engeron turned heads this past summer at the 2025 Junior Gold Youth Championships, where she finished 56th out of more than 550 athletes, the largest youth bowling event in the nation — highlighted by a perfect 300 game.

She is a three-time Pepsi State Champion (2023-25) and the 2025 Capital City Strikeout Champion. I witnessed that performance and I could just tell the day of the finals she was going to be a very tough out because of the focus she showed entering match play.

She averaged 203 for Albany High School in both 2024 and 2025.

"At the end of the day, we need individuals on our roster who are going to push themselves as full-time student-athletes," Hagen added. "Caroline's competitiveness and desire to excel at the highest level will serve as a tremendous asset as she transitions into NCAA bowling."

According to the release from the school, Engeron plans to major in kinesiology/sports management at Sam Houston, one of the university's newest-growing degree programs. The program provides hands-on experience and professional alignment through partnerships with organizations such as the Houston Sports Commission.

SPEAKING OF ANOTHER LOCAL STAR

The last time we mentioned college bowling and former Dutchtown’s Sydney Lee, it was when she signed with Stephen F. Austin. Unfortunately, late in the school year, SFA decided to drop some programs, including bowling.

It was really rotten timing for her, especially when you are making plans for her freshman year. But one of the other schools she was considering, Central Missouri, came to the rescue and had a chance to get her signed to their school and now she is back participating in bowling for the Jennies.

So, good news in many respects on that front.

WE’VE GOT ANOTHER WOMEN’S 800 SERIES

Finally, I believe we have a third 800 series ever shot by a Baton Rouge female recently by Keondra Eaton in the S.T. Rollers league at All Star. Eaton had 800 on the nose with games of 224, 298 and 278.

Congrats and that’s a nice highlight to end this week’s column.

Until next Monday, good luck and good bowling, 

                         Kent Lowe