Ishee adds two post players

~ Southeast received letters of intent from three women's players.

With premier inside player Missy Whitney being a senior, Southeast Missouri State women's basketball coach John Ishee knows he needs to replenish the Redhawks' post position for next year and beyond.

Ishee believes he took a major step in that direction Wednesday after receiving three national letters of intent as the week-long early signing period began.

Southeast signed a junior college center and a high school center, along with a high school point guard.

"I feel very good about all three players we signed," said Ishee, who filled all of his current available scholarships for next season. "With Missy graduating, we needed some post players."

One of those post players, 6 foot 1 Travonna Cannon, averaged 10 points and 11 rebounds per game as a freshman last season at State Fair Community College in Sedalia, Mo.

Cannon, who is coached by Cape Girardeau native Darren Pannier, shot 51 percent from the field on her way to earning second-team all-region honors.

"She has a knack for scoring around the basket, and she has a great work ethic," Ishee said. "We think she'll have an immediate impact for us."

The other inside player Southeast signed was 6-2 Amber Holmes, a senior at Cornerstone Christian Academy in San Antonio.

Holmes, whose father Daryl played football at Nebraska in the 1970s with Southeast football coach Tony Samuel -- they were college roommates -- averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds as a junior.

"She has a good frame for the Division I game and good hands," Ishee said. "She has very good athletic bloodlines and we really think her best basketball is ahead of her."

Southeast's third signee is 5-7 Bianca Beck, a senior point guard at Incarnate Word Academy in St. Louis.

Beck played on the 2005-06 Class 5 state championship team as a sophomore and was named a Street & Smith's honorable mention All-American following that season.

Beck averaged five points and six assists during a junior campaign that was cut short by a serious knee injury.

"She plays for one of the top two or three programs in the state of Missouri year in and year out," Ishee said. "She's a hard-nosed competitor, a winner.

"We think she's the best point guard in the state of Missouri."

Men expect letters

The Southeast men's basketball program expects to receive letters of intent from its two verbal commitments today.

Touted combo guard Martino Brock from Nashville (Tenn.) Christian Advancement Academy and forward Mark Caviness from Indian River (Fla.) Community College previously committed to the Redhawks.

Baseball signs player

The Southeast baseball program announced the signing of Goreville (Ill.) High School senior shortstop Kenton Parmley.

Parmley, honorable mention all-state as a junior, has a .415 career batting average with 17 home runs and 54 stolen bases.

Parmley, who is coached by former Southeast baseball player Shawn Tripp, has helped lead Goreville to three regional titles.

"One of our major goals this fall was to sign a high school shortstop for the future. After seeing a lot of players, he was the best fit for our program, and we are extremely excited that he chose Southeast Missouri State over many other schools," Southeast coach Mark Hogan said in a release. "He is a great young man as well as baseball player, and we fully expect him to have a great career in a Redhawks uniform."

Hogan said Southeast expects to sign more players this week or early next week.