ROCKINGHAM — One of the largest college signing ceremonies in recent years took place in Richmond Senior High School’s gymnasium Thursday afternoon.
As the end of the 2025-26 school year quickly approaches, a total of eight senior student-athletes finalized their college plans.
Of the eight seniors, four signed for football – Jason Gainey, Tyler McKenzie, Domonic Tillman and Jake Veach.
Four other sports were also represented – DJ Gainey (boys’ soccer), Jasiah Gilchrist (girls’ basketball), Evan Hodges (baseball) and Keonta Pegues (track and field).
Adding to two previous signing days held earlier this school year, Richmond’s athletic department had a total of 13 student-athletes sign with colleges across the state.
In December, Terande Spencer (football) signed with East Carolina University and Caden Nolan (baseball) inked his future with Belmont Abbey College. February’s signing featured Jentry Denson (soccer, Pfeiffer University), and Amer Morrison and Daylyn Robinson (both football, UNC Pembroke).
This year’s signing class was Richmond’s largest signing class since the 2018-2019 school year, which had 21 student-athletes commit to play college athletics.
Present to congratulate and celebrate the eight soon-to-be high school graduates were family members, coaches, school administration and lots of classmates and friends.
Prior to the recognition of each student-athlete Thursday, athletic director James Johnson addressed the packed gym. He highlighted the group’s success and commended the Class of 2026 for having so many student-athletes continue their careers.
“I’ve been very impressed by the way our signing days have grown,” Johnson said. “That’s a testament to the coaches and to the student-athletes.”
Four Raiders sign for football
Introduced by head coach Brad Denson, Jason Gainey, McKenzie, Tillman and Veach, all of whom have been teammates the last four years, are each headed to a different destination to play college football.
Earning a starting role as an edge rusher during his senior season, Jason Gainey will head to Bridgewater College (D-III). He’ll join the Eagles program, which competes in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
During his senior campaign, Jason Gainey was named All-Conference, had 40 tackles, including 5.0 tackles-for-loss and one QB sack.
“Firstly, I want to thank God for being in my highs and lows in my life,” Gainey said. “And I especially want to thank my Mama for coming out here. And thank you to my teammates and my coaches for always being there and pushing me to be better.”
Tillman, who switched to defensive back his senior season after splitting time at QB the two seasons prior, is going the Division II route and will play at Wingate University. He’ll become teammates with former Raiders Joe Parsons and Billy West.
At safety for the Raiders, Tillman was All-Conference as a senior. He had 52 total tackles and blocked a punt against West Forsyth High School that led to the game-winning fumble recovery touchdown.
“I just want to thank the man above, without him none of this would be possible,” Tillman said. “Thank every single one of y’all for coming out here today. And I want to thank my family for being there every step of the way.”
McKenzie, a three-year anchor on the varsity offensive line for the Raiders, is also going to Division II and will play at Barton College. The Bulldogs compete in the Conference Carolinas.
When speaking of McKenzie, Denson said the offensive line doesn’t rack up any tangible stats, but that McKenzie had played every position on the OL at some point in his career. As a senior, McKenzie was the center and was named All-Conference.
“First of all, I want to thank God because without him, none of this would be possible,” McKenzie shared. “I want to thank my family and my coaches because without them, I wouldn’t be the person and player I am today.”
Also staying within North Carolina, Veach celebrated his signing to Mars Hill University, a Division II program in the South Atlantic Conference. While he was teammates with Tillman, Veach will now face him as an opponent in the same conference.
A specialist for the Raiders, Veach was responsible for kickoffs, point after attempts and field goals during his senior season. He also was the team’s long snapper. Veach made 52-of-57 PATs (91.2%) and was named an honorable mention in the All-Conference voting.
“I’d like to thank the man above because without Him blessing me with all these capabilities to do what I can do, I wouldn’t be doing what I am,” Veach said. “I’d like to thank my Mom, my Dad and all my grandparents.”
Gainey to play soccer at Montreat College
Becoming the first Raider soccer player to sign with a college since Jullian Cline and Jeremiah McLean in 2023, DJ Gainey will head west to the mountains and play at Montreat College. He was introduced by head coach Chris Larsen.
Part of the NAIA, Gainey will join the Cavaliers program after scoring three goals for the Raiders during his senior season. Larsen said Gainey was one of the hardest working players to come through the program the last several years.
“I want to thank God for allowing me to be part of his plan,” Gainey said. “I want to thank my family for always getting me to practice and for supporting me through this whole process. I also want to thank my teammates for pushing me to be the best I possibly can.
Gilchrist signed to Fayetteville Tech basketball
A three-year varsity player for the Lady Raider basketball program, Gilchrist will continue her playing career at Fayetteville Technical Community College. She is the second Lady Raider in as many seasons to join the college ranks, following former standout Jamyia Lindsey (NC A&T State University).
Welcomed by head coach Taneika Reader, Gilchrist hopes to develop her game at the junior college level and transfer to a Division I program in two years. She was an All-Conference player her senior year for Richmond, led the team with 18.6 points per game and reached 1K career points.
“I want to say thank you to the Lord because without him I wouldn’t be doing any of this,” Gilchrist shared. “I want to say a big thank you to my Mommy because she’s made a lot of sacrifices for me. And thank you to my second basketball mom Coach (Shannon) Jackson for driving me back and forth to practice.”
Hodges pursuing lifelong dream at Lenoir Community College
A cornerstone of the Raider baseball program for the last four years, Hodges weighed several college offers for baseball and football carefully before deciding to sign to play baseball at Lenoir Community College.
He joined Nolan as the second Raider baseball player in this year’s graduating class to continue playing. Head coach Eric Brown, who introduced Hodges, gave a quick shoutout to the baseball talent coming from Hamlet.
Fresh off a playoff run that got the Raiders to the third round for the first time since 2016, Hodges plans to further develop his craft at the JUCO level and pursue Division I later in his career.
This season, Hodges batted .333 and led the team with seven doubles and 26 runs batted in. On the mound, he pitched 37.1 innings and had 60 strikeouts and a 2.81 earned run average.
“I’d like to thank the man up above for giving me the opportunity to keep playing the game that I love,” Hodges commented. “I’d like to thank my parents because without them none of this would be possible, especially my Dad. I want to thank my coaches and my teammates for pushing me. Go Lancers!”
Pegues to launch career at UNC Pembroke
Representing the final of the five sports, Pegues is staying local and joining the track and field program at UNC Pembroke. A year-round student-athlete, Pegues has excelled at indoor and outdoor track the last four years for Richmond.
A state qualifier in several events for this year’s 7A state championship meet, Pegues is a dual threat in the track and in the field. He won the 7A Central regional championship in the long jump last week (22 feet, 1 inch) and was the regional runner-up in the 100-meter dash (10.72 seconds).
Also a team player, Pegues has been a crucial part to Richmond’s 4x100 and 4x200-meter relay teams. He helped both squads with the 7A Central crown last week.
“I’d like to thank God, my family, my mom, my dad,” Pegues said. “Thanks to my coaches, I couldn’t do this without them. I want to thank my teammates and give a shoutout to the counselors because I’m with them all the time and they push me to be better.”
Sports editors note: Photos attached to this article were taken by sophomore Asia Covington of Richmond's annual produciton staff.
