Keyshawn Strachan officially commits to Auburn

It was an emotional afternoon for Bahamian national record holder in the javelin throw, Keyshawn Strachan, when he signed with the Auburn University Tigers. The ceremony was done in front of family and friends yesterday afternoon at Empire Fitness at Seagrapes Plaza.

The Lowe Sound, North Andros native joins a school that has had successful Bahamian athletes. They include triple jump record holder, Leevan Sands, Shamar Sands, Donald Thomas, Timicka Clarke, Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace, Sheniqua Ferguson and Teray Smith.

The Tigers, located in Alabama, compete in the tough National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Southeastern Conference (SEC).

The towering teenager first broke the Bahamas national record in the javelin throw at the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations National Junior and Senior Track and Field Championship in June, when he threw the javelin for 71.62 meters (234’ 11”). He then went on to broke his own national records at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) Under-18 (U18), Under-20 (U20) and Under-23 (U23) Championships in San Jose, Costa Rica in July. He heaved the javelin for 72.13 meters (m) (236’ 8”).

The Grade 12 St. John’s College student-athlete chose Auburn not only for its athletics opportunities but because it has his major – Aviation.

Currently, he competes for Blue Chip Athletics Athletics at the club level for coach Corrington Maycock.

Strachan, while holding back tears, said he was grateful and humble to get to this point.

“It’s been a long journey for me moving into Nassau from my island. It wasn’t easy. Many people from the island don’t have this opportunity. I’m grateful for it being here. I want to thank my coach, my immediate family or friends, teammates and supporters. I thank you all for being there for me from being white. I appreciate that,” Strachan said.

He thanked the Tigers’ coach Pat Ebel for giving him the opportunity.

While competing for the Tigers, Strachan said he will look to have as many accolades as possible.

Sitting beside him was his mother, Dukisha Moss. She said that he was the first one in the family to attend this level of university.

“I just want to express how proud I am of Keyshawn,” Moss said. “He’s the first one in the family to be able to attend a university on that level. I’m just thankful that God’s grace and mercy has brought him this far as he said. There were many challenges along this journey, and thankfully we just, we all, overcame them together and I’m thankful for coach Maycock, his mentor for pushing him and encouraging him along the way. He made sure he did not fail and I’m just very grateful for that.”

She also thanked her parents and sister.

Strachan said Maycock has been a mentor to him and kept him focused.

“He had a very big impact on me. He made sure I stayed focused. He made sure I worked hard and compete at my best at all times. We have our hard and rough times, but in the end he makes sure I stay on the right path.”

Strachan told his teammates at Blue Chip Athletics they have to keep working hard as all of them have the same opportunity as he does.

Maycock sees Auburn’s freshman record being broken already and their school record also. He spoke about how he got to take interest in Strachan’s athletic abilities.

“He came to a meet from Andros and he threw the javelin. You could have seen that he has the capabilities of being something very good. I had to beg his grandmother to get him here … He started to get better over time. Eventually you saw potential in him. It was just a matter of keeping him focused and pulling everything out of him,” Maycock said.

He already planned Strachan’s upcoming season from now. He will only be doing 30 throws next year which boils down to five meets. The big meet for him will be the World Athletics Under-20 meet and then he will start preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

He is still eligible to participate in the 2022 CARIFTA Games – his last one. That meet is set for Jamaica next year.

BAAA president, Drumeco Archer, was on hand at the signing and said how proud the federation is of young athletes.

“He is extraordinary in the sense that, I don’t think that anyone in this country has seen the likes of a Keyshawn Strachan. I believe that the future is bright for Keyshawn. This is a particularly special time for the federation when we consider that our mandate is not only just to raise incredible athletes. Our mandate is to produce wonderful Bahamians who are productive and make contributions back to society,” Archer said.

Strachan is the second Andros student-athlete native to commit as a student athlete at a strong NCAA DI program. Basketball player Fredrick King who hails from Mangrove Cay, committed to the University of Louisville Cardinals.

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