Panthers to watch: Five Plano East student-athletes on the radar in 2022-23

Today, let’s look at five of the top returning athletes from Plano East who will impact their teams in various ways next season.  

Idara Udo

Girls Basketball

As accomplished as the Lady Panthers' 2022 senior class was in helping elevate the program, Udo has been pretty important in her own right.

Having started games since she was a freshman, Udo was voted as the District 6-6A and Star Local Media all-area defensive player of the year as a sophomore and picked up all-district first-team honors as a junior. Last season, she averaged 11.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.5 blocks per game for an East team that split the district championship and advanced to the regional quarterfinals.

Generating Division I college interest, Udo will reprise her role as the anchor of the Lady Panthers' frontcourt next season as a senior, but with a bit more attention from opposing defenses following the graduation of East's veteran backcourt.

Rushil Patel

Football

It has been an offseason of change for the Panthers, who are entering their first season under new head coach Tony Benedetto. East has two viable candidates competing at quarterback in Drew DeVillier and Elijah Prince, and a sizable void to fill at running back following the graduation of Ismail Mahdi, but the receiving corps is in good hands with Patel for another varsity campaign.

A starter out wide since his sophomore season, the 6-foot-1 pass-catcher's rangy frame has served him well each of the past two seasons. As a junior, Patel caught 33 passes for 422 yards and two touchdowns and should have plenty of chances to build off that production as a senior.

Marli Kennedy

Softball

After rostering 10 underclassmen last season and graduating just three seniors, East has its sights set on a bounce-back year next spring. The Lady Panthers hope that continuity pays dividends, and they'll have players like Kennedy back to help lead that charge.

As a sophomore, Kennedy picked up where her older sister Aahmyri, now playing for Temple College, left off by submitting an all-district first-team season for East. Hitting atop the batting order, Kennedy supplied a .378 batting average during district play, as well as 13 runs, two triples, one home run and seven stolen bases.

Kennedy scored at least one run in 10 straight district ballgames for East and helped spark the team to one of its biggest wins of the season with an inside-the-park home run on March 18 in a 5-2 victory over Flower Mound.

Isaiah Brewington

Basketball and Baseball

Brewington has been playing at the varsity level for East since his freshman year back in 2020.

Entering his third season with the Panthers' basketball team, Brewington has made strides each year and landed on the all-district second team last season as a sophomore. He averaged 6.6 points, 1.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game and projects to be one of the top options in East backcourt this coming season.

Brewington doubles as a starter on East's baseball team. He'll be in his third varsity campaign on the diamond next spring after plying his craft in right field and batting ninth in the Panthers' lineup as a sophomore.

Aidan Miller

Football and Wrestling

Miller is another multi-sport standout for the Panthers. During the fall, he'll help anchor the defensive line as one of the top returners for East's football team. As a sophomore, Miller impressed up front to the tune of an all-district second-team selection.

Once his season on the gridiron concludes, it's off to the wrestling mats as Miller looks to build off a successful 2022 campaign that included a fourth-place finish at the Region II-6A meet and a subsequent trip to the Class 6A state tournament. Miller competed in the 285-pound bracket at state, going 1-2 in his first-ever appearance.