GPC alumnus Shane Henry (Photo courtesy of Virginia Tech Athletics)

Jaguar basketball star alumnus Shane Henry should get some TV time this year. Look for him in jersey No. 0 on the Virginia Tech team. Henry, a 6-foot-8 forward, signed a scholarship offer to play for the Hokies after graduating in May from Georgia Perimeter College, where he had a distinguished career. The coaches of the competitive Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association named Henry the 2013-14 Defensive Player of the Year and placed him on the All-GCAA first team. In his freshman year, he was named to the all-conference freshman team. … Baseball alumnus Alan Busenitz turned in a splendid season in the Class A Midwest League, pitching in relief for the Burlington (Iowa) Bees. The right-hander from Watkinsville posted a 4-5 record but had a brilliant 194 earned run average, striking out 62 and walking only 21 batters in 69 2/3 innings. His two-year minor league ERA is an exceptional .208. Busenitz pitched two seasons (2009-10) for GPC and two for Kennesaw State University before being drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in June 2013. … Another baseball alumnus, Sam Bragg, also played in the Midwest League and enjoyed an excellent season with the Beloit (Wisconsin) Snappers. A right-handed relief pitcher from Marietta, Bragg won four games and lost none, boosting his two-season minor league total to 5-2 with an excellent .270 earned run average and 105 strikeouts in 104 1/3 innings pitched. Opponents are batting .220 against the former Jaguar star, who was drafted in June 2013 by the Oakland Athletics. … Oakland also drafted Dawson Brown this past June, and the 6-foot-6 right-hander saw action in the Arizona Rookie League, pitching 19 2/3 innings and registering a 2.75 ERA and a 1-0 record. A native of McDonough, Brown pitched for GPC in 2013. … The GPC men’s basketball team enters the 2014-15 season with four solid returning sophomores to lead the Jaguars. Guard Quintavias Virgil provides a major 3-point shooting threat, and guard Casey Wells can score from the floor as well. Ronnie Mays is a seasoned hard-driving point guard, while 6-foot-2 guard/forward Jarius Smith plays around the basket like a 6-7 man. The Jaguars dominated the conference during much of the last decade but have suffered lean years recently, even missing the playoffs last March for the first time in Alfred Barney’s 18 years as head coach. Naturally, a team goal is to return as a force in the GCAA and postseason play. … Three All-GCAA baseball players return for the Jaguars’ 2015 campaign, and a new head coach will take the helm. Leftfielder LaDonis Bryant and centerfielder London Lindley were first team all-conference selections last spring, and they also made the league’s Gold Glove Team. Additionally, Bryant was named to the All-East-Central District team, which honors the top two-year college players from Georgia and Tennessee. The swift duo led the conference in stolen bases, Lindley with 44 and Bryant, 40. Catcher Pierce Ressmeyer, who sat out last season with an injury, returns for his sophomore season. In 2013 Ressmeyer carried a .343 batting average and drove in 40 runs, earning a berth on the All-GCAA first team. Several veteran pitchers return for the Jaguars, including Dylan Williams, who last season notched a 6-1 record with a .228 ERA, striking out 65 in 61 1/3 innings. The new head coach for the Jaguars is former assistant Jeremy Brotherton, who starred at Kennesaw State and played a year of professional baseball. Brotherton served two years as assistant coach under former head coach Brett Campbell, who this summer joined the Texas Rangers organization as a scout. Brotherton’s coaching staff includes new assistant Chris Hawkins, while Brock Bennett enters his third year as assistant coach with the Jaguars. … The Jaguar softball season will open in February with a very young squad. Only two sophomores return from last season, catcher Morgan Howard and pitcher Chelsea Murphy, while 14 freshmen fill out the roster. Last year it was just the opposite—Howard and Murphy were the only freshmen on the team. Murphy and freshmen Kindra Pfister and Taylor Garrett will try to fill the shoes of All-GCAA pitchers Lydsey Parden and Jenna Carr. Head coach Ken Deyton says the season depends on how successfully the freshmen adjust to college softball. His new assistant coaches are Kathleen Vogler, Freddie Glass and former Jaguar star shortstop Kacie Patterson. … Follow Jaguar sports.