An eye on Ahwatukee's local pros

Keeping an eye on what Ahwatukee's former stars are doing at the professional level.

Joe Mather, OF, Cardinals

Since being called back up by the St. Louis Cardinals at the beginning of July, former Mountain Pointe star Joe Mather -- the first Ahwatukee product to make it to the major leagues -- is hitting .254 with four home runs, nine RBIs and an on-base percentage of .283.

• Since July 28th, Mather is hitting .290 with three home runs and seven RBIs.
• Check out his online player card at http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=458628 to see highlights.
• "It was a matter of getting comfortable, settling on an approach," Mather told STLtoday.com earlier this week. "I think you always wonder if (the power, the production) is there, until you see it."

Nicole Powell, F, Sacramento Monarchs

In her fourth year in the WNBA, Mountain Pointe graduate Nicole Powell is averaging 13.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.

• With the Summer Olympics kicking off later this week, the WNBA has been on a break since July 27 and will resume in late August.
• In her last three games before the break, Powell was averaging 12.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists.
• Check out Nicole's online player card at http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/nicole_powell/index.html for video, stats and more.
• Sacramento currently sits at 15-12 on the season.

Reid Priddy, OH, USA Volleyball

Reid Priddy, a member of Mountain Pointe's 1995 boys volleyball state championship team and a 1996 graduate, is on the 2008 U.S. men's Olympic volleyball team that begins competition later this week in Beijing.

• Priddy was a member of Lokomotiv Novosibirsk of the Russian Super League this past season. The team finished tied for third in the league during the regular season, and fourth overall.
• He is keeping a blog of his experiences during the Olympics on his Web site, ReidPriddy.com.
• Priddy on his experiences at Mountain Pointe, per his profile at USAVolleyball.org: "Men's volleyball was such a new sport in our area that there was no example to follow. At the time we would shop at the thrift store for our clothes, trying to find the craziest outfit we could. We were very active, playing beach volleyball, wake-boarding, going to the lake and jumping off rocks and stuff like that"