Four Caverna Colonels sign to play men’s basketball in college

HORSE CAVE, Ky. – Caverna boys basketball wrapped a historic 2025-26 season in March and now four star players from that squad get to take their talents on the court to the collegiate level.

Jaylin Craine, Cortavion Maxey, Jaycion Graves and Izaya Bradley celebrated their signing day together Friday afternoon for a moment they have worked incredibly hard to get to their entire basketball careers.

“It means a lot because nobody believed in me, so I just kept believing in myself and kept pushing myself, ” Bradley said. “The coaches kept pushing me, so I just took my opportunity and got to sign with Union Commonwealth.”

Graves, a Columbia State men’s basketball commit, echoed his teammates sentiment.

“It’s just like a lifelong dream I’ve had,” Graves said. “I finally get the chance to go play college ball, so it means a lot to me.”

The Colonels are coming off their most winningest season in over two decades with a 24-8 record and their first 18th district title in 10 years.

Leading the squad was Craine, the 2026 5th region player of the year. He totaled over 2,000 career points during his time as a Colonel, and after his impressive senior year, Craine was named the 5th region nominee for Mr. Kentucky Basketball.

Craine will be heading to Alcorn State in the fall and shared what drew him to play with the Braves.

“The coaching staff,” Craine said. “Early on during the season they reached out, and I’ve been talking to them throughout the season, and they made me feel like family. Going from a small town to a small town, I don’t want to be in a big environment yet and want to stay close.”

Staying even closer is Maxey, who is heading to Midway University after averaging over 10 points for the Colonels this season.

Overall, four signees from this year’s basketball squad provides this program a whole lot to be proud of, especially for the one who coached this group.

“If I could choose between winning a regional title or having most of our kids sign to play college basketball and football, then I would probably choose that,” head coach of the Colonels (2025-2026) Josh Pittman said. “If you won a region title, it changed your life for a few weeks, a few months maybe, but if you sign a college scholarship to help you get a degree, that degree is going to change your life. So, I was pretty impressed. They did all the work and deserve all the credit.”