Local high school student-athletes put pen to paper on Wednesday in the first wave of local signees to finalize their commitment to play their sport at the collegiate level.
The San Marcos Royals led the way with 12 signees, including nine at the Division-I level, while the Dos Pueblos Chargers were represented by four athletes and the Laguna Blanca Owls had one of their own.
San Marcos
Mason Crang – Fordham Baseball
Crang will be switching coasts for his college years, as he will go to school and play baseball at the Division I level for Fordham in New York.
“I feel very blessed and just honored to have this opportunity to go play collegiate baseball, especially in New York and at the Division I level,” Crang said.
He is looking forward to being in a new environment and furthering his abilities as both a pitcher and a hitter at the next level.
“I think what drew me was the culture of people there, the coaches, and also the level of education that I’m going to receive there… Being in a big city is also very exciting,” Crang said.
Samantha Fallon – LSU Beach Volleyball
Fallon will be joining one of the top Division I beach volleyball programs in the nation next fall as she will be competing for the LSU Tigers.
“I’m so excited. It’s been a long time coming with the whole recruiting process being really long,” Fallon said. “They just have an amazing program at LSU with great coaches and the team culture is so strong. I’m just super grateful to get to be a part of it, and it’s such a big school so it’s really fun.”
After playing on both the indoor and beach volleyball teams for the Royals, Fallon is excited to take what she has learned onto the biggest of stages.
“San Marcos has had such a big impact on me, all of the coaches, all of the girls, I can’t have done it without them and all their support,” Fallon said. “Just being a part of this program, all four years, has been amazing, and I love everyone who is a part of it so much.”
Bethany King – Harvard Women’s Water Polo
King will also be making her way to the East Coast to further her academic and Division I athletic career at Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
“I didn’t pull it off myself. I pulled it off with my support system,” King said. “My parents were always there for me. My coaches helped me through every step of the way… My friends were supporting me because they were going through the same process I was, and I felt like we were really able to stick together in this.
She has been an impact player in the local circuit and with the Royals, and will now look to make an impact on the other side of the country.
“I really love their team culture there. It’s really great… The academics there are obviously very well known,” King said. “I knew I wanted to go to the East Coast and experience change, and Harvard is the place to be.”
Avery Leck – Yale Track & Field
Leck made it two Royals heading into the Division I Ivy League next year, as she will be running for the Yale Track & Field team.
“When I went on my visit, I had a really great time with the team,” Leck said. “Everyone was super friendly and really just wanted to know who I was and wanted to talk to everyone. That’s how I am too, so I really appreciated that.”
She has excelled in many events for the Royals, cementing herself as one of the top heptathletes in school history, and she will likely continue to be a swiss-army knife as a Bulldog.
“I really like the aspect that I can kind of do whatever event I want. I’m not stuck in the heptathlon, so I can do hurdles too, if that ends up being my decision,” Leck said. “The culture of the school and the East Coast new perspective (drew me there).”
Cora Loomer – UCLA Beach Volleyball
Loomer signed to become a UCLA Bruin next year, where she will be going to school and competing for their highly-ranked Division I beach volleyball squad.
“I’m so excited. This is my dream school, and I’m thrilled to go there,” Loomer said. “I wanted to stay in California, and I loved the school when I went to the campus. It’s beautiful, and it’s high academics. I love the coaches and the girls on the team.”
She has been a force on the outside for the Royals’ indoor volleyball team, and has been one of the best players in the area on the beach courts during her high school career.
“It just means so much that I am able to make it to the next level with everyone who would help me along the way,” Loomer said. “I so appreciate everyone, my parents, and family, and all that helped me get here.”
Evyn Miller – San Jose State Beach Volleyball
Miller will also be playing beach volleyball for a strong Division I California program, but she will head north and become a San Jose State Spartan.
“I’m super excited to go to San Jose. I really like the area, like Silicon Valley, so it’s also good academically,” Miller said. “I really like the coach, Gary Hodge. He made it seem like the program was a great fit for me.”
She played a key role as a member of a talented San Marcos volleyball program in recent years, and she now has a chance to continue her success in San Jose.
“I literally love playing volleyball,” Miller said. “It’s where I met like most of my friends and family, so the fact that I get to go another four years and keep playing the sport I love, I’m so excited.”
Charlotte Raisin – USC Women’s Water Polo
Raisin inked her commitment to continue her career in the pool in downtown Los Angeles for the highly-ranked Division I USC Trojans.
“It’s just such a special opportunity,” Raisin said. “I’m just so grateful that I have the option to attend my dream university, and I’m just so excited and I can’t wait… USC was just the place for me, and I’m really happy.
She has been one of the top players not only in Santa Barbara but in the nation for many years, and will look to continue that trend as a member of the Trojans.
“I’m so grateful to have grown up here, where water polo is such a big sport,” Raisin said. “I think playing for Santa Barbara 805 and obviously coming to San Marcos has just really set me up for success and I’m very grateful to be in a community where water polo is such a big deal.”
Solana Sandoval – CSU Monterey Bay Softball
Sandoval will be staying by the beach for her college career, going to school and playing softball for the Division II CSU Monterey Bay Otters.
“I just feel so privileged to be able to do this and play the sport I love for four more years,” Sandoval said. “I really connected with the coaches and the team dynamic at Cal State Monterey Bay, and the area is such a great place to be… I love the weather, I love the views and I just knew it was the place for me.”
A four-year varsity player, she has been one of the top softball players in the area throughout high school and will look to grow her game in Monterey.
“The San Marcos coaches are awesome, and my teammates are so supportive of me,” Sandoval said. “I’m in the AAPLE Academy, which has really helped me with college and academics.”
Gracie Stone – Emory Women’s Volleyball
Stone is set to continue her indoor volleyball career a long way from home, as she will head to Atlanta, Georgia and become an Emory Eagle, a Division III program.
“I wanted to go to the East Coast and Emory is such a great academic school, and that’s important to me,” Stone said. “I was just really looking forward to an amazing program and amazing school, so I’m so excited for a new culture and a new perspective.”
She was a centerpiece of a standout volleyball class for the Royals, and attributed much of her success to her high school career.
“Our team is so strong and such a talented team,” Stone said of her time at San Marcos. “I feel like just my teammates pushed me to become a better person and a better teammate, so I’m really thankful for the opportunity to play with them.”
Will Stuart – Pepperdine Men’s Water Polo
Stuart will head down to Malibu for his college years, as he will further his academic career and play Division I water polo as a member of the Pepperdine Waves.
“I think hard work is everything and especially with the help of my teammates who pushed me, I can be forever grateful for that,” Stuart said. “For my coaches, I just had a really supportive group of people.”
After dominating in the pool for the Royals, he will now have a chance to grow as both a player and a person at Pepperdine.
“Pepperdine checks all the boxes as a school,” Stuart said. “Their water polo program has been very good the past few years. I love the coaching staff. I’ve gotten to know them really well. I’ve met the players. and the school is a Christian school, which is also something I’m very interested in.”
Lila Westmacott – Claremont Mudd-Scripps Women’s Volleyball
Westmacott caps off the volleyball class as she will head down south to compete for the Division III Claremont Mudd-Scripps indoor team.
“Definitely the academics, just as much as athletics,” Westmacott said of the draw to Claremont. “I was definitely looking for a school that fit both for me, and I’m super excited that it’s the perfect fit.”
She also praised the San Marcos program and her teammates for helping her get to this point in her career.
“I’m really glad I got to play on this team with this program for the last four years, it really brought me to success and it really pushed me,” Westmacott said. “I don’t think I would have been able to go to a school like Claremont without this program and this team.”
Sophie Yonker – Michigan Women’s Water Polo
Yonker rounds out a standout signing class for the Royals, as she signed to compete at the Division I level in Ann Arbor for the Michigan Wolverines water polo program.
“It was a lot of morning practices, and it was a lot of coaching, but it’s all worth it in the end,” Yonker said.
The balance of academics and strong social life was a drawing point for Yonker, who now joins a program consistently slotted into the top 25 in the nation.
“What I love about Michigan is it has a great social life and great academics,” Yonker said. It is also a really big football school, so that’s what I was looking for.”
Dos Pueblos
Anastasia Brunner – Idaho State Softball
Brunner finalized her commitment to play Division I-level softball and continue her academic career at Idaho State beginning next fall.
“It’s super exciting. I’m really happy, and I’m super thankful that I was actually able to get to this point,” Brunner said. “The coaching staff was really, really nice and welcoming, and the town’s a lot like here, it reminds me of home, so it’s just really nice to feel like I wasn’t going super far.”
She has made a profound impact with her bat and glove for the Chargers throughout her high school career, and she will look to do the same during her time as a Bengal.
“I think that they liked that I liked to hit, and I just like to have fun when I play,” Brunner said. “[Signing] means a lot. I think it’s also really nice for my parents and everybody to feel like we did it and we made it.”
Linnea Clapinski – D’Youville Women’s Lacrosse
Clapinski will be flipping coasts for her college career as she will be playing lacrosse and going to school at Division II D’Youville University in New York.
“I think for me, moving so far away, the biggest priority was the people that I’m surrounded with and the people that I’m going to play with and play for,” Clapinski said. “I spent the night with some of the girls and I fell in love with the team… I love my coach, and I’m just really excited to be around those people for the amount of time that I’m going to be around them.”
After mainly playing lacrosse for fun in the early years, she credits her time at the club level for opening her eyes to the possibility of playing in college.
“When I joined [my club team] and I learned to play with people that I just genuinely love as people and want to play with and want to be around, I think it made my experience just skyrocket and it made me really want to have that for more years, not just stop that after high school,” Clapinski said.
Ben Fuhrer – Loyola Marymount Men’s Water Polo
Fuhrer secured his spot as a member of the Division I Loyola Marymount water polo squad by signing on Wednesday.
“Academics were a big factor in the colleges that I was looking at, and [LMU] has a really, really strong health and human sciences program, which is something that I’m interested in to go into fields like kinesiology or physical therapy,” Fuhrer said.
He furthers a history of strong water polo athletes to come out of the Dos Pueblos program, and he is excited for what’s to come as a Lion.
“As I got to know the coaches, I really like the way they run the program and I really feel that’s something that I really want to be a part of,” Fuhrer said. “I have multiple teammates who are older than me who have gone there, and I’ve only heard excellent things about the program in the school itself.”
Aricin Marshall – Fresno Pacific Men’s Water Polo
Marshall joined Fuhrer as teammates moving on to the next level, as he will play up at Fresno Pacific, a Division II program.
“I got to spend the night and hang out with the guys and the community that they had and just the friendships and the way they just talked to each other, I could tell it was the culture I wanted to be a part of,” Marshall said. “I really liked the way that, as a team, it’s a smaller team, so I know that I’m going to be able to play a big role as a freshman.”
Marshall has played a crucial role in Dos Pueblos’ success in recent years, serving as the team’s main facilitator in the pool.
“I love playing for the team,” Marshall said. “It’s a team sport for a reason and being on a team and being able to support my teammates as a family, as we call ourselves, is probably my favorite part.”
Laguna Blanca
Bennett Sullivan – Pomona Men’s Swimming
Sullivan finalized his commitment to swim and double-major in math and economics at Pomona College, a Division III athletics program.
He has been a decorated swimmer during his time as an Owl, including winning the CIF-SS Div. 3 championship last year for the 200 and 400 freestyle relays.
Sullivan boasts a 4.75 GPA and has been honored at Laguna Blanca as a Top Scholar.