March 2025 Spread

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THE BEACON • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2025

Zander Leckszas Dickinson College

Zinnia Deora Tufts University

RECRUI

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Wilson Holman Temple University

Basebal l makes his t ory wi record number of commi t me Sydney Mabry PSU Brandywine

Sophie Folds Bard College

Simon Corbin Macalester College

Rowan McCrary Emerson College

Justin Glenn Noa Gordon Sports Editors

Th e b a s e b a l l p r o g ra m surpassed a milestone this offseason with ten players, one junior and nine seniors, committed to play baseball at the collegiate level.

“Our program has always been able to get guys into college. I played in the program myself and I was able to play college baseball,” said varsity baseball head coach Robinson Mateo, a Wilson 2012 alum. “Having a deep 2025 class has challenged me to get as many of those seniors into college. Not just for academics, but also for being able to continue to play the game that they love.”

With 13 seniors on the team this year, Mateo called his 2025 class “special” for their relationships formed. “These guys have been playing together since their freshman year and they are more than just teammates, they are family.”

The complete list of 2025 commits are as follows: Gabriel

Owen Stone Emory University

Norah Caplan Carelton College

Noah Person Wheeling University

Georgetown University.

Junior Nelson Hayes joined the list of JR players committed t o G e o r g e t o w n ’s b a s e b a l l program. Hayes is the first Tiger to commit to a Division I program since Kai Leckszas three years ago.

“I give a lot of credit to my coaches over the years, who were crucial in getting me in front of Georgetown as much as I have and supporting me throughout the process,” said Hayes.

“These two seasons have been some of the most fun I’ve had in my life.”

Since joining the varsity program, Mateo said Hayes has come a long way. “We knew he had the potential to play Division I baseball, it was just a matter of time with his development,” said Mateo. “He was young, so we knew that when he matured a little bit more, he was going to be a huge piece to our success.”

The program wanted to get college decisions largely out of the way before the season started, in order to prevent distractions for

Recrui t ed a t hle t es share t heir exp Edith Corrigan Conaty Maya Roskes Managing Editor Spread Editor

Quinn McInerney Skidmore College

Betancourt to Montgomery College, Simon Corbin to Macalester College, Ethan Fox-Fernandez to Vassar College, Freeman Hunt and Zander Leckszas to Dickinson College, Jackson Loomis to Denison University, Owen Stone to Emory University, and Etan and Evan Rosario to Shepherd University.

“It says a lot about the dedication of the JacksonReed players and coaches.

The players do not let any challenges, whether on or off the field, hold them back,” said Leckszas.

“Every year I’ve played it has been a different experience, but the main constants have be en great coaches and a brotherhood within the team,” added Loomis.

Leckszas is the second player in his family to go through the JR baseball program and get recruited to a college.

His older brother, Kai, graduated from Jackson-Reed in 2022 and currently plays at

This year, over 30 upperclassmen were recruited to play their sport in college. “Recruitment” describes the lengthy process of visits, scouting, evaluations, and the narrowing down of offers. For many athletes in the graduating class, this was their reality during junior and senior year.

“I’m really excited. I know it’s going to be a lot more rigorous, but I can’t really imagine myself not playing a sport,” said senior Sydney Mabry, who will play tennis at Penn State Brandywine next year. Senior Miranda Miller, who will be rowing for the Williams crew team, also noted that she’s “excited to be able to go into college with an already formed, built in group.” While many are eager to further their athletic career, the journey to get there contains immense effort, hard decisions, and

Nelson Hayes Georgetown

a consistently high performance.

When entering the recruitment process, athletes should compile a “balanced list of schools that are attainable and some schools that are more hard to reach,” said Miller. Additionally, athletes note that students should evaluate their priorities before reaching out to and ultimately selecting their school.”

Wilson Holman, who will be playing D1 soccer at Temple next year, included that along with playing soccer his whole life and wanting to continue playing, getting recruited “saved my parents a lot of money.”

Basketball player JJ Massaquoi had various priorities, and received multiple offers from schools such as Howard and American University.

He decided to commit to Umass Lowell as he “[didn’t] want to let go of the opportunity of having the school pay for it, [it’s] D1, [has a] great arena, great coaching staff, and since they’re losing a bunch of seniors, the opportunity [for playing

Miranda Miller Williams College

time] was there as a freshman.”

Miller noted that in her selection of schools, she wanted “somewhere where I could prioritize academics and where athletics would only be a supplement to my education, not a detraction.” In fact, in compiling her list of colleges to look at, she found the overlap in places she knew she would want to attend anyways, even without crew.

“Ideally, the school you ultimately commit to should be one that you would be happy to go to even without sports.” Miller highlighted that a common misconception about the recruitment process is “the assumption that everyone who goes D3 only did it because they couldn’t go D1.”

Holman stresses that the biggest misconception is that “the school’s do not come to you; you have to consistently reach out and always make sure that you’re being seen.” He adds that it’s difficult to stand out, as “you’re going against everyone else in the country.”

Maxwell Fotter Wheaton College

Mabry, realizing that scouts wouldn’t often come to her matches due to tennis being not as popular as other sports in DC, had to especially ensure that she stood out. She recommends that “knowing how to word your emails and being a team player in general will make you stick out to coaches.”

When faced with these various challenges, Massaqoi advises to “stay true to yourself, you’re running your own race.” Massaqoi experienced moments of doubt a n d w o n d e re d what he was doing wrong and why he wasn’t getting higher offers,

Mason Wetzel US Naval Academy

Lily Carr Stanford University

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2025 • THE BEACON

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players and so they wouldn’t have to worry.

“I know how that waiting game feels. It’s very uncomfortable, especially when you don’t know where you’re going,” said Mateo, noting the weight of uncertainty weighing throughout the offseason.

As defending city and state champions, a distraction free season is important, as the program has constructed a schedule filled with nationally recognized competition. The Tigers will play twelve private schools total and six schools in a row to begin the season. The team feels that the work put in over the summer, fall, and winter workouts has led to earned confidence.

“I have a lot of confidence going into the spring, and I think all the other guys do as well. We are better than we have been in a long time,” said Leckszas. “Now that we have won a [state title] before, we know what it takes to do it again. We will make sure to do anything possible to make that happen.” • PHOTOS BY ELI SCHWARTZ

perience but said it “just motivates you to play harder. I just had to keep proving my worth, and that’s what I decided to do.”

At the end of the recruitment journey, the athletes are all looking forward to playing at a competitive level and having a tight-knit community when entering college.

After a tumultuous process of highs and lows, one message remains clear for athletes looking to be recruited: “just be optimistic and don’t shut down any school.

Don’t put your eggs in one basket,” concluded Wilson. •

Adler Amolsch Duke University

Celia Joldersma College of Wooster

Q&A WITH AD ARRINGTON Norah Caplan Director of New Staff

Few people know the ins and outs of recruiting like Athletic Director Patrice Arrington.

Once a star-studded recruit equipped with an athletic scholarship to the University of Oklahoma, Arrington went on to play professional volleyball in seven different countries as well as earning a roster spot on the US volleyball national team. She then coached collegiately at Fordham University before beginning her tenure as an athletic director first for Flint Hill High School, and now for Jackson-Reed. She has worked with dozens of studentathletes to help them navigate the recruiting process and achieve their goals. In terms of recruiting advice, there seems to be no one more qualified. If you’re looking for a little extra help with your own recruitment or are interested in what it takes to play a sport collegiately, here are a few questions Arrington has answered describing the ins and outs of recruiting.

Q: What is the first piece of advice you would give someone just beginning their recruiting journey?

A: I would definitely tell them to make a list of schools that they want to play at and a list of schools they want to go to—and they should be the same. I also always, always say that it is your own process. I think a lot of kids get caught up in their teammates committing and their friends signing, but everyone has their own process. If you don’t take it as an individual, it’s going to drive you crazy. It can get mental and very hard, but you should be enjoying the process. Someone wants you to come to their school—they think enough of your athletic ability that they want you to join their team and join their community—and that is very exciting.

Q: What is the biggest mistake you see athletes make throughout the recruiting process?

A: Going somewhere because [an athlete] thinks they aren’t going to get any [other offers] since they are surrounded by friends/teammates that are committing. Then they get to the school and it’s not really where they want to be, so they end up transferring. I’ve seen that a lot.

Eden Grim Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Ethan Fox-Fernandez Vassar College

Etan Rosario Shepherd University

Evan Rosario Shepherd University

Q: What is your advice to those trying to determine if they want to continue their sport collegiately?

A: I would say high school is [a] huge learning process of deciding “do I really want to play my sport beyond this?” How was your experience: did you love it, did you love the practices, did you love the hard work, did you love the commitment? All of that gets taken [into account] because college is an even bigger commitment. It’s 6 AM workouts, your classes have to be right after that because then you have weight room, team meetings, and then you have practice followed by study hall. It’s a huge, huge commitment so if you don’t love it, or if you’re not passionate about it in high school, you’re not going to all of a sudden be passionate about it in college.

Freeman Hunt Dickinson College

Q: Why would you recommend playing a sport in college?

A: Sports in general just brings people together. I think you just learn so much being a part of a team [as] it brings time management, builds character, and teaches you leadership skills.

You feel a part of a family [and] when you are going somewhere new you have an instant group of friends. For me, as an athlete, I feel like my team is my family and I will fight to the nails for them. Playing a sport just makes [for] an overall better experience.

Indie Wallace-Persaud Syracuse University

If you have the passion and drive to continue your sport collegiately, the recruiting process should be thrilling, not daunting. As Arrington reminds us that “it should be exciting [that] programs want you to play at their school, not stressful.” So, if you are interested in pursuing an athletic career in college—go for it! And if you ever need advice, feel free to stop by room A300. • GRAPHIC BY SAMUEL LEE

Lia Pollock Michigan State

Dani Wallace Elon University

Kate Booth UW-Madison

Josey Kanach Pratt University

JJ Massaquoi UMass Lowell

Jack Corrigan Conaty Kenyon College

Jackson Loomis Denison University

Gabriel Betancourt Montgomery College