Colin Dhaliwal, Baseball, Babson College

by ERICA FENYO

At two years old, senior Colin Dhaliwal first threw a baseball around the backyard with his dad. 15 years later, he committed to play Division III baseball at Babson College.

Over the summer, Dhaliwal discovered that Babson would be his top college choice; a few months later, he received word from the coaches that they were going to send him a recruiting offer. Babson officially accepted Dhaliwal in December after he applied on the early decision track.

Dhaliwal fell in love with Babson because it perfectly fulfilled his parameters for an ideal higher education experience: DIII athletics and an elite business program located on the East Coast. Since Dhaliwal is originally from Boston, attending college in Massachusetts is “kind of like going back home.”

Not only did Babson’s academics and location entice Dhaliwal, but so did the team’s atmosphere. “The coaches were awesome,” Dhaliwal said. “I’d love to

Jackson Kay, Water Polo, MIT

by KAYLIE WU

In December of 2022, senior Jackson Kay committed to play water polo at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Kay first began playing water polo at the age of nine. “I kind of shopped around a lot of sports, but water polo was the one I grew to love,” he said. At Menlo, Kay was a three-year starter on the varsity team. “I technically specialize in center defender, which I will likely play at MIT,” he said. “But Menlo’s needs were more fluid, so I played a lot of everything.”

In addition to playing water polo at school, Kay competes with the Stanford Water Polo Club as part of their 18A team. Last summer, the team placed 19th in the nation at the Junior Olympics. Kay plans to continue playing for the Stanford club team, this spring and summer in preparation for MIT.

Kay realized that college water polo was for him when he noticed many of his teammates going through the recruiting play for them, and the program was right and the location was right, so everything kind of lined up into place.”

Dhaliwal also attributes his love for baseball to the Menlo program. Although the pandemic cut his freshman season short, he feels that the varsity team has improved each year. Sports returned for Dhaliwal’s sophomore season, and he’s played on the varsity squad since.

“We had a rough sophomore year just because we were a very young team. Because of COVID, people were playing other sports and we lost some of the juniors and seniors who would have played for us. This year, the baseball team has gotten off to a great start,” Dhaliwal said. “[I’ve loved] my Menlo baseball experience. It’s been a lot of fun seeing everybody grow, but also seeing myself get better and improve.”

Several moments from his time playing at Menlo stand out to Dhaliwal. In his sophomore season, the Knights won only two out of 20 games, so he vividly remembers the team celebrating their walk-off win against King’s Academy. The next year, the team improved and made it to the Central Coast Section semifinals. Five games into his final season, Dhaliwal’s team held an impressive 4-1 record.

Next year at Babson, Dhaliwal will fight for innings, but that’s what entices him. “When I was talking to the coaches at Babson, their emphasis was that this is a place where you’re gonna have to earn everything you get,” Dhaliwal said.

“I think that’s kind of the mentality I’ve always had [...] I’m looking forward to [...] the pressure of having to go out and chase something that I’ve wanted for a long time, so I’m excited for that.”