Local high schools celebrated their student-athletes signing national letters of intent to play their respective sports at the college level on Wednesday.
In total, 16 student-athletes signed to play at the next level from Santa Barbara High, San Marcos, Dos Pueblos and Bishop Diego.
Along with the high school student-athletes, Santa Barbara City College’s Olivia Medina signed to play beach volleyball at Concordia University.
Santa Barbara High
The Dons had six athletes officially commit to their colleges of choice at Peabody Stadium.
Michael Denver will be playing volleyball just up the 101 at UC Santa Barbara under head coach Rick McLaughlin.
Denver helped lead his Dons squad to a Channel League title last season and made the All-Channel League First Team.
“I was looking at a few other schools but at the end of the day I just loved UCSB so much with the coaches out there, the guys that they have, the guys that they’re bringing in and the academics,” Denver said. “I couldn’t be more excited.”
Raglan Kear, the defending Channel League MVP, will join Denver at UCSB and play volleyball for the Gauchos as well, maintaining a teammate relationship that has lasted since elementary school.
“Mikey Denver has been my teammate for a long time, we grew up together and I’m really excited to play with him,” Kear said.
Staying in his hometown was an important factor in making his decision.
“It was definitely the location and having a lot of local community able to support me at games,” Kear said. “My parents are going to be at a lot of games and that’s going to be big for me.”
Ford Harman made it three Dons volleyball players jumping to the Division-I level with his commitment to Long Beach State.
Harman, also a member of last year’s All-Channel League First Team, will be leaving Santa Barbara High in January in order to “get extra time to work with the team.”
“I picked Long Beach State because I love the program and I love the coaches and everyone that was there,” Harman said.
Andreas Dybdahl will be heading down to Westwood to compete for UCLA’s cross country team for the next four years.
Dybdahl has been a standout runner for the Dons, most recently finishing the Channel League Championship three-mile race in 14:39.06, a lifetime best.
“I love the campus and it’s always been my dream school,” Dybdahl said of UCLA. “The team is going to be really good and the coaches seem really awesome. I’m super stoked, it’s been a lot of hard work and it’s paid off.”
Nalani Yim is making her way across the Pacific and will play water polo at the University of Hawaii, which is where her family lives.
“I’m really excited to be back with [my family],” Yim said. “I had some hard decisions but when I went on my official (visit) there I fell in love with it.
“As much as I love my hometown of Santa Barbara, I’m jumping from paradise to paradise.”
Tessa de Albergaria rounded out the Dons’ signees by committing to play volleyball across the country at George Washington University.
“I’m so excited, I’ve always wanted to go to school on the East Coast,” de Albergaria said. “All the hard work has paid off and I’m so thankful to all of my coaches, family and friends who have helped me get to this spot.
“Out of all of the schools that I visited, it just felt the most like home away from home.”
San Marcos
The Royals had five athletes put pen to paper on Wednesday at the Greek Theater on campus.
Caitlyn Early solidified her commitment to play softball at Notre Dame coming off a season where she was named to the All CIF-SS Division 3 team.
“I’m really happy and really grateful for everything,” Early said. “It’s such an awesome family and I’m really excited to be a part of it.
“I know I’m going to be supported there and I’m really glad it worked out for me.”
Tiana Monaghan will also be playing softball at the college level, committing to Chapman University. Monaghan was an All-Channel League Honorable Mention last season.
“Chapman is the perfect destination for me,” Monaghan said. “The coaches are super inclusive, they seem like more than a coach. They can be a friend or a role model to me.
“The team is super close and it seems like the kind of people that I would get along with.”
Kiala Haas will be competing on both the track and field and cross country teams at Portland State. Haas won the Santa Barbara County Championships for cross country this season.
“I love nature and the forest and they have a lot of that there,” Haas said of the Pacific Northwest. “It’s a very good running environment.
“The coach and the team just seem so incredible and so involved with each other. It just felt like a really good community that I wanted to be a part of.”
Makenna Stretz is taking her talents up to Palo Alto to play water polo for Stanford. Stretz credits the local water polo community for getting her to this point.
“The Santa Barbara community of water polo has been so incredible,” Stretz said. “I’ve been mentored by such great coaches and athletes along this journey and that’s ultimately what’s gotten me here today.”
She considered the academic value of Stanford just as much as the athletic side.
“I’m a really strong and firm believer in the idea of promoting yourself in college but also after college with what you’re doing,” Stretz said. “Water polo has a time stamp on it but the profession I choose after is super important for me, and Stanford offered what was great in the classroom but also in the pool.”
Shams Jahangir-Arshad was the lone male athlete to sign his letter of intent for the Royals, committing to golf at the University of Oregon.
Jahangir-Arshad and San Marcos are coming off a CIF-SS Division 2 title last season.
“My life dream was to play at the Division-I level for golf and to be able to sign with the University of Oregon today feels amazing,” Jahangir-Arshad said. “I want to thank all my teammates, my coaches, my family and everyone who supported me along the way.”
Dos Pueblos
Three Charger athletes committed to play at the next level inside Sovine Gym on Wednesday.
Micah Goss will represent Dos Pueblos at the college level by playing volleyball at UC Irvine.
Goss is coming off a season in which he was named to the All-Channel League first team in volleyball while also being an all-league player on the basketball team.
Justine Katz signed her letter of intent to play basketball at Carnegie Mellon University next year.
Katz is a four-year varsity starter for the Chargers and was a key player on the 2021-22 Dos Pueblos team that won its first-ever Channel League title. Last season, she was a member of the All-Channel League first team.
Shaun Vague officially committed to hitting the mats for the next four years at Simpson University as a part of their wrestling program.
Vague, a 132-pounder, is the reigning Channel League champion at his weight class after going undefeated in dual meet matches last season.
Bishop Diego
The Cardinals had just one athlete sign his national letter of intent on Wednesday inside the Brick House.
Nolan Rodriguez signed to further his career playing lacrosse at the University of Tampa.
Despite Bishop Diego not having a lacrosse program, Rodriguez was able to gain recognition outside of school-sanctioned play and will be headed across the country to become a Spartan next fall.
Santa Barbara City College
Olivia Medina will be hitting the beach courts for Concordia University next year after she finishes her Vaquero career.
“Olivia is an excellent athlete who is always the hardest worker on the court,” SBCC women’s beach volleyball coach Ariana Garner said. “Her work ethic on the court and in the classroom got her to this point and we could not be more happy for her to continue her collegiate career at the next level.”
Medina and her partner won the WSC conference tournament last season, each earning co-MVP honors for the conference. She also helped lead SBCC to a state championship tournament appearance.
The second and final round of this year’s college athlete signees will occur in the spring.