Santa Barbara Soccer Club held a ceremony on Friday night for its 19 high school seniors who have signed to play soccer at the collegiate level in the fall.
Of the 19 signees, there are 14 boys and five girls who will be competing all across the country beginning next year.
Boys
Samuel Anum – Amherst College
Anum, a native of Ghana, will head out to Massachusetts to play Division 3 soccer at Amherst College.
Bridge Baltes – UCLA
Batles, who went to high school at Laguna Blanca, will head down south to play as a Bruin for the next four years.
Giovanni Chavez – CSU San Bernardino
Chavez will remain in California for his college career, leaving his hometown of Santa Maria to play at the Division 2 level at CSU San Bernardino.
Adam Ding – St. Mary’s College
After spending his high school years at Ardingly College in England, Ding will return to the United States to play Division 1 soccer at St. Mary’s (CA).
Keean Elliott – Harvard
Elliott, who is finishing up his time at Santa Barbara High, will compete in the Ivy League for Harvard in college.
Giacomo Gabrielli – Princeton
Meanwhile, Gabrielli will also compete in the Ivy League for the Princeton Tigers following his graduation from Dos Pueblos.
Irving Garcia, Diego Gonzalez, Noah Jimenez – SBCC
The trio of Garcia, Gonzalez and Jimenez will all be staying local and playing for the Vaqueros this fall. Garcia attends San Marcos, Gonzalez goes to Dos Pueblos and Jimenez is in the home stretch at Foothill Tech.
Alex Kobayashi – Nazareth
Kobayashi will head across the country for his college years, as he will play Division 3 soccer at Nazareth University in New York.
Isaiah Robledo – Brown
Robledo, a Dos Pueblos student, will join Elliott and Gabrielli in the Ivy League when he heads out to Brown University.
Thiago Valerio, Geb Wilcox – Westmont
Valerio and Wilcox will also remain in the 805 for their college careers, heading out to Montecito to play for Wesmont. Valerio is a Santa Barbara High Don and Wilcox goes to Dos Pueblos.
Eli Meisel – Carleton
Meisel rounded out this year’s male signees and will head out to Minnesota to play at the Division 3 level at Carleton College.
Girls
Kenzie Hessell – University of St. Andrews
Hessell, a San Marcos Royal, will be heading abroad for her college years to study and play soccer at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
Wendy Guarneros – Willamette
Guarneros was also a standout at San Marcos and will continue her career in the Pacific Northwest at Willamette University.
Hattie Valdez Lindgren – Lewis & Clark
Valdez Lindgren will join her San Marcos teammate in the Pacific Northwest, as she will be off to Lewis & Clark in Portland this fall.
Giselle Najera – SBCC
Najera will head down from Cabrillo High to Santa Barbara City College to continue her academic and athletic careers.
Giselle Silva – La Sierra
Silva will make her way down south after she graduates from Lompoc High, as she will represent the 805 at La Sierra University in Riverside.