*This is an ongoing article and will be updated as new athletes announce their commitments.
Tessa Ellingson*
On August 6, tennis player Tessa Ellingson committed to play at Pomona-Pitzer. Ellingson, who comes from a family of tennis players, has been practicing since she was three years old. Ellingson’s father played college tennis and was a huge factor behind her decision to play at the next level. “It was our dream to have me play at the collegiate level,” Ellingson said.
Ellingson’s coach was also a massive help as she navigated the confusing world of applications. “I’ve been with my coach for six years, and he has been a huge motivation,” Ellingson said. “He basically did the entire process with me, helping me reach out and be successful when talking to coaches.”
Her advice to students hoping to play at the next level is to not stress too much about the recruitment process. “It will all work out,” Ellingson said. “I got extremely stressed that I was never going to be able to go to a school I would want to be at, but as I trusted the process more I felt a lot better about it all.”
Meki Maile
On July 25, volleyball setter Meki Maile committed to play at the University of Portland. Coming from a family of athletes, Maile has known she wanted to play in college since she first picked up a volleyball. “I had an older cousin who played collegiate volleyball when I was younger, and she was someone I really looked up to,” she said.
During her recruitment process, Maile faced struggles from coaches unwilling to give her a chance given how competitive collegiate volleyball is. But with help from her family and club coaches at Vision Volleyball, Maile was able to stand out and assist the Bears to a perfect 14-0 record in league play. “My parents supported me and pushed me when I felt like giving up or when they knew I could do better for myself,” Maile said. “I am very thankful for my coach’s advice and help navigating the recruitment process.”
Her decision to play at Portland came down to her experience while touring the campus. “When I went to visit, I immediately clicked with all the girls and I made friendships with the freshmen during those two days. I liked their team values and culture,” Maile said.
Xander Eschelman
On July 15, quarterback Xander Eschelman committed to play football at Columbia University, continuing his family legacy of being a collegiate athlete. Eschelman’s father and grandpa both played football at Stanford, and his cousin played football at Washington, making his upbringing chock-full of sports.
Yet even with his family’s expertise in football, Eschelman had to put in a lot of effort to play at the collegiate level. “The most important thing for me was to work hard on winning and putting up good film for my school instead of getting wrapped up in recruitment,” Eschelman said. “Focusing on the team and self-improvement instead of being wrapped up in what other athletes were doing helped a lot.”
His decision to play at Columbia came down to a good first impression. “Columbia was my first offer, and I felt like I had loyalty to them. They believed in me before other schools did, which caused me to have a great relationship with the coaching staff,” Eschelman said. “The academics there are also great, which is super important to me.”
Peter Chriss
On June 17, volleyball setter Peter Chriss committed to play at Penn State, the fourth-highest-ranked school for men’s collegiate volleyball. “I picked Penn State because of the incredible coaching staff, the competitiveness of the program, and the academic opportunities offered to me,” Chriss said.
Chriss attributes much of his athletic success to his Bay to Bay club coach Arielle Houlihan, whom he won a national U-18 title with over the summer. “My coach helped me a lot with reaching out to coaches and honing me into the player that I am today. She made sure that I was eligible for all of the NCAA requirements and consistently competing at a high level.”
At Penn State, Chriss hopes to help create the same close-knit community he experiences in his club and school teams. Chriss’ end goal is to play volleyball for Team USA with the skills he will learn in college. “It’s the time that coaches don’t see you working and the behind-the-scenes that ends up getting you to where you want to be,” Chriss said. “It’s late night and early morning practices that get you that extra step ahead of your competition.”
Devin Hyde
On June 2, defensive end Devin Hyde committed to play football at the University of Washington, becoming the next player in M-A’s rich history of collegiate football athletes. Despite Hyde’s success on the field, things were not easy at the start of his journey. “It felt super overwhelming to find out who I should talk to and what to do,” Hyde said. “It’s also intimidating going to camps with older players who’ve been through the process a lot longer than me and experiencing it all for the first time.”
With the support of the football head coach Chris Saunders and his family, Hyde began finding connections and receiving offers. “Although it can be stressful, once you get the first offer it sort of skyrockets from there,” Hyde said.
Hyde’s decision to play at Washington ultimately came down to the impression his fellow athletes made on him during his official visit, including former M-A alumnus and Washington tackle Soane Faasolo. “The players weren’t interested in the glitz or glam associated with playing football at that level. They were more interested in the process than the results and building a brotherhood, which is important to me,” Hyde said.
Lexi Nelson
On May 1, water polo goalkeeper Lexi Nelson committed to play at UC Berkeley. Nelson, who loved sports from a young age, always knew she wanted to play at the next level. “It didn’t matter if I was playing soccer, lacrosse, or water polo, I always felt most myself and happiest when competing, so I didn’t hesitate when making the decision to keep playing throughout college,” Nelson said.
Nelson, who has played on the varsity girls’ water polo team for three years, knew how challenging the recruitment process would be given the limited players and programs there are for water polo. “Since there aren’t many teams, coaches have a much smaller pool to choose from. I definitely had to be very consistent and diligent with my communication with coaches online, but especially in person at tournaments,” Nelson said.
But given her skill and the support of her teammates, parents, and coaches, Nelson received multiple college offers and was even given a spot on the Girls Olympic Development Program. In the end, her decision to play at Berkeley came down to what the school could offer both athletically and academically.
“I’ve always wanted to experience life in an urban environment like Berkeley while still being close to home,” Nelson said. “More than anything though, I love water polo and I felt that going to Cal would give me the best opportunity to keep growing both as a player and a person.”
*Tessa Ellingson is a journalist for the M-A Chronicle.
