National Signing Day - 5 Seniors Commit to Collegiate Athletics
College seems like a long way away for members of the Class of 2024, but not for the student athletes who gathered Wednesday for the National Letter of Intent ceremony. Taking this step, of publicly committing to playing their sport in college, makes it seem that much closer.
“They play in a tough baseball conference, the Missouri Valley Conference,” Coach Beyna added, “but Bryan is dedicated to the sport and will easily make the transition to the next level.”
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This was just the first of three signing days – with two more in February and April – consequently numbers of student athletes are expected to grow.
This first group of athletes included:
- Mia Bergstrom committed to playing basketball for the Billikens at Saint Louis University.
- Taylor Brackett will continue playing soccer at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
- Cristobal Carranza committed to playing soccer at Earlham College in Richmond, IN.
- Kacper Gwizdz committed to play lacrosse at Lewis University in Romeoville, IL.
- Bryan Hatch will continue playing baseball for the Beacons at Valparaiso University.
"We want to celebrate these athletes,” said Jason Kuffel, Athletic Director. “All their hard work and dedication to their sport has led them to play at the collegiate level.”
For Mia Bergstrom, college signing day brings her family full circle. She is the youngest of six children, all of whom have played at the collegiate level.
However, Mia has carved her own path. Consider these offensive numbers: She’s made 204 3-pointers, or 34% of her attempts, and all in just three years. Mia has compiled a total of 984 points, 326 rebounds, 91 assists, 89 steals and 39 blocks for her career, with her senior year still ahead of her.
“Mia will bring her leadership, resilient attitude and phenomenal shooting ability to Saint Louis,” says Assistant Coach Maggie Miskowicz, who admits it will be hard to see the last Bergstrom graduate.
Another player to bring offensive skills to college is Bryan Hatch. Consider this line from the end of last season: a .310 batting average, 28 hits, 1 homerun and a .474 on base percentage. Couple that with his impressive .985 fielding percentage as an infielder, mostly playing third base, and it appears he is ready to play at the college level.
“He has all the physical tools,” says Head Baseball Coach Terry Beyna. “He’s very passionate about baseball, a hard worker and he’ll do well at the next level.”
Ironically, the head coach of Valparaiso baseball, Brian Schmack, played high school baseball with Coach Beyna, at Rolling Meadows High School, but Beyna says that played no role in Bryan getting recruited to Valpo.
“They play in a tough baseball conference, the Missouri Valley Conference,” Coach Beyna added, “but Bryan is dedicated to the sport and will easily make the transition to the next level.”
Taylor Brackett said her decision to play soccer at Case Western Reserve was an easy one: “It felt like home and has great academics.”
Cris Carranza described something similar in helping him decide to play soccer at Earlham, whose mascot is the Big Earl: “All the guys I met were really welcoming.”
Kacper Gwizdz said what a lot of classmates were thinking: “I’m not gonna lie, I just want to play lacrosse.”
Saint Viator High School
Located in Arlington Heights, IL, Saint Viator High School is a private, co-ed, Catholic school for grades 9-12. Students benefit from a challenging academic program, fine and performing arts, competitive athletics, and a wide selection of extracurricular activities.