The class of 2024’s student-athletes have been impressive, to say the least. This year, 24 Poly seniors signed their letter of intent, confirming their commitment to continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level (The athletes are listed below.)
“Signing Day” actually took place over two days as the first group of athletes signed in the fall on November 8, and the second, many of whom committed in the new year, on April 29.
While many athletes from the class of 2024 made committing to play college sports seem easy, the recruitment process is far from it.
Kaia Scott ’24 announced her commitment to Claremont McKenna College (CMC) Lacrosse in August 2023. While she is thrilled to continue her Lacrosse career at CMC, she described her recruiting process as “having a lot of ups and downs.”
“It can be discouraging at times, you talk to a lot of coaches that sometimes don’t respond and each game you play in front of these coaches holds a lot of weight. If you don’t play well, that could be detrimental to your commitment process, which is a lot of pressure,” said Scott.
For Scott, it was her “genuine love” for the sport that took “the weight off of the hard things about this process.” She attributed her success to her unwavering confidence and encouraged other athletes to have the same mentality.
“Having confidence in yourself is the biggest thing. If you don’t have confidence in yourself first, no one else will have confidence in you,” said Scott.
Abe Herzog ’24 committed in August 2023 to Bowdoin College for football. It was a relatively “easy” process for Herzog, as he felt a connection with Bowdoin immediately.
“Bowdoin stood out to me because it is the best location, academics, and football I could possibly ask for. I instantly knew I would fit into their program when I first met the head coach, B.J. Hammer,” said Herzog.
Herzog and Scott found success in maintaining a balance between athletics, academics, and a social life, which is necessary for collegiate-level student athletes to thrive. Balance is essential for all students, but especially for collegiate-level student-athletes who have to maintain an academic presence while dedicating most all of their time to practicing and playing their sport.
Congrats to all the seniors who committed to playing collegiate sports. We will miss you on our sports teams and on campus!
John Calabrese, Bucknell University Baseball
Khari Freeman, Denison University Men’s Lacrosse
Lea Glass, Smith College Women’s Lacrosse
Abe Herzog, Bowdoin College Football
Hyatt Hicks, Wesleyan University Track and Field
Dash Hort, Duke Wrestling
Lauren Klein, Kenyon College Softball
Max Mackler, St. Lawrence University Men’s Lacrosse
Masai Marshall, Northwestern University Baseball
Kenyon McMahon, University of North Carolina Football
Natalya Muchinsky, Washington and Lee University Women’s Basketball
Eyton Ng, Bates College Men’s Swimming
Ethan Paluszek, Georgetown University Baseball
Holden Pawlak, Haverford College Baseball
Zach Ramseur, Hampton University Men’s Lacrosse
Julia Rosenberg, University of Massachusetts Amherst Women’s Soccer
Briana Robles, Gettysburg College Women’s Basketball
Maddie Ruggie, Denison University Women’s Squash
Jack Ryland, New York University Men’s Track and Field
Kaia Scott, Claremont McKenna College Women’s Lacrosse
Eleni Smith, Lafayette College Women’s Track and Field
Jackson Smith, Bates College Football
Teddy Stoldt, Georgetown University Sailing
Violet Taub, Rhodes University Women’s Tennis
