‘Family’ undertones reverberate through Crespi athletes on Signing Day
“I’ve always felt like as long as I’m making (my family) proud, I’m successful,” Magdaleno said Wednesday.

ENCINO — Smiles ear to ear. Extra-long poses for pictures. Donning prideful colors. Even tears of joy. It’s all part of Signing Day.

High school student-athletes all over the country participate in fall Signing Day Wednesday, putting pen to paper on national letters of intent (NLI) to the college of their choice. Crespi baseball players Ethan Kodama and Isaiah Magdaleno were two of many local athletes who made their high school dreams a collegiate reality.

“I told my parents in 8th grade this is what I wanted to do,” said Kodama, who signed with Cal. “(Today) is like a representation of my family and how hard they all work … seeing Mom go to work every morning, waking up at 5:30 a.m., it motivates you to do the same. I’ve got great people in my life that set a path for me, and I just followed it.”

Ethan comes from a sports family. Father Rob Kodama was a longtime, successful boys soccer coach in the area, and sister Miye seemingly plays every sport under the sun at Louisville High, including basketball and soccer (at the same time during the winter). Family always seems to have an undertone on days like Signing Day, and it was apparent at Crespi.

“I watched my aunt go through breast cancer and chemotherapy,” Ethan said. “She always used to tell me, ‘the mind runs the body,’ so whenever I get tired or whenever it gets hard, I think of that. That’s my main motivation.”

Magdaleno was the area’s biggest surprise last spring when he went 5-0 with 35 strikeouts in the Mission League, including wins against powerhouse programs Harvard-Westlake (6 1/3 innings) and Notre Dame (complete game) in consecutive weeks. It anchored the Celts’ third-place league finish and earned him league pitcher of the year honors. He signed with Hawaii Wednesday.

“The stress (of the recruiting process) is over. I can commit to the season now,” Magdaleno said. “We got a taste of the playoffs last year, now we want to go further.”

As Magdaleno was taking pictures with a Hawaiian lei around his neck, the smiley senior noticed members of his family crying tears of joy.

“I’ve always felt like as long as I’m making (my family) proud, I’m successful,” he added.

Crespi classmates Parker Provencher and Brandon Strom also participated in Signing Day. Provencher signed to play lacrosse at Aurora University and Strom will compete in gymnastics at Cal.

OTHER NOTABLE SIGNEES
Harvard-Westlake’s Alyssa Thompson, the US women’s soccer phenom who just turned 18 this past week, signed with Stanford, but wasn’t able to participate in any Signing Day activities due to international duties with the national team, which is scheduled to play Germany in back-to-back friendlies on Nov. 10 and 13 in Florida and New Jersey, respectively. Harvard-Westlake had seven others sign Wednesday: Brady Dunlap (Notre Dame, men’s basketball), Grace Thrower (Penn, women’s volleyball), Alex Adishian (Cal, beach volleyball), Will Gasparino (Texas, baseball) and David Lozano (LMU, baseball); Dani Lynch (Clemson, women’s soccer); and Claire McLean (Duke, swimming).

Notre Dame had 16 student-athletes participate in Signing Day, highlighted by Justin Lee and Dean West signed to play baseball at UCLA, and basketball players Dusty Stromer (Gonzaga) and Caleb Foster (Duke). Ella Parker – niece of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts – signed with Oklahoma to play softball. Parker has belted 29 home runs in three seasons, including 11 last season as a junior.

MORE SIGNEES
(by sport: Name, high school, college)

Baseball: Oliver Boone, Notre Dame, Cal; Madden Ocko, Notre Dame, Fordham; Greg Pierantoni, Notre Dame, Pomona-Pitzer; Gavin Taylor, Birmingham Charter, BYU; Kaden Taque, Birmingham Charter, Cal; Kehden Hettiger, Sierra Canyon, Oregon; Grant Werdesheim, Sierra Canyon, Brown; Cristian Brewster, Chaminade, Cal State Fullerton; Charlie Decker, Chaminade, Pugent Sound; Phoenix Call, Calabasas, UCLA; Lance Mittleman, Valencia High, San Francisco; Ricky Ojeda, Valencia High, UC Irvine

Women’s basketball: Crystal Wang, Sierra Canyon, Northwestern; Karlee White, Oak Park High, Harvard

Women’s Golf: Esther Yoo, Notre Dame, Gonzaga

Men’s Volleyball: Alex Palermo, Notre Dame, Grand Canyon University

Lacrosse: Ryan Ostermann, Notre Dame, Emerson College

Softball: Hayden Luderer, Louisville High, New Mexico; Kate Penberthy, Hart High, Cal Baptist University; Addison Snyder, Valencia High, Cal State Fullerton; 

Women’s Volleyball: Tate Mercer, Notre Dame, University of New Orleans; Lauren Yoo, Notre Dame, Elmhurst University; Jaida Sione, Sierra Canyon, Cornell; Ava Hewitt, Sierra Canyon, Clemson; Olivia Babcock, Sierra Canyon, Pittsburgh; Victoria Davis, West Ranch, Baylor

Beach Volleyball: Bella Avelar, Notre Dame, Stetson University; Tara Gaspar, Valencia High, Tulane

Swimming: Julian Correa, Notre Dame, Cornell University; Thomas Hadji, Valencia High, Westpoint

Women’s Soccer: Megan Santa Cruz, Notre Dame, Washington State; Madison Foxhoven, Viewpoint, Duke

Equestrian: Madison Nadolenco, Viewpoint, Georgia

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