AFTER RETIRING AS SPORTS editor for the Los Angeles Times, Mike Hiserman joined the staff at Santa Margarita Catholic High School, where he thought he’d take it easy coaching freshman baseball.
Little did he know his tenure would morph into a program and position created five years ago with the founding of the Recruiting Support Program. With the guidance of Hiserman, the current associate director of college relations, the school has implemented online recruitment tools and information to emerge as a top school in placing its student-athletes in college programs.
In the fall semester, Santa Margarita had a record 48 students sign college athletic financial aid agreements, formerly known as letters of intent, to play for colleges and universities ranging from athletic powerhouses such as USC to academic bluebloods such as Harvard, as well as lesser-known NCAA Division III and NAIA schools. By the school year’s end, Santa Margarita is expected to have about 80 students signed to college athletic programs, the large majority at Division I schools.
The Catholic high school’s success is even more remarkable because it comes at a time when the face of college sports has been transformed by the transfer portal, which allows a free flow of experienced college athletes swapping schools, NIL (Name Image and Likeness) rules, changes in communication rules and condensed evaluation periods. So, while participation rates in colleges and universities continue to climb, particularly for women, the minefield high school athletes must navigate to reach college programs has never been more difficult.
“I think I would have been lost,” said Tommy Volz, a senior who will attend the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts and run track after thinking he would have had to abandon his college athletic goals. “I didn’t have any sense of guidance.”
TOMMY VOLZ, A SENIOR AT SANTA MARGARITA CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL, WILL ATTEND THE COLLEGE OF THE HOLY CROSS IN MASSACHUSETTS AND RUN TRACK. PHOTOS COURTESY OF SANTA MARGARITA CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL
Volz said he was blind-pitching to elite programs such as Alabama, before Hiserman helped him hone his search. This led to Holy Cross, which is still an NCAA Division I school in the less competitive yet respectable Patriot League. It also fulfilled other goals Volz had of being located near family in New England, where he was raised, and being at a Catholic school.
Volz said his older brother, Ben, a former sprinter at Santa Margarita, did not avail himself of the recruiting program and instead went to Boston College with academic aid only.
“I think he kind of regrets it now,” Tommy Volz said.
Phil Blanchard, whose son Luke is a junior baseball player for the Eagles, said Hiserman and the program are invaluable in helping guide his son through the recruiting process.
“He has a genuine desire to find the right fit for athletes,” Phil Blanchard said.
Blanchard said Hiserman, with his background observing athletes for decades in sport journalism, is a good evaluator of talent and matching an athlete’s skills with certain college programs’ values.
“He knows what’s realistic and how to pursue that without squelching dreams,” Phil Blanchard said, adding that Hiserman urges kids to “go for the brass ring,but have alternatives.”
Camryn Legeny, a senior with the SMCHS’s softball team, will attend Utah State University to play softball in the fall. She said Hiserman helped her fill out information, post videos and provided tips on summer sports camps to attend to gain notice.
SANTA MARGARITA CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL’S CAMRYN LEGENY WILL ATTEND UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY TO PLAY SOFTBALL IN THE FALL.
It was a softball camp in Utah that got Legeny noticed by Utah State, a school on her wish list.
“I really showed out and they offered me a scholarship after that camp,” she said.
Volz said his friends in Connecticut had never heard of such a program and resorted to YouTube videos for guidance.
However, Phil Blanchard said Hiserman is able to provide the kind of individual advice that athletes can’t get elsewhere. Hiserman also maintains relationships with college coaches who trust his recommendations.
“In the last three years, better than one in six of our students (16-17%) have secured four-year support for spots in athletics,” said Hiserman, referring to the entire senior classes at SMCHS. This far outpaces national averages where about 8 million high school students compete in sports annually.
“Overall a little over 7% of high school athletes (about 1 in 13) go on to play a varsity sport in college and less than 2% of high school athletes (1 in 57) go on to play at NCAA Division I schools,” according to ScholarshipStats.com.
This is because, “coaches are now more likely to recruit experienced players from the transfer portal to fill immediate needs, which reduces opportunities for high school recruits,” Hiserman said.
Hiserman downplayed his effect, saying it’s the quality of Santa Margarita’s sports programs, coaching and strong academics that make its athletes an easy sell.
“Coaches know this is a school of rigor,” he said. “The quality of athletes is a tribute to Santa Margarita.”
THE LIST
BASEBALL (8)
Brody Schumaker, Texas Christian; Chase Marlow, University of San Diego; Andre Owens, Oklahoma State; Warren Gravely, Notre Dame; Noah Darnell, Harvard; Tyler Unter, Claremont; Vincent Milo, Trinity University (Texas); Adam Cypriano, Trinity University (Texas).
BOYS’ BASKETBALL (3)
Brayden Kyman, Washington State; Kaiden Bailey, Georgia Tech; Drew Anderson, Oregon State.
FOOTBALL (11)
*Jonah Smith, UCLA; Trent Mosley, USC; Simote Katonanga, USC; Dash Fifita, Arizona; Niniva Nicholson, Arizona State; Jayden Crowder, USC; Alekisanita Holani, Sacramento State; Logan Hirou, UCLA; Trace Johnson, Tulane University; Manoah Faupusa, Arizona; Ty Swanson, USC.
BOYS LACROSSE (3)
Kevin Ratzlaff, Westminster University; Max Katz, Manhattan University; Andrew Mravle, Westminster University.
GIRLS GOLF (2)
Veronica Man, UC Irvine; Angelina Tao, Dartmouth.
GIRLS LACROSSE (2)
Alexaundra Szczuka, Rider University; Taylor Mielke, Colorado Mesa.
GIRLS SOCCER (4)
Peyton Trayer, North Carolina – early enrollee; Cora Fry, Tennessee – early enrollee; Emily Nunez, St. Mary’s; Jastel David, Utah.
BOYS SWIMMING (4)
Darren Nguyen, Claremont; Sonit Joshi, Case Western Reserve; Bennett Korner, Xavier; Carson Eich, Pomona-Pitzer.
GIRLS SWIMMING (2)
Hannah Campbell, San Diego State; Sophia Zhu, Johns Hopkins.
SOFTBALL (4)
Camryn Legeny, Utah State; Payton Stowasser, George Washington; Clarissa Stayrook, Columbia; Zoe Xanthos, Wellesley.
GIRLS TENNIS (2)
Emily Gao, Claremont-McKenna; Grace Kersenbrock, Pomona-Pitzer.