Local student-athletes, featuring five baseball stars, celebrate modified signing day
Wednesday was National Signing Day for many high school student athletes, putting pen to paper to realize their dreams come true.
And let's be honest, these kids in particular have gotten the short end of the stick with their seasons either cancelled or postponed.
Unsure of the present due to the pandemic, luckily their futures have been forged. Specifically, five local baseball players who will play for some of the best programs in the country.
"Max Shor, Palm Desert high school catcher, going to USD, go Torreros!"
"Seth Mattox, pitcher Xavier Prep, going to Cal Baptist University, Lance up!"
"Beto Beltran, pitcher for Shadow Hills high school, going to Long Beach State, go Beach!"
"Grant Kelly, pitcher at Palm Desert, going to Cal State Fullerton, Tusks up!"
"Dylan Van Meeteren, pitcher for Xavier Prep, committed to USC, Fight on!"
That's the Valley Five, making baseball look as easy as 1-2-3. The fantastic five are each headed to play for a proven college program, a testament to their talent, hard work and commitment to compete at the highest level.
"It's been a dream of mine since I was like 6 years old and just really working hard in the weight room, on the field and stuff, not taking a play off and it's benefited me a lot," said Max Shor, PDHS catcher committed to USD.
"It's a great opportunity, really love the school, really love the coaches, first day I met them and they started talking to me just felt a great connection," said Seth Mattox, XCP senior pitcher committed to Cal Baptist.
"Means a lot. It was one of my goals since I was a little kid, I dreamed of playing D-1 baseball one day," said Beto Beltran, Shadow Hills pitcher committed to Long Beach State.
"Definitely feels great. It takes a lot of hard work, sacrifice and doing stuff that others aren't willing to do. And just believing in yourself. You gotta believe in yourself and know at the end of the day you can do it," said Grant Kelly, PDHS pitcher committed to Cal State Fullerton.
"Every day with my dad here at the facility working my tail off trying to get there and I did. It feels great," said Dylan Van Meeteren, XCP pitcher committed to USC.
It's a special day for these kids and their parents but also for one of their coaches who sees a lot more success in the future.
"Project-ability with a lot of these guys. Obviously we can't foresee the future but with their makeup, their work ethic, body, size, all those things that we try to look ahead and try to project out - I think couple of them are going to have the opportunity to play beyond college, too," said Patrick Evans, the Hitting Zone.
Also partaking in NLI signing day was Taylor Schein and Caroline Wales.
Schein, a Xavier Prep volleyball player, is committed to USF. While Wales, a Palm Desert golfer, is headed to Kansas.
Congratulations to all the local student-athletes and their families on this great accomplishment!
