Local Athletes Go "BIG" to Kick Off College Recruiting Season

Kaselle Davis (Track and Field), Zaiden Davis (Football) and Destiny Perez (Softball) commit to NCAA Division I schools.

A Las Cruces Digest Report

NCAA Division I

Three local seniors have signed with NCAA Division I schools. Unsurprisingly, Las Cruces High School track phenom, Kaselle Davis, was first to announce. Zaiden Davis (football, Centennial) an official signing event at Centennial High School on Friday, December 13th. Zaiden and Destiny Perez (softball, Centennial) will both be playing Division I ball at New Mexico State.

2024 Gatorade Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year for New Mexico and Las Cruces High School standout, Kaselle Davis, was faced with a difficult decision, but signed with the Indiana Hoosiers (Big 10). The Hoosiers are coached by USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame inductee, Ron Helmer. Former Indiana sprinter, Rikkoi Brathwaite, competed in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games running the 100 meters.

Centennial High School will be graduating senior Zaiden Davis from the Field of Dreams to Aggie Memorial. New Mexico State University (CUSA) head coach, Tony Sanchez, beat out an offer by rival UNM to snag the No. 4 overall recruit in the class of 2025 in New Mexico (according to 247Sports).

As a junior at Centennial High School, Destiny Perez was an instrumental part in the Hawks’ 2024 State Championship. NMSU Head Coach, Kathy Rudolph, seized the opportunity to add a left-handed pitcher to strengthen a pitching roster that already includes Conference USA Player of the Year and El Paso native, Desirea Spearman.

Athletes Have Time

College recruitment isn’t what it used to be, so there should be no added anxiety when deciding on which university to attend. Two local athletes demonstrate how arbitrary recruiting “season” can be. Corbin Coombs, a top prospect for the 2025 recruitment class, remains undeclared, while Addison Massey declared a year ago… as a sophomore.

2024 New Mexico Cross Country State Champion, Corbin Coombs, remains undeclared; however, fans at one Big 12 school are clamoring about the prospect of adding this 2024 Gatorade Boys Cross Country Athlete of the Year for New Mexico to their roster. The decision faced by Coombs will not be an easy one, as he is currently listed as the #7 top track prospect in the nation by Scholar Championship Athlete.

As a sophomore, Addison Massey was named Gatorade Volleyball Athlete of the Year for New Mexico. This year, as a junior, she was the MaxPreps Volleyball Player of the Year. Both years she was part of the back-to-back State Champions Las Cruces High School Bulldawgs team. Massey will not graduate until 2026; however, she has already been recruited by Kansas State (Big 12). At Kansas State, Massey will have the opportunity to compete against Arizona, Arizona State and Texas Tech–all relatively close Big 12 rivals.

Weighing Multiple Offers

Recruitment is not limited to the “big” schools. Opportunities to attend university on an athletic scholarship are not limited to the most renowned student athletes, nor to the biggest universities. More times than not, a student athlete can continue playing their sport of choice at smaller, regional universities. These opportunities should not be overlooked, especially in an era when college tuition can burden a young person with a lifetime of financial hardship. Athletic scholarships are one way to avoid the financial burden of receiving an education.

Players receiving football offers from Western New Mexico University include: Joaquin Wofford (Centennial High School), Omar Sanchez (Centennial High School) and Jordan Lucas (Centennial High School). [Note: This is not a comprehensive list. Many of these athletes have received multiple offers from different schools; however, Las Cruces Digest did not have this information at the time of posting.]

Players receiving football offers from New Mexico Highland University include: Brenden Franco (Las Cruces High School), Omar Terrones (Centennial High School), Jordan Lucas (Centennial High School) and Omar Sanchez (Centennial High School). [Note: This is not a comprehensive list. Many of these athletes have received multiple offers from different schools; however, Las Cruces Digest did not have this information at the time of posting.]

Centennial High School receiver, Jordan Lucas, demonstrates how social media plays a major part in the college recruitment process. Here is a screenshot of his social media account announcing and offer from New Mexico Military Institute. In the nascent era of “Name, Image and Likeness”, the importance of developing a personal brand has never been more keen.

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Levi Gwaltney

Levi Gwaltney is the Editor In Chief of Las Cruces Digest. The Editor makes editorial and posting decisions regarding content published on this site. In most cases, the Editor makes little if any contribution to content published, and takes no credit for the content of republished posts. If available, the source or author of posts is provided at the top of the article.