Where are SLO County athletes headed to college? More than 50 have made their choice

In a year that saw the full return of high school sports after COVID-19 disruptions last year, seniors had a chance to showcase their skills to college programs through full seasons of competition.

And several impressed with scholarships and walk-on commitments in place.

The local list of college signees isn’t complete as some student-athletes might not have been announced publicly yet, but more than 50 have made their choice.

Two Morro Bay football players — Dylan Turner (Cal Lutheran) and Christian Merrill (Pacific) — announced their college signings Sunday at a ring ceremony and community parade hosted by the city of Morro Bay to celebrate the Pirates’ CIF-Central Section Division 6 championship and finish as state CIF Division 7-AA runner-ups.

Turner said that his coach, Jake Goossen-Brown, helped him coordinate highlight tapes to submit to college coaches and vouched for him.

“I had 15 schools I was talking to and it came down to the last few days to decide,” said Turner, who will major in business with an emphasis in finance at the Division 3 football program. “But I think I made the right choice. Coming from a small school like Morro Bay, not a lot of schools look at us, but winning CIF and going to a state game brought attention to us and our entire community.”

For now, these are the SLO County athletes from various schools and where they’re heading.

Arroyo Grande

Ryan Tayman (junior) — Baseball, Cal Berkeley

Jiana Martin — Women’s soccer, Chico State

Leo Jezierski — Men’s Soccer, Willamette University (Oregon)

Savannah Bravo — Softball, Indiana Tech

Jenna Lenay — Cross Country/Track, Occidental

Josh McCune — Boys’ Volleyball, UC Irvine

Jordyn MacCuish — Women’s Volleyball, William Jessup

Alexus Collins — Stunt, International University

Madison Kasper — Water polo, UC Irvine

Amy Newton — Water polo, UC Irvine

Izabella Straley — Water polo, Santa Barbara City College

Daniela Ruelas — Track and field, Dartmouth

Makai Puga — Football, Hancock College

William Dawes — Football and track and field, Hancock College

Danny McKinley — Football and track and field, Hancock College

Atascadero

Renee Rivas — Competitive sport cheer, Hope International University

Clayton Loney — Football, College of the Sequoias

Mission Prep

Caleb (“Tako”) Alalem — Football, Cal Lutheran

Jadon Broyles — Football, Cal Lutheran

Jack Susank — Football, Pomona-Pitzer

Kyle Hiltbrand — Baseball, Western Oregon

Michael Sison — Baseball, Cuesta College

Amber Snook — Women’s indoor volleyball, Covenant College

Jacob Butler — Football (undecided, TBA)

Patrick Thomas — Cross country, Pepperdine (planning to sign soon)

Anthony Erikson — Cross country (undecided as of Sunday)

Morro Bay

Dylan Turner — Football, Cal Lutheran

Christian Merrill — Football, Pacific

Peyton Schemmer — Softball, Syracuse

Jackson Howell — Baseball, St. Mary’s

Morgan Codron — Baseball, University of Portland

Carson Spahr — Men’s soccer, Cal Poly

Wesley Wilson — Wrestling, Cal Poly

Dayton Robinett — Volleyball, Azusa Pacific

Nipomo

Leila Martin — Women’s wrestling, Chadron State (Nebraska)

Iliana Murguia — Women’s soccer, CSU Bakersfield

Key-annah Pu’a — Softball, University of Hawaii

Kacie Slover — Women’s basketball, Cal Poly Humboldt

Paso Robles

Devin Mowreader — Football, La Verne

Tia Dana — Competitive sport cheer, stunt, William Jessup

Devynne Linnell — Competitive sport cheer, stunt, William Jessup

Jacey Loewen — Women’s volleyball, Providence Christian College (Pasadena)

Jenelle Loewen — Women’s volleyball, Providence Christian College

Holly DiSimone — Swimming, CSU Bakersfield

Elliot Hawe — Baseball, Orange Coast College

San Luis Obispo

Malia Maire — Diving, Eastern Michigan

Naya Koch — Swimming, Cal Baptist

Riley Wilkerson — Women’s soccer, Cal Poly

Marina Warren — Women’s Indoor and beach volleyball, Cal Poly

Rainier Gorton — Men’s soccer, Leeds University

Sofia Latta — Women’s Indoor volleyball, Walla Walla University

Nancy Ernstrom — Stunt, Hope International University

Templeton

Maddie George — Softball, Wheeling University

Izzy Cowne — Softball, San Mateo Junior College

Gabriel Soltero — Men’s soccer, York College, Nebraska

Claire Oppedahl — Swimming, Concordia

Demi Onings — Cheer/stunt, San Diego State (Preferred walk-on tryout)

Robbie Lardner, Kiko Barroso, J.B. Kirschenstein — Expected to play junior college baseball (Lardner may get drafted in the Major League Baseball selection).

This story was originally published May 3, 2022 at 9:55 AM.

Nick Wilson

The Tribune

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Nick Wilson is a Tribune contributor in sports. He is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara and UC Berkeley and is originally from Ojai.