Senior athletes have committed to colleges where they will play their sport for either the next two or four years. Their commitments range this year from junior colleges to Division 3 schools.
Matthew Kunst: committed to Marymount University for baseball, earning the school’s prestigious presidential scholarship. Kunst has helped the baseball team’s productivity over the past two years. Kunst earned first team all division accolades last season and has proven to be effective on and off the field. Kunst credits his success in being signed to play in college to his hard work in the classroom, accomplishing a 3.7 GPA and a 4.5 weighted GPA. “A lot of my success has come from working behind the scenes as I spent a lot of time in the gym over the past two years,” Kunst said.
Jack Kerns: committed to Frederick Community College for baseball. Kerns brings an exciting personality to the baseball team. As a captain for the past two years, Kerns has been known for his strength in the gym and on the baseball field. Kern’s explosive personality brings an energy to the team that helps uplift spirits in tough times. Jack also picked up pitching this season to help the team with pitching depth. “As a co-captain, Jack is very hard working and always shows up to games and practices with high energy and backs it up with gameplay,” junior Kai Schmelzer said.
Naima Cho-Khaliq: committed to Amherst College for volleyball. Cho-Khaliq, a third-year varsity outside hitter, helped the team become state finals runners-up as captain this year. Helping the team reach a 12-3 overall record, Cho-Khaliq has an impressive high school track record winning the 2021 county championship, 2022 region and county championships, 2024 region champions, 2024 state runner up, and 2024 first team all county honors.
Connor Jackson: committed to Concordia University Wisconsin for lacrosse. As goalie, Jackson racked up impressive stats over the years. In 2023, Jackson had 173 saves, breaking the 100 save marker by a large margin and earning second team all-division accolades that year. As a junior last year, Jackson also had the second highest save percentage in the entire county with a 64%. Jackson also had 28 saves in a single game last season, which is the fourth most in state history. “I’ve put in many hours off the field training and practicing and that has given me the opportunity to play in college,” Jackson said.
Garrett Valentine: committed to Albright College for lacrosse. As a long pole defenseman in college, Valentine will study education with a minor in art and looks to begin to pursue his coaching career. Known for being physical and throwing hard checks, Valentine brings an exciting aura to the team’s atmosphere. “I think that finding a habit to fall on and adding practice to your every-day life contributes the most to finding yourself in college athletics,” Valentine said.
