Three St. Paul softball players sign letters of intent for next level
St. Paul High School softball players with their signed letters of intent to attend universities, from left, Katherine Serna, Iowa, Jayne Sepulveda, Southerm Utah University, and Jordin King, New Mexico State University. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)
SANTA FE SPRINGS – St. Paul High School, which has had an influx of recent college softball signings lately, added three more to the list last Wednesday.
However, because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has altered most of our lives, the National Letter of Intent signing ceremony was not held in its usual place at school.
Instead, the ceremony was held at Creek Park in La Mirada before family and friends.
Seniors Jordin King, Jayne Sepulveda and Katherine “Kat” Serna all made it official by securing the next four years as college student-athletes.
King is headed to New Mexico State, Sepulveda to Southern Utah University and Serna will head to the Midwest to the University of Iowa.
All three had individual tables full of their new college banners, caps, memorabilia and balloons representing the school colors.
“I enjoyed the signing day so much,” said Sepulveda, who has waited four years for this moment. “I’m very happy that (St. Paul Coach Charles) Gandara still decided to do something and I am so thankful for his dedication to us.
“Of course, I wanted the ceremony to be at school like any other normal signing day, but we don’t let the situation dictate our attitude towards it.”
Sepulveda, who is a middle infielder, still found the good in the alternative site for the signing.
“We found an alternative way to still celebrate a very special day for the three of us and I am so thankful I got to spend it with some special people in my life.”
Serna, is a pitcher and earned San Gabriel Valley Player of the Week honor last season. She was also happy for the ceremony.
“It is really sad not having the ceremony at the school,” she said. “…it’s a tradition to sign out National Letter of Intent day at school, but I really enjoyed signing day.
“It worked out great for all the families who were happy and all had a great time.”
With King, Serna and Sepulveda signing, that brings the total in the last three years to nine moving on to the next level.
The previous six are:
Camille Marin, C (Iowa State); Diamond Sandoval, OF (University of New Mexico); Tatum Anzaldo, IF (Cal Berkeley); Nia Carter, IF (Iowa); Megan Gutierrez, 3B/1B (New Mexico Highlands) and Savannah Pineda-Chavez, Utility (New Mexico Highlands);
In addition, Gandara figures by the end of this next season, three more players could be added to that list.
“Obviously I am extremely proud of all of our student-athletes that go on to play at the next level,” Gandara said. “My hope is that for the brief time that we have them, we add to their physical and mental development and provide them with the tools necessary to succeed at the next level, both on the field and in the classroom.”
Gandara continued, “…I think earning a scholarship to play in college is the easy part for these young ladies. The hard part is picking up their lives and leaving home in their early adult life.”
Serna, Sepulveda, and King sign their letters of intent. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)
Jayne Sepulveda, Sr. SS/2B
Coach Gandara’s comments: “Jayne has been looking forward to her signing day since the eighth grade. She has seen her St. Paul teammates for the past three years sign their letters on campus during the school day each year since her freshman year. She has been waiting for her turn to do the same her senior year.
This has been a long and at times frustrating journey for Jayne. During her freshman year of high school, the NCAA released a stricter set of rules for Division 1 softball coaches. These rules prevented D1 coaches from communicating with recruits, parents, current coaches or any other third-party about their recruiting before September 1 of the athlete’s junior year of high school.
At the end of her travel ball season (Between sophomore and junior year), her coach pulled her aside and reminded her that it was a process and to not focus on committing but rather focus on the process.
She did just that. The fall and winter of her junior year was a productive one on the field and she was able to verbally commit to Southern Utah University in January of this year.”
Southern Utah Coach, Don Williams on Sepulveda: “Jayne was one of our top choices. We were looking for kids that are athletes with a good skill set. We’re trying to build this program.
We had a great visit with Jayne and are excited to see her in a Southern Utah University uniform. She just fits the mold of the kind of athlete we’re looking for.”
Comments from Jayne Sepulveda: “I had the verbal before the COVID happened, because I committed in January. I couldn’t even go on my official visit this year, because they pushed it back, sadly. I only went on one visit so far. I’m super excited and definitely ready. I’m going to miss my teammates a lot, especially Kat and Jordin. It’s sad and I’m going to miss them a lot. I’m happy that they are going where they are going (Iowa and New Mexico State).
I’m ready for the new chapter in my life. I’m looking forward to new bonds and friendships, because I only know one person on the team. She is on my travel ball team. I’m ready to experience something different than California.”
Jordin King, Sr. P
Coach Gandara’s comments: “Jordin is excited that her signing day has finally arrived and has learned along the way to not take anything for granted.
Jordin will be officially signing to play softball at New Mexico State University, but that opportunity presented itself in early September.
She had been verbally committed to Cal Berkley since eighth grade, but as a result of COVID-19 and college athletes having an opportunity to keep a year of eligibility, Jordin’s offer was rescinded this past summer. She was forced to start all over again, but this time the clock was really ticking. She continued to work hard and perform well during her travel ball tournaments and showcases and her hard-work paid off.
New Mexico State offered her a scholarship at the end of September. Her experience, though, has taught her something. Until the paper is signed, nothing is guaranteed. Like her teammates (Kat and Jayne) that also signed letters, it is extra special and she’ll be able to breathe a big sigh of relief once her letter is submitted to the university.”
James King and Denita Knox (Parents): James – “I’m excited, enthusiastic and proud because she’s worked so hard over the years to accomplish this goal and she’s done it. It’s been a long road with a lot of blood, sweat and tears.
Denita: “I’m getting emotional. I’m happy, I’m proud of her and ditto what he said. We’re proud of her. She’s my baby. She’s a flight away, a drive away, about ten hours. There’s nothing that we wouldn’t do for her. We’re just so super excited that she has this opportunity to play at the next level. Tears of joy, tears of joy.”
New Mexico Coach, Kathy Rodolph on King: “’We have a good two-way player in Jordin,’ her travel ball coach, Marty Tyson said. ‘She can pitch and hit.’ You talk about connections. My relationship with Marty is great. He has one of the top five programs in the country.
She is so humble and very athletic. She will be a great teammate. Jordin’s personality is so bubbly and she comes from a great family. On the zoom call, an hour later we were still talking.
It’s a great community here at New Mexico State.
Jordin’s athleticism is off the chart. I try to get to know them (players) and she is a fantastic kid and I am looking forward to coaching her over the next four years. Preparing for life for these players and we’re going to invest highly in our players.
I take a lot of pride in the way I teach my kids and we have a 100% graduation rate.”
Comments from Jordin King: “Honestly, recruiting was kind of hard this year because the coaches couldn’t come out to watch us play. We had to do it virtually and some people haven’t seen their school yet to see if they like it. So, for committing for a lot of people was definitely the hardest thing due to COVID. New Mexico State was part of my choice because I did happen to lose my scholarship and had to find another scholarship and this was the best place I thought was for me at that time and I still think it is and I’m so excited for the future. I’m looking forward to the culture out there and just experiencing something new other than California. It sucks losing my (teammates) and I know they will always have a special place in my heart and I know they are one call away, one flight away and one text message away.”
Kat Serna, Sr. P
Coach Gandara’s comments: “Kat says it’s crazy to think that she’s actually signing a letter of intent to play college softball. If you would have told her that in her freshman year that’d she’d be playing softball in college, let alone at the University of Iowa, she would think you were lying. Kat never really played competitive travel ball prior to high school and quite frankly wasn’t that passionate about playing softball. That all changed when she arrived at St. Paul High School and got to compete against Jordin, who was also a freshman and committed to play at Cal Berkley (at the time).
Seeing Jordin pitch gave Kat a whole new perspective on playing softball and was impressed with the talent-level of King and the other girls in the program. That motivated (Kat) to up her game and she quickly sought out competitive and reputable travel teams to help her compete at the level of talent she was playing with on her high school team. She continued to develop and by her sophomore year, small colleges became interested in her. It was then that she saw playing college ball as a possibility and it increased her drive. She says that playing with and competing against Jordin elevated her game to a point where the University of Iowa took notice her junior year and offered her a scholarship. This whole experience has been surreal and although she is disappointed that she is not able to have her signing ceremony on campus, she says that what matters most is doing it alongside her friends, teammates and sisters, Jordin and Jayne. That is what makes this day much more special to her.”
Comments from Kat Serna: “First I didn’t think I was going to go anywhere, but actually it was pretty smooth. It wasn’t as difficult as it normally should be. But, thankfully for my (travel ball) coach (Clarence Carter), he really helped me out with the recruiting process to commit to Iowa.
I’m looking forward to everything, to bond with the girls when I go out there next year. I’m just very excited. It’s kind of scary, kind of scary leaving home. I’m definitely going to miss my family, but I think I’ll get used to it. I’m there for a reason to get an education and play softball. I think I’ll be fine. I’ll definitely miss my friends in school. These two, Jordin and Jayne, are one of my closest friends in school. I’ll definitely miss them the most.