By MARK MOLINA | The Brownsville Herald
LOS FRESNOS — After successful stints at the high school level, three Los Fresnos athletes have now ensured that there will be a new chapter in their athletic careers.
The basketball duo of Andrew Carrizales and Jordan Urbina and volleyball standout Hope Trevino all signed on to play their respective sports at the collegiate level at a ceremony Monday afternoon at Los Fresnos High School.
Carrizales joined Jarvis Christian College, Urbina will attend Schreiner University and Trevino signed with Victoria College.
For Carrizales, the push towards Jarvis came during a visit from one of the school’s representatives and after a meeting, he knew where he wanted to suit up next.
“One of the college center representatives was here for academics and to recruit,” Carrizales said. “They called me in and it turns out one of the representatives there was involved with sports and involved with several clubs. She made Jarvis feel welcoming, friendly and the way I was treated while I was with them was an experience I won’t forget.”
The Jarvis Bulldogs, who compete in the NAIA’s Red River athletic Conference and are coming off a 7-20 season, will add Carrizales after a standout season in which he led the team in scoring with an average of 14.2 points per game along with 8.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals.
He was named the District 32-6A MVP, was named to the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches All-Region IV-6A team and was The Brownsville Herald’s All-Metro Boys Basketball Offensive Player of the Year.
Carrizalez said he is the only recruit from the South Texas area heading to Hawkins to play for Jarvis, which makes him more anxious to get started.
“The team should be looking good for next year,” he said. “The coach has been welcoming and just really nice. I just want to contribute by coming in and leading, holding everyone accountable. I want to contribute on offense, defense, in scoring — just a little bit of everything. I probably won’t do as much as I did here in my senior season, but hopefully I can put up some numbers.”
As for Urbina, the decision to head to Kerrville and join Schreiner University, an NCAA Division III school, was a no-brainer as he has a history with the city even before he was born.
So much so that he handled his own recruiting as he initiated contact and sent in his game film.
“Ever since I was in my mom’s stomach, and maybe even before, my parents would go to a church camp that was 30 miles down the road,” he said. “Since before I was born until to now, I have gone there every summer, so I know the area really well. I picked Schreiner because it’s a nice campus. I spoke with the coach and they have a nice program and if I ever need anything, I’m 30 miles away from my church camp.
“It’s exciting and I’m definitely going to miss high school and the Tuesday’s and Fridays playing for the Falcons, but we all have to graduate eventually, but signing that paper got me excited because I can play four more years.”
Urbina averaged 13.5 points per game, 3.7 assists and 4.5 steals per game, leading to him being named the District 32-6A and All-Metro Defensive Player of the Year.
Now, he will start anew at Schreiner, which is coming off a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament championship and DIII NCAA tournament berth.
Head basketball coach Marco Hinojosa has high expectations and is excited for both Urbina and Carrizales despite the bittersweet feeling of losing his two top players.
“They will be missed, but I’m actually looking forward to what they have in store for the future,” he said. “I’m excited and they’re both good kids with good heads on their shoulders. They are two different types of players. Jordan is just Jordan and does some things on the floor that I don’t know how he does sometimes — he can help out any program. Andrew is very versatile. He played the 1 through the 5 for us and he can shoot the ball, rebound and do a lot fo different things.
“I think they will both be successful at the college level.”
Trevino will join the Victoria College Pirates playing in the Texas Collegiate Club Sports League after deciding that the school provided everything on her proverbial checklist.
“I had tried out at a few colleges, I either didn’t like (the schools) much, they had dorms, but didn’t give out athletic scholarships or they didn’t have a nursing program,” Trevino said of her selection process. “Victoria College has nursing and gives out athletic scholarships. You can just tell that the coaches are really nice, I love the campus, love that it has nursing and I love the volleyball team because I had been practicing with them.
“It was just a really good experience all over and I feel that I would be happy there.”
Trevino expects to get playing time as a freshman and hopes that time comes in the middle with a pair of leaving the program this season.
Los Fresnos head coach Becky Woods says Trevino has all the tools to succeed after having a positive experience coaching her for the last three years.
“Hope could play outside and she can play libero,” Woods said. “She won’t be one of their biggest players, but if she sets her mind to it, she can play middle. If she prepares herself and trains like I know she can, she’ll be okay. She was an inspiration for all three years. She was just a motivator, she was a go-getter and she hated to lose.
“She’s a great kid, a great personality always very optimistic and I’m going to miss her.”