By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
Ari Gallardo preferred to let her play do the talking during her basketball career at Los Fresnos. True to form, she kept it quiet when she reached her latest milestone.
Gallardo signed to compete for Coastal Bend College in Beeville on June 9 at her home with only her immediate family present. She may not have a flashy demeanor, but Los Fresnos coach Rebecca Valdez still thinks Gallardo was one of the best to don a Lady Falcons uniform, and now she’s taking those talents to the Region XIV Conference of the National Junior College Athletic Association.
“It was a great feeling for me, going to the next step and the next chapter of my life, and it’s going to be very exciting to see what’s going to come,” Gallardo said. “(I’m looking forward) just to compete with better athletes and to become a better athlete in general.”
Gallardo thanked Valdez for introducing her to Cougars coach Nathan Purswell. As a former collegiate athlete, Valdez said she knew Gallardo had what it takes to play college basketball, and she’s happy the opportunity came about.
“She’s so talented, she needed to play at the next level, so I’m just thankful that she’s going to show off her talents somewhere else,” Valdez said. “She’s going to do good things for Coastal Bend. They got lucky getting someone like her. Ari’s a one-of-a-kind basketball player. We’re all very proud of her at Los Fresnos, and we can’t wait to see her do good things in the future.”
Gallardo did a lot of good things as a four-year varsity starter for the Lady Falcons. She scored more than 2,500 points throughout her career and was named The Brownsville Herald’s All-Metro offensive player of the year after a 2019-2020 senior season in which she dropped 724 points, including 70 3-pointers, and recorded 92 assists.
Though she isn’t a very vocal person, Valdez said Gallardo was a good leader and an easy athlete to coach. She believes Gallardo will transition smoothly to the college level because of her versatility and mentality. Gallardo said she has been running every day to build up her endurance and will either be playing as a shooting guard or point guard for the Cougars.
“She’s got a good attitude, and Ari’s very coachable. She listens and she processes things really well, so I think going to a new program with new teammates, she’ll process it all,” Valdez said. “She’s a very positive kid. She doesn’t speak very much, but she’s never negative. She’ll adapt really well just for the fact that she’s the type that will work hard, she’ll go with the flow and she’ll do what’s best for the team.”
Gallardo will be studying kinesiology at Coastal Bend and wants to go into coaching in the future. She fell in love with basketball at a young age, playing with and for her dad, Ricardo, and said her parents played a big role in her advancing to the next level. She’s looking forward to continuing to work hard to reach her full potential and keep making Los Fresnos proud from afar.
“Hopefully (my teammates) remember me by everything that I’ve done. From freshman year to senior year, I never gave up,” Gallardo said. “No matter your talent, you always have to work hard. I definitely want to thank my parents, they’ve helped me a lot. And I just thank God for everything.”