For most Jesuit athletes, the summer is a time to relax and take a break from the stressful sports atmosphere while many teams have weightlifting and various trainings in the summer; it remains a nice break from the in-season rush of having to balance athletics with academics and all the other school year distractions. However, for some of Jesuit’s most gifted athletes, the summer is no break from continually focusing on athletics. This summer, in fact, three more Jesuit athletes from the class of 2013: Zach Coker, Jordan Mastrogiovanni, and JD Waggoner, all committed to play their respective sports at a division-one collegiate school.
Coker, a star lacrosse player for Jesuit, committed to play for Furman University in August, becoming the 5th lacrosse commit from Jesuit in the class of 2013. Furman, located in Greenville, South Carolina, is starting a brand-new lacrosse program in 2013, and while that may scare many recruits away, it was a positive to Zach because, “it will provide a lot of early playing time, which was a big factor for me,” adding, “Furman has added some other really good recruits and I think by the time I’m an upperclassmen we will be competing for a playoff spot.”
Coker, an attackman, had an outstanding junior season, catching the eye of many schools as he lead Jesuit in goals (34) and assists (30), earning co-offensive MVP and all-state honors. Now that recruiting is out of the picture, Zach is focusing on his senior season, which he has high expectations for: “Now I just want to win a state championship. We got so close last year and played the worst possible game we could in the semifinals. Jesuit lacrosse has never gone undefeated so I’m looking forward to trying to do that and just building on all the personal success I had last year.”
Lacrosse is not the only Jesuit sport with recruits piling up, as football added two more commitments from the team this summer, bringing their total to four. Linebacker Jordan Mastrogiovanni and defensive-end JD Waggoner both committed to schools this summer. Mastrogiovanni, ranked the number 7 inside linebacker in the nation by ESPN, had offers from multiple schools such as Notre Dame, LSU, and Alabama, but ultimately choose the University of Oklahoma, where he will join former Jesuit football player Chuka Ndulue ’10 on the team. Mastrogiovanni made it clear why he choose Oklahoma, saying, “OU was the best fit for me, because [that is where] I felt the most at home. I really bought into everything that they have to offer, and the team atmosphere.”
Waggoner also had many options to choose from such as SMU, Tulsa, and New Mexico State, but decided in July to become an Iowa State Cyclone because he “felt that the coaching staff really wanted me there and that I am a good fit. The main reason they recruited me was because they believed my personality and the way I play fits into their program.” Waggoner added, “It’s good to know that I don’t have to worry about recruiting in the back of my mind, and that my future in football is set. I can now commit all my attention on my senior year and my last season at Jesuit.”
Both football players, who are captains of the team, emphasized their focus on leading Jesuit to become the first team in many years to make it past the first round of the playoffs and possibly even win a state championship.
With such talented athletes both in lacrosse and in football, both teams are looking forward to very successful seasons. We are looking forward to hearing their names in the future.
