As the final athletic season of the year is underway with the start of spring sports, many seniors are making final decisions on where to continue their education. 

Across all atoms sports, there are many athletes who have been recruited to continue playing their sport for the next four years at various academic institutions. 

Making a commitment to a college is a huge deal. There are a lot of factors that go into choosing where to pursue commitment such as location, tuition, competitiveness, and campus life. 

“Virginia State was one of my dream schools growing up so I always wanted to go there. The fact that it was an HBCU encouraged me to go,” Senior Prince Agyeman. 

Agyeman was the starting running back for the atoms varsity football team. He received first team All-District and first team All-Region for his performance this year. 

Virginia University Is an NCAA Division II school. The school is also an HBCU, which stands for Historically black colleges and universities.

“I’m looking forward to meeting my new team and the new environment,” Agyeman said. 

As the school year comes to an end, the seniors can reflect on all of the memories that they have made throughout their high school career. 

“I will miss playing with the kids I grew up with my whole life. It’s crazy how your friends from Little League and Elementary school are your teammates in high school. Watching them get better and grow over time is fun to watch,” Senior Danny Salisbury said.

Salisbury plays football, baseball, and basketball at the varsity level, but ultimately decided to commit to Marymount university to play baseball. Marymount is a NCAA Division III school. 

“My dad has always loved watching me play. Marymount is right down the street and he can come whenever he wants to watch me play,” Salisbury said. 

Many athletes who have played at Annandale have enjoyed the Annandale atmosphere and culture.

“The most I will miss about high school is playing on Friday nights, the atmosphere is just great. I’ll miss that,” Senior Orlando Torres said.

Torres committed to Wilson College, a private college in Pennsylvania, to play baseball. Wilson college is a NCAA Division III school. 

While in high school, these seniors had to do a lot when it came to the recruiting process. The recruiting process is a long process, where student athletes try to do whatever they can to get noticed by scouts and coaches.

“My recruitment process started freshman year when I attended ID clinics. During sophomore year, I communicated with coaches. I communicated through email with the Ferrum coach and I sent out highlight videos. My next step was a phone call with the coach. After talking with the coach I scheduled a campus visit. While walking around the campus I knew Ferrum was the right fit. After I was accepted into the school, I verbally committed,” Senior Madison Cruz said.

Cruz plays for the Women’s varsity soccer team. She is committed to go to Ferrum college, which is an NCAA Division III school located in Ferrum, Virginia. 

“I am most looking forward to competing at the next level and playing against former teammates. I also am looking forward to continuing the progress I have made as a person both on and off the field,” Cruz said.

These seniors have a bright future ahead of them and, and we all wish them the best of luck throughout the rest of their academic and athletic careers.