COMMIT: Poly senior baseball players Alfred Parras, Cole Percival and Justin Adame commit to universities to play baseball.
By Emma Carson, Staff Writer
In the 2016- 2017 school year, three senior baseball players decided to continue their baseball journeys in college. Alfred Parras committed to La Sierra University (LSU), Cole Percival committed to the University of California, Riverside (UCR) and Justin Adame committed to Lakeland University (LU).
Alfred Parras committed to LSU here in Riverside, on November 28. “I plan to major in business, and [LSU] is ranked top ten in the nation for business,” Parras (12) said. The educational opportunities at LSU are the primary reason for his choice, but he also hopes to keep playing baseball as long as he can; “I think that my baseball career will take me throughout college and hopefully after, but I know for sure that I will be playing ball throughout college,”Parras stated. LSU baseball coaches scouted him during the previous 2015- 2016 season and during their current pre-season. “If I were at North [High School] or King [High School] I think they would have been looking at me, and I would have still decided to go to [LSU],” Parras said.
Cole Percival committed to University of California, Riverside in September. His father, Troy Percival, is the head coach of UCR’s division one baseball team. “I have always been interested in going to UCR […] both my parents were athletes there, my dad is the head coach now […] it’s my family school, I had a lot of family members go there. I love the city of Riverside- I wanted to stay here, and I wanted to play for my city,” Percival (12) said. In school, he hopes to study sports psychology to “look into the minds of athletes,” and better himself and others. He also hopes to play baseball beyond college, in Major League Baseball (MLB). “These last few years have been really good for me, of course being able to play division one in college and hopefully this year to be picked up by a major league team in the draft. I am not sure I’m ready to sign, but that is a huge honor. Hopefully in the future, I’d love that to be my career,” Percival said.
Justin Adame committed to Lakeland University, in Wisconsin, on November 20, and he was awarded the LU Dean’s scholarship. Lakeland University coaches scouted him throughout past seasons and the current pre-season, just as with Parras. “It was overall a great campus, [it] has my major, and the people fit my personality. The total selling point was me being able to play [baseball] in college and of course getting a big scholarship for it,” Adame (12) stated. He intends to major in criminal justice, to either become a detective or a psychology teacher. “My choices were based on who offered the most and was the best fit. That’s what Lakeland was.” Adame said.
All three have accomplished a great deal in athletics and academics during their time at Poly. They look forward to different aspects of their college experiences. “I am looking forward to my schooling and the new family I am going to make with the La Sierra coaches and baseball team,” Parras said. “I look forward to the overall experience of being an adult, taking care of myself and being responsible,” Adame said. Percival looks forward to “just being able to play [baseball] with the ‘Riverside’ across my chest […] I think it is going to be a great experience,” Percival said.