College Bound

Jesuit High School's Class of 2022 will attend highly selective universities across the country, such as Columbia, Georgetown, Harvard, Notre Dame, Princeton, and Yale, as well as the best schools in the Sunshine State and many more top colleges throughout the Southeast.

It was another outstanding year of admissions to in-state schools, including the most popular choices annually for Jesuit alumni: Florida State and the University of Florida. Of the 198 members of the Class of 2022, 60 were accepted at highly selective UF, with 11 also accepted into the UF Honors College. Among those who will be matriculating in the UF Honors College are Xavier Aya-Ay, Brody Grissom, Nicholas Yahney, and National Merit Finalists Ethan Tiejema and Andrew Wilson, who was the recipient of Jesuit’s Excellence in Mathematics Award. Others enrolling at UF include straight-A student and Eagle Scout Adam Collins and National Merit Finalists Ben Deakin and Avery Hames.

A total of 87 members of the Class of 2022 were accepted into FSU, with a few dozen enrolling. Among them are record-setting All-State linebacker A.J. Cottrill, who will join the Seminoles’ football team; Luke Denick, who joins his brother Bryce from the Class of 2020 in Tallahassee; Isaac Addison, who chose FSU over the UF Honors College and the University of Central Florida; straight-A students Jacob Thomas and Colin Causey; lacrosse standouts Chase Minacci and Dylan Causey; and two FSU baseball signees who helped Jesuit to the State Championship this spring, Jamie Arnold and Ryan Denison.

Among other in-state schools that continue to be popular is Florida A&M, where National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete honoree Wayne Quin will join Christian Jones ’20 in the Rattlers football program along with numerous other Jesuit alumni currently attending FAMU. Matthew Justin, who was Jesuit’s Arrupe Award winner for excelling as a ‘Man for Others’ in community service and starred in multiple Masque productions, also is staying in-state and enrolling in the school of architecture at the University of Miami.

Several Jesuit students were accepted to Ivy League schools. Among those enrolling at a prestigious Ivy are cross country and track & field standout Lawson McLeod, who will attend Columbia in New York City, and double State Champion Jack Crook, who will wrestle for Harvard.

Matthew Tran and Zachary Reich, had their choice of Ivy League institutions. Reich, who received both the science and service awards at Awards Night and also played Varsity soccer and is a National Merit Scholar, chose Yale over Princeton, Columbia, and a Lombardi Scholarship to the UF Honors College. Tran also chose Yale over Princeton as well as Northwestern.

Three Jesuit seniors will attend Georgetown, the distinguished Jesuit university in Washington, D.C.: Valedictorian Logan Kant, who chose the Hoyas over several schools including Virginia, where he was a Jefferson Scholar finalist; State Champion swimmer Ryan Finster, who also was accepted to Notre Dame, among others; and Danny O’Leary, who opted for Georgetown over Boston College, Notre Dame and William & Mary.

Notre Dame continues to be perhaps the most popular out-of-state annual destination for Jesuit students, with five enrolling this year: Altar Server of the Year honoree Trey George; award-winning artist John Paul Llanos, St. John Paul II Culture of Life Award recipient Gianluca Mammola, Anne Frank Award recipient and State Champion football player Jonah Tran, and class Co-Salutatorian Antonio Troncoso, who chose Notre Dame over the UF Honors College. Also accepted to Notre Dame were O'Leary, Finster, Asher Heldfond (who is attending the University of Tampa), and Max Jeffrey.

Jeffrey, who also was accepted into UF’s Honors College, is enrolling at Georgia Tech, which is among several top Atlantic Coast Conference schools chosen by members of the Jesuit’s Class of 2022, including North Carolina, where Co-Salutatorian Carter French will enroll. French, whose slew of accolades include being named one of just 24 Florida High School Athletic Association’s Scholar-Athlete Award recipients in the state, selected UNC over numerous top schools including Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, Wake Forest, and Virginia. Joining French at North Carolina is Nico Norton, who was a finalist for UNC’s prestigious Morehead-Cain Scholarship and chose the Tar Heels over the UF Honors College and Georgia Tech, among others.

Two Jesuit football stars signed with top ACC schools. Jaydn Girard, who scored the winning TD in the waning moments of the State Championship game, will continue his academic and athletic career at Wake Forest, and All-State safety Wade Woodaz remains a Tiger – a Clemson Tiger – as a top football recruit for the 2018 National Champions, where he will be joined by Jesuit classmate Mac Carideo. Boston College, the ACC’s Jesuit institution, accepted six Tigers this year, and Grant Jurusz will be attending.

One of the most robust scholarships available to Jesuit students each year is the Chris and Lauren Schellman Scholarship to the Haslam Business School at the University of Tennessee. Ethan Crall earned the Schellman Scholarship in 2022, choosing Tennessee over the University of Michigan, and he will be joined by classmates Myles Jackson, Michael Akers, and James Motta in Knoxville. Ezra Moros, who earned Best AP Portfolio at Celebration of the Arts, is attending the University of Alabama.

Some of Jesuit’s most talented musicians will attend the University of Tampa. Trumpet player Michael Skarupa, Jesuit’s John Philip Sousa Band Award recipient, and violinist Preston Shembekar, who spearheaded the establishment of the Classical Music Concert at Jesuit this year and will play baseball in college, are joining Heldfond at UT, as is Trey Morris. Morris, who received Jesuit’s Excellence in Media Production Award and has enrolled in UT’s Honors College, is a budding pop musician who recently released his first single, “Trying.”

Two Jesuit students accepted appointments to military academies. Braden Basile, a three-time wrestling State Champion, will join the wrestling program at Army West Point, and soccer standout Aidan Miles will play soccer for the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Miles’ teammate, Baylen Young, who was a starter on Jesuit’s 2020 State Champion soccer team, will continue his soccer career at Davidson.

Other student-athletes signing with top schools include two-time All-State selection Caleb Williams (football) at Furman, the third Tiger in the past five years to join the Paladins football team, and Antonin Hoppmann-Salario (lacrosse) at Haverford, the highly selective liberal arts college near Philadelphia. Four-time wrestling State Champion Tom Crook, who earned the prestigious Schultz Award this year and was Florida’s Mr. Wrestling in 2021, will wrestle at Virginia Tech, choosing the powerhouse Hokies program over Harvard and several other offers; and AP Artist and State Champion baseball player A.J. Nessler will join the baseball program at the University of Pittsburgh.

Jesuit's director of college counseling, Fernando Rodrigues, emphasizes that each student should focus on finding the best matches for them during the college process. For many that may be Florida or Florida State or Central Florida, for some it may be Notre Dame, or the Ivy League, or top ACC and SEC schools, or local schools such as UT and the University of South Florida. For others, such as Ashton Buchanan and National Merit Finalist Trevor Powers, it’s Southern Methodist University in Texas.

Many had numerous options, such as Nicholas Jahnke, who was accepted to Marquette, Richmond, James Madison, Virginia Tech, William & Mary, and Wisconsin before ultimately choosing to stay in Florida and attend UF.

It’s all about finding the best school for them.

"These young men worked their way through the process and identified those schools that are the best fit," Rodrigues said. "Once again this year, it is an outstanding, well-rounded group of students who have selected excellent colleges and universities for the next four years of their life and beyond."

(Pictured on the homepage L-R are John Paul Llanos, Andrew Wilson, Matthew Tran, Zachary Reich, and Luke Denick. For a full listing of all colleges and universities that accepted members of the Class of 2022 as listed in the graduation event program, click here.)