College Sports Signings

Three seniors from Jesuit High School signed with the college of their choice Wednesday (April 17) at an early morning signing ceremony in the President's Board Room at Jesuit.

Family, friends, and coaches packed the room for the special event. Jesuit president Fr. Richard C. Hermes, S.J. and athletic director Terry Rupp '84 first addressed the signees, encouraging them to take what they've learned at Jesuit with them to college, and to continue to strive for excellence in their lives as 'Men for Others.' The three signees Wednesday were:

• Grayson Maddox – golf – Sewanee: The University of the South
• Robbie Shaffer – swimming – Loyola New Orleans
• Ethan Valdez – baseball – Wagner College

Maddox was a four-year standout during a great era of Jesuit golf, helping the Tigers place 6th, 4th, 7th, and 4th at State while winning four District and three Region titles. Maddox was the individual District and Region champion in 2017, and his final round 75 on the difficult State Tournament course this fall helped Jesuit snare the 4th-place team finish.

Shaffer has been a key cog in the Jesuit swimming machine, helping the Tigers win back-to-back State Championships in 2017 and '18. Tuesday, the day before the signing ceremony, Shaffer spoke to the student body at the school-wide celebration to commemorate Jesuit swimming's second State title. Shaffer had helped launch this year's championship run as part of Jesuit's 200 medley relay that captured 1st place and the gold medal in the opening event at the State Meet.

Valdez, a middle infielder, is batting .357 this season and is second on the team with a .500 on-base percentage. He instigated Jesuit's 7th inning comeback about 11 hours before the signing ceremony, singling and scoring the tying run as the Tigers rallied to a 4-2 win over Robinson to clinch the District's No. 1 seed.

The ceremony took place on the traditional annual date, the first day of the NCAA spring signing period, and was Jesuit's fourth (and likely final) signing ceremony of 2018-19. Each year, some 15-30 Jesuit student-athletes sign Letters of Intent to participate in college athletics.

Please view below a photo slideshow and a video from Wednesday's ceremony.