Fall Signing Ceremony

Eleven student-athletes in three sports from Jesuit High School's Class of 2023 signed with the college of their choice Wednesday (Nov. 9) at an early morning signing ceremony with family, friends, and coaches in the Tiger Palace at Jesuit.

Jesuit president Fr. Richard C. Hermes, S.J. and athletic director Terry Rupp '84 first addressed the signees, encouraging them to complete their senior year with excellence and then take what they've learned at Jesuit with them to college, living their lives as 'Men for Others.'

The 11 seniors who signed Wednesday are:

BASEBALL
John Abraham - Florida State University
Mikey Clifford - Anderson University
Bryce Fraga - Lenoir-Rhyne University
Josh Hines - Florida Southern University
Jake Kulikowski - University of Miami
Wes Mendes – University of Mississippi
Derek Westfall - Queens University

SOCCER
Phillip Falcon - University of Pennsylvania 

LACROSSE
Scott Moore - High Point University 
Colin Kruger - Boston University 
Brian Kubiak - Florida Southern University

The seven baseball players give Jesuit baseball a total of 35 over the past six seasons, with more likely to come from the Class of 2023 at subsequent signing ceremonies this school year. The seven have been part of a historic run of success for the program under head coach Miguel Menendez. In 2020, a year after winning the State Championship, the Tigers started 9-0 and were ranked No. 1 in the nation by multiple media outlets before the season was cut short due to COVID-19; in 2021, Jesuit was ranked in the Top 10 nationally most of the season and finished 26-3; and in 2022, the Tigers captured the program's 6th State title and 2nd under Menendez with a record-setting run through the playoffs. Mendes, who signed with 2022 National Champion Ole Miss, was named a 1st-Team All-American last season. Abraham is the 3rd Jesuit pitcher in two years to sign with FSU, following Jamie Arnold '22 and Ryan Denison '22.

Kruger, Moore, and Kubiak are helping lead Jesuit lacrosse to new heights. After reaching the Region Final on multiple occasions, the Tigers broke through in 2022 under 3rd-year coach Charlie Cummins. The Tigers defeated Community School of Naples 9-6 to earn the Region Championship for the first time before falling to national power Boca Raton St. Andrew's in the State Semifinal. Kruger is the team's leading scorer over the past two seasons, Moore is one of the state's top faceoff specialists, and Kubiak is the Student Council president.   

Falcon, who is headed to the Ivy League at Penn in Philadelphia, has been a stalwart in goal for Jesuit over the past two seasons, leading the Tigers to a combined 38-6-3 record with 27 shutouts as a sophomore and junior. Penn is 11-2-2 this season and ranked No. 23 in the nation.

This is the first of four signing ceremonies at Jesuit this school year, occurring on the first day of the NCAA's fall signing period. The winter and spring signing ceremonies will take place in February and April, respectively, plus the football-only signing date on Dec. 21. Each year, 20-30 Jesuit student-athletes sign Letters of Intent to participate in college athletics.

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