Athlete Aspirations: What does the future hold
By: Warren Younger
Mesa Community College finished No. 4 last year in overall athletics in the country
and 75 athletes moved on to play sports at four-year universities, but is there really a future for community college athletes?
Out of the 75 athletes, 34 of them were football players and out of those 34 only 13 of those players got offers to play at Division I (D-I) schools.
Also if we are not talking about the “major four” sports which include football, baseball, basketball and soccer then only
11 athletes are moving on to four-year schools.
Out of those 11, not a single one is going to a D-I school
There is no doubt that trying
Community College level,
is hard.
Kaylee Romo, a softball player and student at MCC, agrees.
“There are lots of athletes all over the country trying to get to that next level and if you are not willing to put the extra time in to get better,
the scouts for D-I colleges and pro teams will find somebody that will work hard to play for them,” Romo said. Trying to go pro is a whole different story. According to Al Jazeera, less than 2 percent of all college athletes go pro.
Those numbers are even When asked on her thoughts of going pro she responded realistically.
“There are not a lot of you see a lot on TV so it is extremely hard to get to that level,” Romo said. “Although
I love playing, I have different aspirations in life like getting my degree in exercise science and becoming a physical therapist.”
The harsh reality is that becoming a professional athlete isn’t a realistic option. Especially if you are playing college ball at a community college.
But MCC isn’t your typical community College.
The T-Birds, last year, won national championships in both baseball and Women’s basketball.
Tennis, golf, football and cross country also did very well regionally and nationally. T-Birds athletes are some of to go pro it would most likely be from MCC.
One of those athletes could possibly be basketball captain Charles Wardell.
“Yes, my plan is to become a professional basketball player,” Wardell said.“I also plan on playing D-I basketball on a scholarship.”
Wardell is an out-of-state athlete attending MCC on an athletic scholarship and it with his first and last year here.
When asked if he thinks that MCC athletes could play at a higher level he responded “most definitely”.
“My thoughts on athletes at MCC that think they can play at a higher level is that it is most definitely possible if you really try hard and put in the work and
to make a name for yourself playing sports, especially at the
smaller if you are coming from a
community college.
professional softball teams out there. It is not usually something
the best in the nation and if any
community college athlete were
take care of your business at
school as far as grades.”
