Football, baseball, soccer, volleyball players signed NLIs from Division II to NAIA
Led by All-County and All-OBC offensive lineman Marcus Ferrer, seven Osceola High athletes made their college intentions known during a signing ceremony Wednesday in the school’s gymnasium.
Ferrer will play his college football at West Florida University, a Division II power in Pensacola. The Argos won the National Championship in 2019 and have been a regular in the NCAA playoffs. The team went 10-2 last season, making it to the second round of the post-season.
Although he was signed by a D-2 power, Osceola coach Eric Pinellas believes Ferrer is a Division I athlete.
“Marcus missed his entire junior season with an injury and just didn’t receive the attention he deserved,” Pinellas said. “Halfway during his senior year, some teams started paying attention – including USF. When their coach moved to Auburn, he took his offensive line coach with him and that ended that possibility. Regardless, Marcus is a great football player, student and individual. There’s no doubt will succeed at the next level.”
Ferrer said the winning tradition and attention he received from the Argos was a deciding factor.
“They said they really wanted me and Coach Nobles (Head Coach Kaleb Nobles) said he believed I could help this team,” he said. “My goal is to go there, get established and try to start my freshman year.”
In an age of transfers, he added that he was not necessarily looking to eventually move on.
“West Florida has a plan to move to D1 in 2027,” Ferrer said. “I think it would be pretty neat to be a part of an historic move like that,”
Teammates Ja’mario Bradford and Alijah Jenkins joined Ferrer in making their decisions. Bradford will play college football at the University of Nebraska-Kearney; while Jenkins will play at St. Thomas.
Bradford had a big season for Osceola last year, leading the team with four interceptions and adding eight pass defenses. He lettered for three years, playing both corner and safety. He finished his senior career with nine interceptions, 106 total tackles and 42 passes defended. He also caught 11 passes for 139 yards his senior season.
A NCAA Division II school, Nebraska-Kearney plays in the Mid-American Athletic Conference – where they have claimed 32 conference titles in football –dating back to 1916.
“Based on several factors, I believe Nebraska-Kearney was my best opportunity to develop and improve as a football player,” Bradford said of his decision.
For Jenkins, it was his second Signing Day as a Kowboy player, as he committed to Clark-Atlanta in the early December signing period. But that school later fired its head coach and released all players from their commitments. That opened the door for Jenkins, who accounted for 1,520 yards and eight touchdowns, to sign with St. Thomas University on Wednesday.
Located in Miami Gardens, St. Thomas is an NAIA member that went 7-4 last season and made it to the national playoffs – losing 42-35 to Caroll College (Montana) in the first round. “Even as I was committing to Clark, St. Thomas was still in contact with me.” Jenkins said. “When I reopened my recruitment, they were the first to contact me. They said they were looking for playmakers and felt I could help them.”
Also signing on Wednesday where Osceola volleyball player Mikayla Matthews (Xavier College), baseball players OnixxJoe Barreto and Jasber Freitez (both John Melvin University) and soccer player Alexander Aragon (Salem, W.V.).
The signing of Matthews marked the fourth player from Osceola’s 26-5 state Final Four team to sign athletic scholarship papers. Mathews, a two-year starter, had 58 kills and 60 total blocks.
She said she selected Xavier, located in New Orleans and an NAIA member of the Red River Conference, for a variety of reasons.
“I wanted to attend an HBCU and academics are very important to me, as I intend to major in pre-med and Xavier has an excellent academic reputation.” Mathews said. “I haven’t been playing volleyball very long, so I am excited for this opportunity to play at the next level.”
Barreto and Freitez begin their senior year as returning starters. Barreto hit .317 last season; while Fereitiz compiled a 3.50 ERA in 10 appearances.
“He’s the first Osceola soccer player to sign since I’ve been here,” Coach Jonathan Zilinkas said of Aragon. “As we continue to build a program, our goal is to help get players to the next level.”
