Family says drive started in third grade — early on summer mornings
Alyssa Marino addresses those gathered at her signing ceremony last week. (Photo/Ken Jackson)
There will be no Gateway High girls basketball games played on Wednesday nights next season, if Coach Justin Marino has his way.
He’ll be preoccupied those nights. Not with coaching — watching, rooting and supporting.
Alyssa Marino, the Panthers’ four-year starting point guard, running their offense this year heading into the postseason in a couple weeks, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in nearby Daytona Beach.
With some very big games to go over the next few weeks yet to be played, Alyssa carries a 13.3 per game career scoring average, and has averaged 6.3 assists per game in her Gateway career. The Panthers have had three (and likely a fourth) playoff berths, two district titles and a Class 5A Final Four appearance from her freshman season during her GHS career.
With playing at the next level on her mind from an early age, she said she locked in on ERAU back in her sophomore year.
“I’d say both sides have been interested, and when I visited there I knew it’d be a great fit, since I wanted to stay in Florida,” said Marino, noting ERAU has a Homeland Security track she plans to enroll in.
Embry-Riddle is a competitive Division II team in the highly-competitive Sunshine State Conference (Winter Park’s Rollins College is also an SSC school, and a chance to see ERAU locally). The Eagles are 14-2 in the 2025-26 season and ranked No. 14 nationally in Division II.
"Alyssa is a deadly shooter with deep range. She has a high basketball IQ and will be a great addition to our backcourt with her ball handling, passing and shooting ability,” ERAU Head Coach Lisa Wilson said.
Justin, who said he believes in his heart that she made the right decision signing with ERAU, will go from coaching her to cheering for her.
“I've literally coached her every, every single game since kindergarten except for one year,” he said.
Justin said it was the summer as Alyssa was going into third grade that she went from a gym rat to a bona fide player.
“She came and told me that she wanted to be great. She's like, every morning I want to set my alarm at 6 a.m., and I want you to drive me down to the YMCA so we can practice. Every morning that entire summer, she would knock on my door at 6 a.m. We would literally practice every single day from 7 to 9. From that moment, I kind of knew she would be special, just based upon the work ethic alone.”
Viviana Marino, Alyssa’s mom, has had the front-row seat for all this in Kissimmee, and will again in Daytona, filled with pride, she said.
“I just knew this would come when I’d watch her work,” she said of Alyssa’s signing. “I know she had to prove herself twice as much as any other player.”
While the talk of her Signing Day was about being a college freshman later this year — “I can’t wait to get to work there to try to earn a spot,” — her focus for the next month or so is on finishing strong as a Gateway senior and helping get the Panthers. 19-2 thus far this year, back to the state Final Four, where they went as a freshman.
“People say I could be nervous about what we might do in my last year,” she said. “But I’m excited for (the postseason) this year.”
