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Washington Wins Race For 2021 Vista Ridge Hooper Marotte
If you've followed Austin area high school girls basketball since 2017, you are very familiar with Cedar Park Vista Ridge star A.J. Marotte. Fans and recruiting experts could only guess where the three-time first-team all-state talent would commit to for college basketball and the day that she would make the announcement. If you predicted the University of Washington on March 31st, 2020, you are awarded a ding, ding, ding. She wrote in a tweet on Tuesday morning that she would continue her basketball career there after her 2021 high school graduation.
"I've been talking to UW for a little less then a year," Marotte said in an interview with VYPE. "They first saw me when I was playing in Spain with one of their [2020] signees, Jayda Noble. [Head] coach Jody Wynn explained to me that she takes her time really evaluating the character of the girls she recruits, not just their skills on the court. So, she said it takes a while for them to offer, but they eventually offered around the beginning of this year."
Marotte knows her current school, Vista Ridge High School, is over 2,100 miles away from the university in Seattle, so she planned a campus visit. Unfortunately, like a lot of things over the last three weeks, it got cancelled because of COVID-19, which is also known as Coronavirus. She decided to go ahead and commit to the basketball program because she has important connections there.
"It is pretty far from Texas, but I didn't want distance to dictate my decision," she said. "UW's staff is just amazing. They recently came for a home visit and I got to sit down and chat with coach[es] Jody and Derek Wynn and I just loved them. They are amazing people, as are the assistants, Paul [Reed] and Michelle [Augustavo-Fisher]. And I just love the culture and environment they've created at Washington, with the girls they recruit and what not. Also playing in a Power Five conference was a goal of mine and, although I had offers from many other P5 schools, UW was just the perfect fit for me."
Marotte's recruiting resume includes 10 Division I offers, but she couldn't pass up the women's basketball program at Washington.
"I am very excited to get out to Seattle and experience the city and my soon to be home," she said. "Washington just fit everything I wanted in a school. Amazing coaches, [it] recruited great girls [and] had a playing style I knew I could fit into."
An out-of-state move may be on the horizon for Marotte, but she is currently preparing for another extravagant season in Texas and Cedar Park. She wants to add to her very accomplished high school career during the 2020-2021 school year and move her high school team closer to two goals it just fell short of in the 2019-2020 campaign: advancing to the UIL 6A state final four and winning a state title.
"Cedar Park is on the up and coming," she said. "There's definitely a lot of people who still sleep on girls here. I'm very thankful I got to play for Vista Ridge. I remember being in middle school [and] dreaming about wearing one of those red and black jerseys. My coaches at Vista have taught me so much, not just on the court. They've taught me how to be mentally strong through adversity and we have definitely faced a lot of adversity in my time there so far. They've taught me things I will remember throughout the rest of my career and I'm so thankful I get to play at Vista Ridge and be a Ranger."
For more sports coverage, follow Thomas (@Texan8thGen) and VYPE (@VYPEATX) on Twitter.
Looking to get more involved? Check out ShopVYPE for fresh gear that supports local schools and the VYPE U Ambassador Program. To sign up for the VYPE U Program, apply at VYPEU.com.
Photo by VYPE Media's Bradley Collier.
UIL Realignment Introduces New DFW School, Affects Rivalries & More
Thousands of Texas communities were affected by the 2020-2022 UIL Realignment, and Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex high schools were among them. Check out five things to know about Monday's football announcement.
No. 1 Out-of-Town Guests: San Angelo Central may not be on area teams' district schedules anymore, but that's not preventing other out-of-towners from matching up with local squads in late regular season games during the 2020 and 2021 football seasons. We start in 10-6A, with Tyler Lee charging from East Texas to play Dallas Skyline, Mesquite ISD (Mesquite, Mesquite Horn and North Mesquite) and Rockwall ISD (Rockwall and Rockwall-Heath). The neighboring 11-6A will feature Waco schools' (Waco and Waco Midway) trips to Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Duncanville, Lake Ridge, Mansfield and Waxahachie in league play. Other notable out-of-market opponents are Abilene Cooper in 3-5A Division I, John Tyler and Longview in 7-5A Division I and Waco University in 5-5A Division II.
No. 2 Allen & Plano Part Ways: Allen and Plano are separated by 7.2 miles, so it's not a surprise that their high schools were longtime competitors in the same UIL football district. But, that will change for the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Allen will team up with Aubrey Braswell, Denton Guyer, Little Elm, McKinney, McKinney Boyd and Prosper in 5-6A, while Plano ISD schools (Plano, Plano East and Plano West) have planned battles with Coppell, Lewisville, Flower Mound, Flower Mound Marcus and Hebron in 6-6A action. If you're wondering about the future of the Allen/Plano East rivalry, it's expected to be played as the teams' season opener the next two years.
No. 3 Private Power Faces New Tests: Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas is one of the two UIL private school members and has found vast success in the league since it joined in the early 2000s. The Rangers are coming off an impressive 2019 playoff run to the UIL 6A Division II Region II Final, but have new challenges for the 2020 and 2021 seasons. As a member of 9-6A the last two years, they played Allen, McKinney, McKinney Boyd, Plano, Plano East, Plano West and Prosper. Now, they will make the move to 7-6A and battle Irving ISD (Irving, Irving MacArthur, Irving Nimitz) and Richardson ISD (Lake Highlands, Richardson, Richardson Berkner and Richardson Pearce).
No. 4 New Kid On The Block: Collin County has grown enough to give another one of its communities a high school. The Rock Hill Blue Hawks will kickoff their varsity sports district competition against fellow 7-5A Division II members Denison, Frisco, Frisco Lebanon Trail, Frisco Liberty, Frisco Memorial, Lake Dallas, Lucas Lovejoy and Princeton.
No. 5 Get Your Maps Ready: Denton and Denton Ryan will move from Region I to Region II in 5A Division I and Duncanville saw a similar transition from 6A Region I to 6A Region II, so they will have different playoff paths for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
For more sports coverage, follow Thomas (@Texan8thGen) and VYPE (@VYPEDFW) on Twitter.
Looking to get more involved? Check out ShopVYPE for fresh gear that supports local schools and the VYPE U Ambassador Program. To sign up for the VYPE U Program, apply at VYPEU.com.