Sports

Seniors speak on athletic commitments

The college athletic recruiting process can vary greatly. A few Haven seniors and athletic director Ms. Lynelle Mosley shared their thoughts after the spring signing day.

Eddie Gebhardt ’26, Contributor • Jun 2, 2026

While pursuing collegiate athletics isn’t for everybody, over 15 Haven seniors have committed to play at the next level. Despite unique backgrounds, these athletes are united by their dedication to excellence in their chosen sport.

Some signees from the class of 2026 took the time to share their experiences.

Michael Spielman (Haven Yearbook)

Michael Spielman ’26

Committed to Harvard University wrestling ’30

What made your school attractive as a student and as an athlete?

“It was the best school I had the opportunity to go to. In terms of athletics, it’s Division I which is the level that most people who want to play college sports want to play at. [Harvard is] a very tight-knit community and the wrestling team is much better operated than a lot of other schools I was around.”

What was your recruiting process like?

“I got in contact with Harvard very late in the recruitment process. Two weeks after school ended junior year I had my first phone call with the coaches and we hit it off really well. I stayed in contact with them all summer and met them out at a national tournament in July. In September, they had me out for an official visit and I committed three weeks after that when I got into the school academically.”

How has wrestling at Strath Haven shaped you as an athlete?

“It’s given me a desire to stand out. Haven [doesn’t have] a very prestigious wrestling program, and being in that environment but loving the sport and wanting to be good made me even more ambitious. You could say I wanted to separate myself from my surroundings.”

What part of college athletics are you most looking forward to?

“I’m excited for how available resources will be and how much personalization there is. With college sports…they’ll figure out what you need to fix, how you need to change your training compared to the norm to stay healthy. In high school, those resources, time, and thought aren’t available for any one person to keep them in the best condition.”

As an Ivy league athletic commit, how do you plan to balance Division I wrestling and getting a Harvard education?

“I’m going to be busy…I’ve always had an ability to block out and make necessary sacrifices in the other aspects of life. I don’t like having a ton of free time, it makes me go a little bit crazy. I’ll have to accept that I’m going to have to work hard, but that’s exactly what I want.”

Avery Smith (Haven Yearbook)

Avery Smith ’26

Committed to Union College softball ’30

What made your school attractive as a student and as an athlete?

“As an athlete, all the schools I was looking at were equal in softball and coaching, but as a school, I liked Union better. They have really good research opportunities and overall I liked the more modern campus.”

What was your recruiting process like?

“It started at the end of eighth grade. My travel team does a really good job with recruiting. They’ll have meetings about it. I sent schedules, trying to get coaches out to see me. That went on for about two or three years and then once I got some coaches' attention, I kept talking with them and went to their camps. Once I had my offers, I just weighed my options and decided.”

How has playing softball at Strath Haven shaped you as an athlete?

“I think it’s done a lot. [Haven softball] didn’t have the numbers to have to really have competition for a spot on varsity as a freshman, but I think being exposed to seniors as a freshman and playing against them did a lot because I could see where I stood, where I should be and what I needed to work on.”

What part of college athletics are you most looking forward to?

“I’m most excited to be on a team again. I feel like the best part of all sports is being on a team because you have friendships and can get really close with girls. Playing with your friends is a ton of fun. The atmosphere of college sports is also very different from high school.”

How does the Union softball team handle the winter weather in terms of practice and improvement?

“They just got a brand new turf facility so they now have that and an indoor gym facility that’s only for athletes. Other than that, at the beginning of the season, they’re mainly away, and then they go to Florida for spring break. They play at home more towards the end of the season when it gets warmer.”

Gordon Morris ’26 (Staff)

Gordon Morris '26

Committed to Providence College cheerleading '30

What made your school attractive as a student and as an athlete?

“The cheer coach had reached out to me last fall when I was going on tours of colleges and invited me to a couple of their clinics. I went and I loved the environment of the school, and then when I was back there recently for one of their recruitment clinics in the spring, I really meshed with the team. As a student, it’s a smaller college, but it’s also Division I so I can get experiences like I’d get at big football schools in the south. At the same time, I get a smaller, more liberal arts focused education.”

How has cheerleading at Strath Haven shaped you as an athlete?

“If Strath Haven’s taught me one thing with cheer, it’s that you are responsible for your effort. What you put in is what you get out. I’ve been very fortunate to have such an amazing team and program to support me, but I would not have been where I am today without putting in the hours outside of cheer going to tumbling classes, working out, and putting in the effort off the mat to become who I am on the mat.”

What part of college athletics are you most looking forward to?

“There are two things I’m really looking forward to. The first one is college nationals. I loved going to Florida and competing in high school nationals. College nationals are bigger, better and you can do more skills and harder stunts. I’m also really looking forward to cheering at Providence basketball games.”

Does being a male cheerleader help with the recruiting process?

“I find that a lot of the time, coaches will be more responsive to me than other cheerleaders who I’ve talked to in the past, just because there are fewer numbers of male cheerleaders. It’s given me a slight advantage, but all in all, it doesn’t really affect my odds of getting recruited much.”

Ms. Lynelle Mosley (Staff)

Ms. Lynelle Mosley, Athletic Director

How has it been watching these student-athletes develop over their high school years?

“This is my third year, so I haven’t seen them the whole time, but it’s rewarding…watching all their hard work on the field or on the court or whatever their playing surface is turn into a college experience.”

In what ways do you assist student-athletes during the recruiting/commitment process?

“Most of the time, I don’t have to do too much of the work. There are times that we’ll have college recruiters come here to meet with students. Some student-athletes will ask me for help with sending an email or responding to a coach, but they do a lot of the work on their own.”

This story was produced during the spring 2026 Media for Publications class.

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Seniors speak on athletic commitments

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