Ashlyn Zhang '22, Kylie Oh '22, and Spencer Seid '22 signed to play at Division I universities.
Next year, seven Flintridge Prep scholar athletes from the Class of 2022 will play college sports, continuing the Flintridge Prep tradition of balancing academic excellence with athletic prowess.
In November, Kylie Oh ’22 signed with Yale University to play soccer, Spencer Seid ’22 signed to the University of California San Diego to play baseball, and Ashlyn Zhang ’22 signed to Rice University to play basketball. The students were fêted at a Division I College Signing Day ceremony hosted on campus.
Josh Bessera '22, Nicholas Gonzalez '22, Joshua Kim '22, and Athletics Director Sean Beattie at the Division III ceremony. Will Lanstra '22 could not attend the event.
On May 19, the Athletics Department hosted a Division III College Signing Day, celebrating Josh Beserra ’22 (who will play baseball at Beloit College), Nicholas Gonzalez ’22 (who will play baseball at Occidental College), Joshua Kim ’22 (who will play basketball at Oxford College of Emory University), and William Lanstra ‘22 (who will play tennis at Whitman College).
“We at Flintridge Prep are very proud of our student-athletes who will be making the jump next year to play sports at the Division I and Division III levels,” Flintridge Prep Athletic Director Sean Beattie says. “It has been our pleasure to watch them grow and mature as athletes and young adults. We want to wish them the best of luck once they begin the next chapter of their student-athlete experience in college.”
This next chapter in their athletic career is relatively rare, especially for a school the size of Flintridge Prep. According to 2020 data from Scholarship Stats, less than 2% play at NCAA Division I schools.
This year, three senior Prep baseball players will play at the Division I and Division III levels. Nationally, only 12% play in college and even fewer—2%— advance to play at NCAA Division I universities. For girls basketball, that NCAA I stat is even smaller, at 1.1% playing basketball at a DI school—that’s a 91:1 odd according to Scholarship Stats!
At Prep, sports are one of the many ways our students express their passions outside of the classroom. Merging our school’s mission of balance, leadership, and collaboration with the emphasis on sportsmanship, our athletics program promotes the development of teamwork skills as our athletes support each other throughout every step of their athletic career.
Learn more about each athlete below and join us in congratulating our Wolves as they take their skills to the collegiate level!
Kylie Oh ’22, Division I Soccer at Yale University
Kylie started playing for Flintridge Prep Coach Esteban Chavez in 7th grade. Despite a couple of injuries, she has participated in the Cal South Olympic Development Program and was selected for the Spring/Summer travel team; First Team All-Prep League; All-Area and All-CIF; and U.S. Youth Soccer National Cup Finals. Kylie was awarded MaxPreps/United Soccer Coaches Player of the Week during her sophomore year.
Spencer Seid ’22, Division I Baseball at UC San Diego
During his four years at Flintridge Prep, Spencer played varsity baseball under Coach Guillermo Gonzalez. He won the team’s Rookie of the Year Award as a freshman while being selected to First Team All-League. During the shortened season in 2021, Spencer batted .435 with three home runs and 24 RBIs in 16 games, and on the mound in 16 innings of work he had 25 strikeouts and was selected to First Team All-League. For club baseball, Spencer played for CBA Marucci from 2018-2020. In summer 2021, Spencer played for the top ranked 17U (17 and under) team on the West Coast, the SoCal Giants Scout Team, which is run by scouts of the San Francisco Giants.
Ashlyn Zhang ’22, Division I Basketball at Rice University
Ashlyn played multiple sports growing up, but it was basketball that became her passion. At Flintridge Prep, she was a three-time undefeated Prep League Champion, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, All-Prep-League First Team, and played the first CIF Division 1 game in Flintridge Prep history. In addition, she competed in the Jr. NBA World Championships, USA Open Basketball Championships, and club teams.
Josh Beserra ’22, Division III Baseball at Beloit College
Throughout Josh’s four years at Prep, he played baseball under Coach Guillermo Gonzalez. During his freshman year, he won JV MVP and played on both the JV and varsity teams. In his sophomore year, the season was canceled due to COVID-19. During the shortened season in 2021, he batted in 19 RBIs with three home runs; on the mound, he pitched 21 innings with 19 strikeouts, helping the Wolves to win the league with a record of 13-3. This year he led the team with 24 RBIs and nine doubles. On the mound, he pitched 40 innings with 44 strikeouts, helping the team win league with a record of 10-2 and an overall record of 20-7. The team advanced to CIF playoffs in his last high school season.
Nicholas Gonzalez ’22, Division III Baseball at Occidental College
Nick spent all four of his years at Prep playing varsity baseball. In his freshman year, he started at second base and was awarded 2nd Team All-League. As a sophomore, he also started at second base, but the pandemic cut the season short. In his junior year, he transitioned to third base and was awarded 1st Team All-League. Now a senior, Nick moved to shortstop, he is batting over .400, and he won the League’s MVP award in May 2022.
Joshua Kim ’22, Division III Basketball at Oxford College of Emory University
Joshua has been playing basketball since the second grade, and he is a leader on Prep’s varsity basketball team. He was selected as MVP his freshmen year and has a passion for the game with which only few could contend. He has played for LA Hawks Club, CYC Bruins Asian League, BTI Basketball Club, SCA, and North South Tournament in which top Asian players from Southern California and Northern California compete against each other. He also won the Made Hoops Tournament in Arizona during high school while playing for SCA.
William Lanstra ’22, Division III Tennis at Whitman College
A multisport athlete, Will is a two-star recruit on TR.Net and has ranked as high as 630 in his class nationally for tennis. Will was introduced to, and learned to play, tennis at the Valley Hunt Club. He helped Flintridge Prep win a CIF Southern Section Division IV Championship in 2018, playing primarily doubles as a freshman. He led his team to a CIF Southern Section Division 3 Championship as a senior in 2022 playing singles. Throughout the years, Will has placed in many USTA Tournaments and UTR Open Men’s Tournaments in both singles and doubles. He looks forward to continuing his tennis career in college.