Seven Piedra Vista seniors sign college athletic letters of intent in Farmington

Seven Piedra Vista High School seniors put their names on National Letters of Intent Wednesday at Jerry A. Conner Fieldhouse in Farmington, giving the Panthers a signing day that doubled as a snapshot of the school’s athletic pipeline.

Four of the signees came from baseball. Zack Zweschper, Kade Aragon, Alexis Hernandez and Alejandro Hernandez all signed with New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, a program that was 33-11 overall and 17-7 in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference when the class signed. Under coach Chris Cook, who has led the Broncos since 2012, NMMI has sent more than 70 players on to professional baseball, including six major leaguers.

Piedra Vista also sent JW Bayless to Midland College and Cody Clugston to Webster University in Missouri. Bayless had appeared in each of the last two Connie Mack World Series, a résumé that made his jump to Midland part of a larger run of Panther players moving from Farmington to the next level. Midland’s Chaparrals were ranked No. 2 in the NJCAA and stood 38-3, with a national runner-up finish in 2014 that has helped make the program one of the most visible junior college destinations in the region.

The breadth of the class mattered as much as the total. Seven seniors signing in one shot is a strong number for any San Juan County school, and the list reached beyond one roster and one sport. Piedra Vista’s pipeline has also produced college soccer talent: Uriel Garcia signed with Fort Lewis College men’s soccer earlier this spring after a Panthers career that included 60 games, 18 goals and 26 assists. Garcia was a five-year starter, a two-time all-district second-team selection and an all-state second-team pick as a senior.

The college track does not stop with athletics. Piedra Vista student Joannah Freeman was named a 2024-2025 NMAA Foundation scholarship recipient, one of 66 students selected from nearly 350 applicants for a share of $79,000. Together, the signings and scholarship recognition showed a program that is moving seniors into college with both playing ability and academic support behind them.

For Piedra Vista, the day in Farmington was more than a celebration of individual commitments. It showed a school sending baseball players to Roswell, Missouri and Midland, and proving that its senior classes can still produce college-level talent across more than one sport.