San Luis celebrates seven athlete signings, Tapia heads to Mexico pro team

Seven San Luis High School seniors turned a signing day into a showcase of what the Sidewinders program has become: a path from Yuma County to college rosters and, for Martin Tapia, a professional contract in Mexico.

Tapia, the basketball standout, will skip college and join Los Colorados de San Luis in Mexico. He called the move a new beginning and said, “I’m very excited for my new chapter in Mexico,” adding that the chance to play for a professional team made the opportunity especially meaningful.

The rest of the class reflected the same kind of upward momentum, with several athletes staying connected through soccer. Alan Viveros, Yeshua Romo and Jaziel Gonzalez all signed with Gilbert Christian Community College, giving San Luis another trio of players headed to the same program. Viveros said he was excited about the new opportunity and the chance to stay with friends while also studying. Diego Torres will continue at Yavapai College, while softball player Jocelyn Cruz signed with Mesa Community College. Rodrigo Ortega, San Luis’ single-season scoring record holder, signed with Mohave Community College.

For San Luis, the ceremony was about more than individual destinations. It showed how a public school program in the Yuma Union High School District has turned athletics into a college-access pipeline, one that now stretches from Gilbert and Mesa to Prescott and Kingman, with Tapia’s path extending across the border into professional basketball. For younger Sidewinders, the message was plain: discipline in high school can lead to scholarships, roster spots and careers.

The signing day also came on the heels of a banner season for San Luis boys soccer, a team coached by Jesus Rojas and listed by AZPreps365 in the 6A Desert Southwest Conference. San Luis finished first in the region during the 2025-26 season and reached the 2026 AIA 6A state championship game for the third time in four years before falling to Liberty in overtime. The Sidewinders entered that title game with a 17-6-1 record, and Ortega had already etched his name into the record book with 25 goals.

That consistency matters in a community that has watched San Luis athletes keep advancing year after year. In May 2025, four other Sidewinders signed letters of intent, reinforcing the sense that this is no isolated class. Friday’s ceremony showed a program producing both winners and graduates, with Tapia, Ortega and the others carrying San Luis pride into the next level of their sport.