Keeping athletes in Las Vegas a challenge
With temperatures hovering around 100 degrees, Biaggio Ali Walsh leaves Fertitta Field after another sweaty morning practice at national football power Bishop Gorman High School.
This is his Las Vegas team, his Las Vegas school.
Ali Walsh, a running back who was the Review-Journal’s state Male Athlete of the Year for 2015-16, moved from Chicago to Las Vegas when he was 7, and Southern Nevada has been his home since.
But the grandson of boxing legend Muhammad Ali will be moving into a new home, having chosen California over UNLV and other schools.
“I would like to get out and see new things,” Ali Walsh said before making his choice. “A lot of people want to go to a college that’s best for them, and that’s what I want to do, too. But I also want to be in a place where I want to live, and from what I’ve seen in California, that’s what I want my surrounding to be.”
Ali Walsh is far from unusual, particularly in a transient area such as the Las Vegas Valley. Many local athletes, especially those with opportuni- ■ Tuesday: ■ Wednesday: ■ Thursday: ■ Friday: ■ Saturday: ■ Sunday: ties to play in a power conference, are eager to experience life elsewhere and often on a more prominent stage.
It’s a challenge for UNLV coaches, who usually prefer to begin locally when building their programs, and Ali Walsh said he likes what he has seen from Rebels second-year coach Tony Sanchez even if he didn’t choose to play for his former Gorman coach again.
Sanchez, who previously spent six seasons guiding Gorman, has shown locals can be convinced to stay. He made the city a central part of his recruiting and marketing efforts, and earlier this year signed three locals.
To make even further inroads in attracting recruits, Sanchez has been
This would be a good year for Menzies to make inroads with local athletes. Findlay Prep’s P.J. Washington, Gorman’s Charles O’Bannon Jr. and Centennial’s Troy Brown Jr. are ranked among the top 30 recruits by ESPN.com, and all are considering the Rebels.
Getting any or all would be quite a boon for Menzies and what he’s trying to accomplish at UNLV because there is little doubt about those players’ talent.
The area has produced top athletes in multiple sports through the years, including many who have gone on to excel at the highest levels.
Baseball is one such sport, and UNLV has made local recruiting a priority. But like other sports, keeping all the top talent in Las Vegas can be a challenge.
“Every kid is different,” baseball coach Stan Stolte said. “You can’t really put a finger on it. It works both ways when you go into other cities. Sometimes a Southern California kid wants to get out of (Los Angeles) and he wants to come to Vegas. It hurts us in some cases and helps us in some cases.” Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal. com or 702-387-2914. Follow on Twitter: @ markanderson65