Monthly Recruiting Report: California Dreamin’

The Mamas and the Papas would be proud of 2022 St. Pius X running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26257" first="Marco" last="Ybarra"]</strong>. Doing a little California Dreamin’ of his own, Ybarra, one of the top uncommitted New Mexico prospects left on the board, spent this past weekend in the Golden State visiting a pair of academically prestigious schools: Chapman College in Orange, CA (near Anaheim) and the University of San Diego. Ybarra attended USD’s spring game on Saturday. “I am considering academics before anything else,” Ybarra told Prep Redzone New Mexico. “I absolutely loved what I saw on the trip. USD is immensely expanding their business school and creating the Knauss School of Business, which will be ready by this fall, and that is really drawing me in. “I want to double major in Business Economics and Spanish. Chapman University stood out to me as well, I really liked the atmosphere there and business program as well.” A former USD running back connected Ybarra to the coaching staff about a month ago. Once he spoke with the USD coaches, Ybarra began planning the trip to San Diego. Former Cleveland High star Trey Ortega signed with USD during the early signing period in December 2020. “I’ve been interested in USD for months,” Ybarra said. “(After connecting with the coaches), I planned the trip there to meet the coaches. They were excited to see how dedicated I was to meet them. I’ve been talking with Trey Ortega for some time now and he was very supportive in this process. I got to see him play at the Spring game. He’s a baller.” Ybarra, the student body president at St. Pius X,  has formally applied to three Ivy League schools - Brown, Harvard and Yale – while FCS Northern Arizona is expressing interest. Typically, Ivy League institutions don’t reveal their admissions decisions until early April, so Ybarra won’t make any final decision until then. “I will make a decision in early April,” Ybarra said. “The University of San Diego and the Ivy Leagues will release their decisions around then. Chapman will be released in a few weeks. I’m at the hands of admissions now, but I have a solid feel for all the schools I am considering.” Ybarra said he will not take any more visits because he has been to every school he is seriously considering. “Whichever school I decide to attend will be a school I’ve already visited, and I’m very content with that,” Ybarra said <strong>CLEVELAND LB SECURES 2^ND FBS OFFER</strong>: 2024 Rio Rancho (NM) Cleveland LB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="274701" first="Stratton" last="Shufelt"]</strong> was offered by the University of New Mexico before the start of his sophomore season last August. Monday, he added a second offer to his plate when University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP) head coach Dana Dimel made the offer during a phone conversation with Shufelt, who is Prep Redzone New Mexico’s No. 1 prospect for the 2024 class. <strong>SIGNINGS</strong>: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="198250" first="Dominic" last="Esquibel"]</strong>, Pojoaque Valley: New Mexico Highlands <strong>D’Sean Martinez</strong>, Pojoaque Valley: New Mexico Highlands <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26250" first="Daymon" last="Lujan"]</strong>, St. Michael’s: Washington &amp; Lee University <strong>Daniel Trevizo</strong>, Kirtland Central: Western New Mexico <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26265" first="Martell" last="Mora"]</strong>, Santa Fe: Eastern New Mexico <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26271" first="Ben" last="White"]</strong>, Santa Fe: Western New Mexico <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="264817" first="Gonzalo" last="Garcia"]</strong>, Roswell: Culver-Stockton College <strong>Perry Ellerbe</strong>, Newcomb: West Hills College <strong>COMMITMENTS</strong>: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="135600" first="Kavin" last="Colebrook"]</strong>, Farmington: Ottawa University (Ariz.) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="135598" first="Aaron" last="Hewey"]</strong>, Farmington: Arizona Christian University <strong>Adrian Tenorio</strong>, Volcano Vista: NMMI <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="264820" first="Zaden" last="Lopez"]</strong>, Artesia: NMMI <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="135109" first="Tyler" last="Everhart"]</strong>, Grants: Gavilan College <strong>OFFERS</strong>: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="134963" first="Nathan" last="Lopez"]</strong>, Cibola: Midway University, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="135579" first="Seth" last="Johnson"]</strong>, Artesia: Wayland Baptist University <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="134903" first="Joey" last="Reza"]</strong>, Deming: New Mexico Highlands; Midway University <strong>Adan Chavez</strong>, Santa Fe: University of Minnesota-Morris <strong>VISITS</strong>: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="26257" first="Marco" last="Ybarra"]</strong>, St. Pius X: Chapman College; University of San Diego <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="135128" first="Jacob" last="Miranda"]</strong>, Sandia: St. Ambrose University; Wisconsin Lutheran <strong>Anthony Meloy</strong>, Pojoaque Valley: New Mexico Highlands <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137932" first="Payton" last="Deans"]</strong>: UTEP (Junior Day) <strong>CAMPS</strong>: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="139521" first="Evan" last="Wysong"]</strong>: Rivals Combine in Los Angeles (Feb. 26); Invited to Montana camp. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137862" first="Aidan" last="Armenta"], La Cueva</strong>: Invited to Elite 11 Regional <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137861" first="Aden" last="Chavez"], Cibola</strong>:  Invited to camps at Washington State and Arkansas, and several Ivy League schools. https://twitter.com/marcoayb/status/1497697627630043136 https://twitter.com/strat_shufelt/status/1498373240367972352 https://twitter.com/DomEsqui30/status/1497044140042989568 https://twitter.com/_djzmtz_/status/1497665639384768526 https://twitter.com/amyidelis/status/1494735300865585153 https://twitter.com/Gonzo1_2/status/1490869398265266178 https://twitter.com/demons_football/status/1489705563269341191 https://youtu.be/N-aK6JnyFmk