On February 5, 2025, athletes across the nation signed their letters of intent to continue their athletic careers to the next level. These athletes have dedicated countless hours of hard work to improve their skills in their sport. Yorba Linda High School takes pride in this event to honor and showcase our athletes. This year, Yorba Linda celebrated nine student-athletes: three from Women’s Volleyball, two from Women’s Tennis, and others from different sports.
The nine students were Casey Cho, Mia White, Taylor Ditmar, Olivia Reed, Maddie Jelablanc, Holden Nagin, Tatum Scaldone, Kaylie Cao, and Ruby Hansen.
Starting off with Women’s Volleyball, this year, the program had the most athletes choosing to continue to play at the collegiate level. Casey Cho signed with New York University. She verbally announced her commitment on April 29, 2024, and she officially signed on February 5, 2025. As an outside hitter, Casey was a major contributor to the women’s team’s success. From powerful serves to dynamic spikes, she could do it all. “I am so grateful for this opportunity to continue playing volleyball in the future, especially in such an amazing city. I owe my friends, family, and coaches so much thanks for all your support and guidance that helped me reach my goal of college commitment,” states Casey Cho (12). Secondly, Mia White signed with Rocky Mountain College. Her verbal commitment was on August 30, 2024. Mia plays the position of middle blocker, spiking down the middle and being a major force when shutting down the other team’s hits. Finally, Taylor Ditmar signed with California State University, Dominguez Hills. On September 18, 2024, she announced her verbal commitment, and on February 4, 2025, she officially signed her letter of intent. Playing outside hitter and libero, there is no doubt that Taylor had a massive impact on the court. “I want to thank my parents for being my support system in every step of my recruiting process, my teammates for pushing me every day in practice, and my coaches for believing in me and my abilities. Thank you all for being a part of my volleyball journey,” shares Taylor Ditmar (12).
Moving on to women’s tennis, there were two athletes who chose to continue their athletic career. Kaylie Cao signed with the University of Riverside on January 27, 2024, but she verbally announced her commitment to UCR on November 11, 2025. Kaylie Cao (12) shares: “I want to thank all the coaches who’ve helped me get to this point, especially Coach Adam, as well as my high school coaches, Coach Thanh and Lejano. I’m also incredibly grateful to my parents, particularly my dad, for all the sacrifices they’ve made, from spending countless hours on the court with me to driving me to practices. I’m so excited to start this new chapter at UCR, and I can’t wait to be part of the team and experience everything the future holds.” Ruby Hansen also signed with the D1 school, the University of Denver.
Finally, for the other athletes from various sports on campus, we have Olivia Reed, Maddie Jelablanc, Holden Nagin, and Tatum Scaldone. Starting with cross-country and track runner Olivia Reed, she decided to go to Concordia University Irvine. Next, we have Maddie Jelablanc, a catcher and shortstop on the softball team. She has also decided to play for Concordia University Irvine. On December 14, 2024, she verbally announced her commitment to this college, and Maddie officially signed on February 18, 2025. Maddie Jelablanc (12) shares, “A huge thank you to my parents, friends, and coach for the unconditional love and support, but most importantly, I want to give all glory to god because without him, I would’ve never been able to come as far as I have.”
From the football team, Holden Nagin decided to continue his athletic career at Lehigh University. The quarterback verbally announced his commitment on February 1, 2025, and on February 5, 2025, he officially signed with the college. Holden Nagin (12) states: “I would like to thank my mom, dad, and sister for always looking out for me and making sacrifices for me to pursue my dream of playing football in college at the D1 level. I would also like to thank all my coaches from Pop Warner, basketball, and high school football for not only making me a better player on the field but a better person for the future. Finally, I would like to thank all my friends and teammates who have been with me on this journey and who have become family to me. I committed to Lehigh because it has always been my dream to play football at a D1 university with a great campus, a great opportunity to play, and a great education, and Lehigh provides all of that. I can’t wait to create new bonds with new teammates and friends and explore new places.
Finally, we have Tatum Scialdone, who is a senior captain for the women’s varsity soccer team here at YLHS. As a center midfielder, she is used to controlling the middle of the field, so naturally, she took her role as captain and led her team to Round 1 of CIF and League Champs. She has decided to advance her career at Virginia Commonwealth University. She officially signed on November 30, 2024, but verbally committed on August 6, 2024. Tatum Scialdone (12) shares: “I would like to thank my family, especially my parents, for starting me in soccer, always supporting me, driving me to practices and showcases, and being my number one fans. Next, I would like to thank my club and high school coaches for helping me and providing me with opportunities to be recruited. I also want to thank my teammates for constantly challenging me in practice and pushing me to grow as a player. Lastly, I’m very thankful for the VCU Women’s Soccer Staff for believing in me and giving me this opportunity.”
With so many of our athletes continuing their athletic careers, we are excited to see what’s in store for their futures. Best of luck, Mustangs!
