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PREP FOOTBALL
Cleveland QB Jordan Hatch chooses NMSU
Prolific Storm quarterback who lead his team to back-to-back state titles will join the Aggies in 2028
The next time Jordan Hatch puts on a football uniform, he will be a freshman at New Mexico State University.
In the summer of 2028.
Cleveland High School’s prolific quarterback, who led the Storm to state championships with incredible proficiency in the 2024 and 2025 seasons and was last year’s Gatorade Player of the Year for New Mexico, has committed to NMSU.
There’s a catch.
He is going to complete a two-year mission for his church, starting later this year, and won’t arrive to Las Cruces until two years later.
“I graduated (from Cleveland) early, and I was trying to figure out what colleges could work with me on that,” said the 6-foot-4, 185-pound Hatch. “A lot of them can’t hold a scholarship for two years in advance. That was one of the big things with New Mexico State.”
Hatch was brilliant the last two seasons.
As a senior, he threw for nearly 2,900 yards and 40 touchdowns, and completed a remarkable 75.2% of his passes.
The 17-year-old Hatch, who also had interest from the state’s Division II programs, said he’ll have to find time to try and stay sharp and in football shape while he’s on his mission. He does not yet know where he’s going.
But he was told NMSU will keep a spot warm for him when he returns, and he said he expects to probably redshirt the first year he’s back simply so he can get back into the rhythms of being a quarterback.
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James Yodice covers prep sports for the Journal. You can reach him at jyodice@abqjournal.com or via X at @JamesDYodice.
