Prep Notes: Jordyn Dyer joining brothers in Division I ranks

The photograph was taken quite a few years ago. In it are three siblings, who all had a dream to someday be a Division I athlete.

Deven Dyer got there. Cam Dyer, once he returns from injury, will begin his D1 journey.

And now Jordyn Dyer is set to join her brothers.

La Cueva’s outstanding 5-foot-8 combo guard last week made her verbal decision with DI Pacific of the West Coast Conference.

“The coaching staff, they’re great,” Dyer, 17, said. “They have a lot of basketball knowledge. Also (the school’s) academics. They are similar to the Ivy League. … It will set me up after basketball. And they’re in a very competitive conference with Gonzaga and Washington State and Portland.”

Put those elements together, Dyer said, and “everything made me feel at home.”

Pacific, located in Stockton, California, north and east of San Francisco, finished 15-19 last season.

Dyer said Portland State was the other school she was seriously considering.

She was one of the best players in Class 5A last season, with the speedy and frequently unguardable Dyer averaging 20.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 3 assists for the Bears.

Pacific, Dyer said, had a style that was hugely appealing to her, as it frequently runs the floor with four guards and one big.

“It is similar to La Cueva,” Dyer said.

Her parents also were Division I athletes in their day, so the Dyer family batting average is a stellar 1.000. “All the credit in the world to my parents,” she said. “They’ve done a phenomenal job.”

Cam Dyer, who’s been recovering from a knee injury with Arizona State, posted a photo to social media with the three siblings.

“Our work ethic, it’s honestly amazing. We always talked about this since we were younger,” Jordyn said. “Just supporting each other and pushing each other to be great and to be the best we can be. It’s a beautiful thing. It really is.”

METROS, CONTINUED: The Albuquerque Metro Volleyball Championships got underway Tuesday night with pool play.

Cleveland, Albuquerque High, La Cueva and St. Pius were the top seeds in each of the four-team pools. There are 11 of the 13 Albuquerque Public Schools programs in the field, everyone but Del Norte and Highland.

Those 11 are joined by Cleveland, Rio Rancho, St. Michael’s, Los Lunas and St. Pius.

Cibola and Valley are hosting Gold Bracket quarterfinal matches on Thursday, and those two schools are both hosting one of the semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday.

Eldorado is hosting the metro final, scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday.

ACADEMY SOCCER: The annual Albuquerque Academy soccer invites run Thursday through Saturday on fields around the Academy campus.

From the recent metro tournament, only Academy and Cleveland are in the boys field. The Chargers open against Farmington at 2 p.m. Thursday. Also in the first round, Capital meets Piedra Vista at noon, Cleveland takes on Los Alamos at noon, and Santa Fe plays Hobbs at noon.

The boys final is 11 a.m. Saturday.

First-round games in the girls bracket are Academy-Hobbs (4 p.m.), Sandia Prep-Piedra Vista (2 p.m.), Carlsbad-Los Alamos (4 p.m.) and Cleveland-Farmington (2 p.m.).

The girls final is 9 a.m. Saturday.

LA CUEVA ON THE ROAD: Last year, the La Cueva High girls soccer team ventured to Ohio for a pair of high-profile matches. This week, the Bears are taking to the skies again, this time to Washington State.

La Cueva (5-1) is slated to play Seattle Prep on Friday and Issaquah High on Saturday.

Like La Cueva, Seattle Prep is a defending state champion in Washington. The connection came from a good friend of Bears coach Amber Ashcraft, whose wife works at Seattle Prep.

“I think playing a defending state champion is a big deal for them, just to see where they’re at,” Ashcraft said of Seattle Prep. Both schools finished in the top 75 nationally of the season-ending MaxPreps rankings.

The Bears only loss so far this season came to Volcano Vista in last week’s metro semifinals.

Ashcraft said La Cueva also plan to take in a Seattle MLS game while they’re in town.

FOOTBALL SCHEDULE CHANGE: The annual Rio Rancho-Cleveland football game, which was originally scheduled for Halloween night, has been moved.

The game will now take place on Thursday, Oct. 30, Rio Rancho Public Schools announced Tuesday. Kickoff will be 6 p.m.

The district also said Cleveland’s game with Volcano Vista at Nusenda Community Stadium had been moved from Saturday, Oct. 25, to Friday the 24th, but the master schedule from the New Mexico Activities Association already had noted that change earlier this summer.