MOSES LAKE — Five Mavericks surrounded by friends, family and coaches made their college commitments official Tuesday. Noah Hernandez, Tyce Miller, Grady Walker, Liam O’Shea and Kenzie Holterhoff are heading to the next level for their respective sports.  

Noah Hernandez – Ottawa University Arizona  

Continuing his path in baseball, Hernandez takes his talents to sunny Arizona. To be surrounded by people he cares about as he makes his decision official, meant a lot to him, he said.  

“It feels great,” Hernandez said. “It's a lot of years of this being my goal, and this has always been the main thing, and it's just taking it one day at a time. I'm extremely blessed to be in this position and share it with my family, friends, and my peers.” 

From the time he arrived at Moses Lake High School and into Head Coach Donnie Lindgren’s baseball program, Hernandez had an opportunity early on to make an impact. Each year as a Maverick, he saw playing time on the diamond.  

“This program is as legit as we got,” he said. “They really believed in me and believed I could be the guy I can be for the team, and so I really appreciate all the trust they have in me, and just letting me play the game, and it's been a ride. I'm extremely grateful for all my teammates, and all the guys I've shared this field with.” 

While he loves the sunny weather, it was the connection he made with the OUAZ program that made him sure they were the right fit for him, he said.  

“We clicked, we view the game the same way, and we share the same hobbies,” Hernandez said. “We just got along, meeting Coach (Tim) Montez when I went down on my visit, and meeting the players and the team I knew it was the right fit. It’s the right fit for me to grow, and man, I love sunny weather, it's just a win-win situation.”  

Kenzie Holterhoff – University of Idaho  

Once her name was signed on the dotted line, Holterhoff said everything became very real for her. Full of excitement surrounded by her Head Coach Jaylynn Hernandez and the Molahiettes, she elaborated on how this program prepared her to take this next step.  

“The Molahiettes has taught me everything I know about working hard and everything I need to know for a college dance team,” Holterhoff said. “All of the mornings and nights have taught me how being dedicated can bring really good results. We became state champions from all the hard work, and I think that's taught me to not give up. That's what kept me motivated to keep pursuing college dance.” 

During her time at MLHS, the senior captain became a four-time WIAA 4A Military State Champion, four-time WIAA District Champion in military, pom and dance and a two-time WIAA 4A Pom State Champion.  

Holterhoff said the team culture made dance feel less like a chore and more of a place where she often desired to be. This was part of what fuels her love for dance.  

“I love how you can always learn more, you can always grow. There's not really ever a place to stop,” Holterhoff said. “You can always gain more knowledge and learn from different people and get more experiences.”  

Committing to Idaho became easier for Holterhoff after seeing how embracing the program was to her throughout her recruitment process.  

“I really love the team there,” she said. “Everyone was so welcoming and I think it'll be a really good experience to learn from some new people and be able to just keep going through dance with another amazing group of people.” 

Tyce Miller – Ottawa University Arizona 

Miller will join Hernandez in Arizona, however, as a hooper for the Spirit program. He joins a program nearing 10 years of existence; he sees an opportunity to help the team compete.  

“I liked the coaches and environment around there,” Miller said. “I liked where they were in league and how they're competitors for league every year, so I just want to go in there and compete.”  

As a Maverick, he scored a total of 824 points and averaged 12.9 in his senior season, while racking up multiple Big 9 All-League honorable mentions. The experiences he gained throughout his time on the Mavs hardwood helped shape him into a college player.  

“Definitely the weight room and just getting all four years of varsity time really prepared me, and got me up to speed on things,” he said.  

Grady Walker – Azusa Pacific University 

The second Mavs hooper advancing to the college level was Walker, who is excited to become a Cougar.  

“It feels pretty good. It was definitely overwhelming trying to pick where I wanted to go, and I'm really happy with where I'm at,” Walker said. “I knew I wanted to go to a school in Southern California. I went down there on a visit and checked out two of them. Once I got here, I could tell I just liked APU better, the location and everything about the school, the facilities, and everything.”  

During his tenure in the Mavericks basketball program, he scored 855 points and logged two Big 9 second team All-League seasons. In his senior season, he averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds per game.  

“I played a lot of basketball here, stuff in the summer, the fall, working out on my own, all that,” Walker said. “I'm going to get to college, and I'll be working out a lot, but it won't be too different, because I've worked out almost every day here too, so that definitely helped prepare me a lot.”  

Liam O’Shea - Spokane Falls Community College  

With a lot of emotions filling the gymnasium Tuesday, O’Shea felt gratitude most of all.  

“I'm very blessed,” he said. “I'm very grateful for all the people that have brought me here. It's nice to be here, and to be able to sit and look back on all of the things I've done, knowing that now this is only the beginning.” 

O'Shea has spent the last four seasons dedicated to his craft, even noting his time from freshman season and how much it’s improved to today. He noted how that spoke to the foundation both cross country and track have built for him.  

“I can tell you, freshman year I didn't know what the heck I was doing, and sophomore year probably about the same,” O’Shea said, “but over time these little experiences add up, and you have a good foundation of knowledge for anything that you might need it for. I believe most of all, all the work I've put in and outside of practice has prepared me for college.”  

When asked why he chose Spokane Falls, O’Shea expressed a lot of admiration for the program the coaching staff have built there.  

“I believe they're better than most of the Division One or Division Two programs in our state,” O’Shea said. “The fact that they're a junior college means that they have the ability and the team culture to be able to support everybody, and I, from the second I met their coach, Coach (Sean) McLachlan, I just thought, ‘Man, I love this guy, I would love to go here.’”  

    Kenzie Holterhoff (third from left) is all smiles with her family as she commits to the University of Idaho.
  

    Surrounded by his teammates and coach, Tyce Miller (in orange) makes his commitment to Ottawa University Arizona official.
  

    The Mavs’ Grady Walker (APU hoodie) signs his letter of intent to play college basketball for Azusa Pacific University.
  

    Liam O’Shea (middle) sits between his mom and dad as he signs to compete for the Spokane Fall Community College cross country and track program.