Xander Baldessari '23 Recruiting Profile

Following the 2020 academic year that was shortened by the COVID-19 school closures, I moved to Douglas County High School.  I worked hard to succeed at my new school and finished my first semester with a 3.8 GPA.  My success gave me confidence that I could accomplish a similar feat when transitioning from high school to college, since most of my classes are advanced or college level courses.  Little did I realize that how I adapted to changes would determine so much of my junior and senior years.

A summer ago, I was starting every game with the best club team in Colorado, Billups Elite, which played on the Adidas Circuit.  After the June high school period, Billups dissolved.  The head coach of the Colorado Hawks invited me to play with them and I finished the year with the Hawks on the Under Armor circuit.  I was going to play with the Colorado Hawks the summer before my senior year but suffered a partial tear in my patellar tendon while running track and field.  After undergoing a procedure, I spent most of the summer rehabbing the injury.  I had several coaches ask me to help coach little kids camps while I was rehabilitating.  They were pleased with my reliability, my work ethic, my professionalism, and how I represented their program with the kids and the parents.

Another change caught me completely by surprise in October 2022.  A month before my senior basketball season was to begin at Douglas County, the high school hired a new Men’s Varsity Basketball Coach.  The former coach had me playing the point or the shooting guard position.  Now I am playing in the post as the center, near the basket as a power forward, on the wing as a point forward, outside as a shooting guard, and sometimes running the offense as the point guard.  While I prefer playing guard, I want to win and return to the Denver Coliseum and win in the Elite Eight to reach the Final Four.  Whatever I need to do to help my team win is my priority, which is why my new coach frequently has me defend one of the opponents’ best players.  I am the leader of the team, a new role for me.  While on winter break, I coordinated with teammates to meet at the Castle Rock Rec Center to shoot and work on the new coach’s offense and defense. 

I have played soccer, baseball, tennis, and run track and field.  The Douglas County men’s volleyball coach asked me to play for them after the basketball season, and I may return to fencing, but I have recently expanded my extracurricular activities beyond sports.  My marketing teacher convinced me to join DECA this year, and I placed third at my second competition.  I worked hard to prepare for the event, so finishing highly in the region was incredibly rewarding.  It has also motivated me to pursue a degree in business when I reach college.  I would like to pursue a master’s degree after earning my baccalaureate degree.  I envision graduating with honors, as earning a college degree is extremely important to me.  I plan to put the same effort towards my play on the court as I would in the classroom, to proudly help my team win any way I can.  My goal is to become a more complete individual and reach my potential by improving steadily over each year I attend my university, both academically and on the basketball court.

Thanks for your time.

Xander Baldessari