The Upside

Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts Recruits California Basketball Players 

Clark University teammates Emma Drefs & Kailey Rios

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​Kailey Rios made the courageous decision to uproot her life on the West Coast to attend college on the East Coast. She has not seen her family in person in months. Everything that she has known has been turned upside down, except basketball.  
 
Kailey is learning to live 2,900 miles from where she was raised in Hesperia, California. She is a freshman at Clark University, a small liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts,  located 47 miles west of Boston. The lure of playing college basketball and living on her own was too much to resist.  

Worcester is a college town of 205,000 people, three-decker houses, and Boston accents, surrounded by towns with names straight from England. It’s all strange. Even the name Worcester is hard for the uninitiated to pronounce. 
 
Hesperia, with a population of just over 100,000 people, is located in the high desert, bounded by mountains, what appears to be barren land, orange-colored homes, and roads stretching to what seems like an eternity. 
 
Kailey left home to learn to be independent. With Christmas a week away, she is ready to be reacquainted with her family, friends, their culture, and the community where she grew up. 

​Good Hands 
 
I speak to Kailey over the telephone after Thanksgiving. 
 
She says she was in “good hands” for the holiday. She visited New York City with two of her teammates—members of her new family. “The city was nice. It definitely was a good experience.” She has always dreamed of living in a big city.

I found myself missing them a couple of times.

​“It made me feel good knowing I have a couple of people in my corner when I’m far away from home,” she says. Her emotions seem to be coming to the surface like a submarine at the wrong time. “I found myself missing them a couple of times,” she refers to her parents. 
 
She doesn’t waver on her decision. “I’ve been adapting really well” to college life and being away from home, she says confidently. “For me, I’ve always been independent, on my own,” growing up with three brothers, who didn’t invite her along with them often. 
 
“I did miss my parents for a bit. I still do. I like the freedom college gives me,” Kailey states. She is handling problems on her own now, experiencing challenges similar to those that her peers are going through.

The Rios family celebrate Kailey's birthday. Left to Right. Angel, Tommy (father with hat on), Moises & Kailey.

​She has found it “manageable” to balance school and basketball. “Sometimes classes do get a bit lengthy,“ she says. And the assignments are a bit time-consuming.” Some things never change. 
 
Road Trip: Destination Home 
 
On December 18th,  Kailey will spend hours on a cross-country flight to Las Vegas, departing from Logan Airport in Boston. Once in Las Vegas, her parents will pick her up and drive her home for the last three and a half hours. 
 
The Cougars lost to the Suffolk University Rams 63-42 the last time she was in Boston. She may still have a sour taste, and it’s not the clam chowder the city is famous for. 
 
Kailey is a 5-foot-6-inch guard with bronze skin whose long hair seems to touch the floor. She went 0-9 from the field, with just 2 points—the lowest point total of her freshman campaign. 
 
Despite the drubbing, the team is off to a 6 and 4 start, with conference play beginning in January. Kailey is averaging 13.2 points per game. 

She scored 21 points twice in the first ten games of the season. Her adjustment to college basketball has been almost as smooth as her drives to the basket.  
 
Emma Drefs, her roommate and basketball teammate, is from Ridgecrest, California. She played for Sherman E. Burroughs High School, a rival in the same conference as Hesperia. She lives about 100 miles north of Hesperia and will travel to the West Coast with Kailey.

​An Improbable Meeting
 
I speak to Emma a few days after the Thanksgiving holiday. 
 
She is a 5-foot-9-inch guard with hair as long as Kailey’s, and she wears a ring in her nose, just like Kailey's. She has started nine games for the team, averaging 5.4 points a game. 
 
Emma tells the story of how she first met Kailey, which sounds like a movie. It began when Clark assistant coach Jason Jaramillo was recruiting her in California. 

It looked like the Oak Hill logo.

Kailey Rios prepares to shoot a three-pointer.

​After Clark showed interest, Emma and her parents scheduled a visit in December 2022. They were on an airplane when Emma noticed a girl wearing what seemed like a familiar high school name (Oak Hill) on a pair of sweatpants. 
 
Emma’s mind was spinning like a tornado in Kansas. “I felt like I knew that logo,” she says.  
 
“It looked like the Oak Hill logo.” She had seen that girl before and didn’t recall where. 
 
The Drefs landed in Boston. Emma joked with her parents, “Imagine if that girl shows up at Clark.” And to her surprise, she was there. Kailey was sitting in the room. 
 
“I was like, ‘Oh my God!’“ says Emma. The parents introduced themselves, mentioning their kids’ high schools. 
 
They would play two games against each other that year; each team won on their home court. Emma remembers both games being competitive. She describes one of the games as a “really fun game.”  

Coach Bridgette Reyes sent a text message to Emma before the roommate selection deadline and mentioned that Kailey had committed to Clark. Emma texted Kailey. “I was like, hey, I know the [housing] applications are due. Do you have a roommate?” 
 
Kailey responded, “No”. Emma asked, ‘Do you want to be roommates?’ Kailey replied, according to Emma, “I was really hoping you were going to ask that.” Emma describes it as “perfect” that they would be roommates—the California kids united like superheroes. 
 
Roommate situations can go bad before the reality of schoolwork sets in. For Kailey and Emma, there have been no awkward moments, Emma states. They clicked and got along “really well” and did almost everything together.  
 
There’s even a poster of Michael Jordan on their wall. “I wouldn’t ask for a different roommate,” Emma says. 

A Major Decision
 
Judging by how well Kailey is playing, you would think she has been playing basketball since she was a toddler—dunking on Nerf hoops. That’s not the case. She didn’t focus exclusively on the sport until her sophomore year at Oak Hills High School in Hesperia. 
 
Kailey’s first love is gymnastics—the sport that Simone Biles dominates. She talks about gymnastics as if it is still her bestie. She started gymnastics at age 9 or 10. “I think it just came naturally to me,” she says.   
 
She kept busy and balanced the rigors of long and grueling gymnastic practices with basketball. Gymnastics was rough on her body and proved to be too much. During her sophomore year, she made the difficult decision to commit to only basketball. She was 16 years old at the time. 

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When you watch her play, it doesn’t seem possible that she has been playing the game for a short period. She can take her defender off the dribble, handle the ball, and consistently hit the three. There’s a swagger to her game. She often plays both point guard and shooting guard positions. 

Kailey remembers working on her game with her dad, Tommy Rios. “My dad was always there,” she says. She attributes the time spent with him during COVID-19 to improving her game. Everything was shut down. The gyms were locked. 
 
“My dad was definitely the one always putting time into me and my brother. And we would always workout together,” she says, “outside in the backyard. He would make sure my footwork was right, my dribbling was on point, and my shot was okay.” 

My dad was definitely the one always putting time into me and my brother.

Kailey credits her high school coach, Jonathan Kelley, with helping her game blossom. “He always wanted to make sure I was the best version of myself, basketball-wise,” Kailey says.  
 
After a bad game or practice, she would head back to the “lab” (gym) to get a few hundred shots in. She credits Jonathan with revamping her jump shot after her junior year. She says he changed her shot tremendously, leading to a higher scoring average and shooting percentage.  

​Make History 
 
Tommy Rios and I talk over the telephone on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  He’s the father of four: three boys and one girl. The kids are 24, 21, 19, and 16.
 
Kailey is the second youngest; her younger brother plays high school basketball at Oak Hill. 
 
Tommy was born in Jalisco, the Western state of Mexico, where the coastal shoreline meets the Pacific Ocean. Guadalajara, the capital, is about two hours away. The resort town of Puerto Vallarta, known for its beaches, water sports and tourism, is to the north. 
 
He has two brothers and two sisters. 
 
Tommy spent several years in Chicago when he was younger. At age seven or eight, he went back to Mexico. At about 15, he returned to the United States to live with his older brother in California. 

Kailey & Ana Rios

​Ana, Tommy’s wife, was born to Mexican parents in the United States. She has four brothers and a sister. 
 
At home, the family speaks both English and Spanish. Hailey’s first language is English. 
 
When asked about watching his daughter play college basketball, Tommy says, “Oh, man, it’s exciting! ” as if he saw Michael Jordan, his favorite player. 
 
“It’s a different feeling,” he mentions, watching his daughter on a screen. He prefers to watch her in person, like in the old days. “You always want to be there as a father,“ he says. 

Going “East” was a big deal. He describes it as “historic” because Kailey is the first family member to play college basketball, even among her numerous cousins. He was there when she committed to Clark and signed her national letter of intent at a public ceremony. 
 
Searching for the right words to show the enormity of the accomplishment, he says, “It was something great for us.” 
 
Tommy makes it clear that Kailey going to Worcester was a “big change.” He has been to Worcester twice, calling the drive from California with his family to Worcester a “little field trip.” 
 
He is surprised that Kailey is not homesick, but it gives him a reassuring feeling. Basketball and school have kept her busy, so there’s not much time to be homesick. 
 
Kailey and Ana were close in high school. “I think she took it harder when Kailey left for California,” Tommy says about his wife. “We miss her,” he adds. Their only girl is a long way from home. 

“You’re missing all that food now,” Tommy says, regarding an interaction with his daughter. Kailey replied, “Yup!”  She misses homecooked food, which she spurned for McDonald’s and her favorite, In-N-Out Burger. 
 
During our call, he told the story of Kailey going to a Mexican restaurant in Worcester, but she didn’t eat anything on her list of foods she wanted her mother to cook. 
 
To support her, Tommy ends a text just about every morning with a heavy dosage of inspiration: “Keep going. Keep grinding. Stay focused.” Tommy tells her, “Never stop making history.” 
 
Ana prefers Facetime. 

The California Connection 
 
I call Bridgette Reyes in late November, just as she is walking in the door of her Worcester home. “Good timing,” she says. Bridgette is a second-year coach. She graduated in 2010 from Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, 40 miles south of Los Angeles.
 
At 4:00 p.m., Bridgette’s voice has more energy than the local power company. Her vision is to win; to do this, she wants to bring her “Cali kids” to Clark. 
 
Bridgette is from Costa Mesa, California. She knows how to find players in the state. Kailey, Emma, and Amarna Windross are three freshmen from California. The team has a total of six players with a connection to the Golden State. 
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Kailey Rios dribbling the basketball.

Recruiting players is a process. And Bridgette’s pitch is turning around the program. She emphasizes the family atmosphere. 
 
Assistant Coach Jason Jaramillo shares a Southern California background with Bridgette. He recruited Emma to Clark. 
 
Kailey played in the Nike Nationals in Chicago the summer before her senior year. That was her first time playing AAU. “Junior year was when I set my mind and said, ‘I’m going to play college ball,’” she states. 
 
Bridgette was on the recruiting trail in California when she found herself sitting next to a male spectator. She asked him which player was his kid. He happened to be Tommy and pointed to Kailey. “Great! I want your kid to play for me.” That’s how she remembers her first contact with the family.

​Bridgette contacted Kailey after the Nike Nationals. She found recruiting Kailey easier than expected because she had always wanted to come to the East Coast. When Bridgette heard that, she said to herself, “Oh, we have a chance!”  
 
Part of her secret to recruiting for Clark is that she tells parents they will see their kids every two or three months. 

It’s a big change and jump from California to Worcester.

Kailey shares her story. At first, it was definitely “scary” deciding to come to Clark. “It’s a big change and jump from California to Worcester,” she says.  
 
Bridgette made her feel comfortable. “She made me feel like I would have a second home here.” She says that signing her letter of intent made her believe “the grind” had paid off.  
 
During this time, Jason was tracking Emma. They would select the same day to visit Clark. 
 
“From where she (Kailey) started to where she is now, the potential is limitless,” Bridgette states.  
 
She marvels at Kailey's work ethic and that of all the first-year students. “She’s smooth with the ball,” says Bridgette.

​The goal is to make the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) playoffs this year. “That’s a good goal for us,” Bridgette says.    
 
Just as the California players are adjusting, coaches Bridgette and Jason are also. Bridgette is happy with the diversity of food in the city—a pleasant surprise for the self-proclaimed foodie. 
 
If she could recruit Southern California weather to Worcester, the locals would build a giant statue in her honor. 

Talent Upgrade
 
I speak to Alaina Schatzabel on the telephone in late November. She is in her off-campus apartment—a Caitlin Clark jump shot away from the Cougars gymnasium. 
 
The 5-foot-10-inch blond is a senior from Kennebunk, Maine, a town of nearly 11,800 people, between Portland, Maine, to the north and Portsmouth, NH, to the south.
 
Alaina is committed to returning to Clark as a graduate student to play another year, along with Jacqueline Faulise, a senior guard from North Kingston, Rhode Island. The NCAA granted players impacted by COVID-19 an extra year of eligibility.
 
Our conversation is right after the team’s first loss of the season to Wesleyan. That doesn’t dampen her spirit about the potential of the team. She is ecstatic about the “more talented team, top to bottom.” Clark added nine new players to the roster this year.

Jenna Rosenblum, Alaina Schatzabel, Sarah Zambrano, Jacqueline Faulise

I know she wants to be good, and she just is good; it comes naturally to her.

Based on the upgrade in talent, Alaina can’t help but notice the California players. I don’t know how she (the coach) is bringing these California girls over. I’m glad she is—the players bring a different energy, and they are all talented girls,” she says.  
 
When the topic of Kailey comes up, Alaina says, “She adds fire on both ends of the court.  I do not doubt that she will produce for us.”
 
“I know she wants to be good, and she just is good; it comes naturally to her. She is gifted and moves with grace. She has her fundamentals down.”   
 
It hasn’t been all basketball. The upper-level students, including Sarah Zambrano, a graduate student from South San Francisco, took the team apple picking. The new California players were not familiar with the tradition. They learned quickly. 
 
Alaina has dreams that are starting to “brew.” Her dream is to leave Clark as a top NEWMAC team member, whether that be one, two, or three.  
 
In her mind, the dream of winning the conference (NEWMAC) is achievable next year. She gets goosebumps thinking about it.   

The Dream 
 
Kailey carried the hopes and dreams of the Rios family name to the East Coast, becoming the first in her family to play college basketball. 
 
She has already made her Hesperia family proud. And she’s not done.

Four years will fly by. 
 
At the end of her career, maybe a NEWMAC banner will be hanging on the wall, which would be the ultimate tribute to the players who came to Clark, past and present. 

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Author

Anthony Price is an entrepreneur, writer and publisher of Mini Books, inspiring stories for people who are curious about the world. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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