The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
Lakewood hosted its 2026 Senior Signing Day on Thursday, where 30 student-athletes were celebrated for their commitments to continue both their academic and athletic careers at the next level. Most of the athletes were present in the auditorium and received recognition along with a message from their coach.
“This is a really special group of seniors,” said Lakewood Athletic Director Mike Wadley. “I’ve had the privilege of having about 75 percent of these kids in my class and they’re just an amazing group. It’s been special getting to know them throughout their high school careers and even getting to coach some of them.”
The Lancers celebrated athletes from 11 different sports, with football leading the way as eight total athletes are set to continue their careers on the gridiron.
The Lakewood baseball team had six seniors present and remains the final Lancers sport still playing this school year. Assistant coach Vic Guzman shared words about each player before the team headed out for practice to prepare for its CIF-SS Division 6 quarterfinal matchup against Muir.
A handful of athletes also chose to stay local, with 12 total student-athletes signing to continue their careers at Long Beach City College next year. The boys’ aquatics program accounted for four of those signings, with each athlete set to continue swimming and/or playing water polo at LBCC.
The Lancers also had a handful of multi-sport athletes sign to continue playing one of their sports at the next level, while senior Allison Honeycutt was the only athlete to sign for a sport she didn’t play at Lakewood. Honeycutt played soccer and flag football for the Lancers, but will attend Lindenwood University to play rugby.
Full List of Signees:
Football – Tiwan Jones Jr. (Idaho State University), Kade Casillas (Whittier College), Joe Joe Togiola (Cerritos College), Nasir Jenkins (Cerritos College), Dane Mason (Cerritos College), Kenny Miumataevalu (Cerritos College), Sammy Gomez (Santa Ana College), Troy Norried (Long Beach City College)
Boys’ Soccer – Michael Gutierrez (Cerritos College), Pol Luna (Delaware Valley University)
Girls’ Volleyball – Alizae Leilua (Glenville State University)
Softball – Jayzee Childress (Long Beach City College), Katelynn Lewis (Youngstown State University)
Boys’ Basketball – Diquin Minor (Long Beach City College)
Girls’ Basketball – Kasey Henson (Cypress College)
Boys’ Swim/Water Polo – Maxson Hoke (Long Beach City College), Javante Fearence (Long Beach City College), Frankie Barales-Nunez (Long Beach City College), Daniel Marquez (Long Beach City College)
Girls’ Swim/Water Polo – A’Dianah Menjivar-Nunez (Cypress College)
Baseball – Nate Gallegos (Santa Ana College), Xavier Nunez (Long Beach City College), Noah (Nunez Rio Hondo College), Tanner Miramontes (Rio Hondo College), Jayden Pea (Long Beach City College), Anthony Rueda (Long Beach City College)
Cross Country/Track – Kaylin Embree (Long Beach City College), Marquise Simmons (Long Beach City College), Elysia Larios (Cerritos College)
Rugby – Allison Honeycutt (Lindenwood University)
