The562’s coverage of Millikan Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Brian Ramsey and TLD Law.
The Millikan Athletics Class of 2026 assembled in the auditorium earlier this month to celebrate the Rams who will continue their careers at the collegiate level. A mix of athletes across more than a dozen different sports, ranging from junior colleges to Division 1 programs, were recognized for their achievements as Rams.
“Today, we’re celebrating an incredible accomplishment by our senior athletes,” said Millikan athletic director Kacey Mendoza, kicking off the celebration. “This celebration represents years of dedication, sacrifice, perseverance and hard work, both in the classroom and in competition. We’re excited to honor these student-athletes as they continue their academic and athletic journey at the next level, and represent with pride the tradition that Millikan High School has.”
A total of 34 senior athletes have made their college decisions, with perhaps to follow in the coming months. Not all athletes were able to attend the ceremony, since some were taking Advanced Placement (AP) tests and two were early graduates who are already off to college: Jude Nelson (Football) at Utah State and Savannah Galvan (Girls’ Soccer) at UC Santa Barbara. Nelson and the other football signees were celebrated during Signing Day events earlier in the school year.
The softball program led the way with six athletes set to continue their careers at the next level: Kayla Cisneros (Wagner College), Peyton Dobrovolny (Clarion University), Addy Everett (King University), Hailey Fematt (Weber State), Riley McAndrew (George Washington), and Makenzee Romero (Felician University).
Everett will be joined at King by her softball teammate, Nikki Cheshire, who will continue her flag football career in college as the sport continues its growth at all levels of competition.
The baseball team has four players headed to the next level, a group that includes Daunte Bell II (Houston), Austin Brett (Hope International), Micah Claverie (Arizona Christian), and Lucas Heilig (California Lutheran).
“I’m just so proud and so blessed,” said Bell after the ceremony. “Especially to be here up with my classmates, a lot of these people I grew up with in middle school, elementary, and just to share that moment with them is so, so special. Because we grew up in the same place, same area, and we’ll just be repping Long Beach while playing for the schools that we want to go to, the schools that we love, and feel like are a second home for us.”
Bell signing with Houston gives the Rams a Power 4 recruit on the diamond in consecutive seasons, following Anthony Pack, Jr., who is currently at Texas. Millikan has also had a Division 1 baseball recruit in three of the last five years, and have had a trio of baseball alums playing in Major League Baseball in recent seasons.
“I just take so much pride in that, because I really look at the history that we have at Millikan,” Bell said. “I just want to be able to carry that legacy and be able to add my name to those big names, like Spencer Steer, Anthony Pack, those are some huge names who came out of Millikan and I want to be able to add my name to that and just be able just to wear it the right way. Because Millikan is in my mind the best school in Long Beach. This is my home, I’ve always bled blue and gold ever since I was in the sixth grade at Marshall, so I’ve always been a Ram since I was young.”
Millikan’s two CIF-SS Championship-winning programs had their fair share of representation this year, with Bethany Arnold (Mira Costa College) and Aubrey Greene (Life Pacific University) continuing on in beach volleyball.
From the girls’ soccer program, Gigi Fang is going to Biola, Bella Nunez signed with Idaho State, Caoimhe Tighe is going to Emory & Henry University and London Perez will play at Long Beach City College next season.
Millikan’s Moore League champion boys’ basketball program had a pair of senior signees, with Jeremiah Hunt signing with Cal State Monterey Bay and JoJo Wicker signing with Cal State Stanislaus.
Complete List of College-Bound Athletes in Millikan’s Class of 2026:
Bethany Arnold – Beach Volleyball, Mira Costa College
Kayla Cisneros – Softball, Wagner College
Hailey Fematt – Softball, Weber State University
Riley McAndrew – Softball, George Washington University
Peyton Dobrovolny – Softball, Clarion University
Makenzee Romero – Softball, Felician University
Addy Everett – Softball, King University
Ivan Cervantes-Vega – Boys Soccer, Mt. SAC
Vonnae Ocegueda – Boys Soccer, California Intercontinental University
Daunte Bell – Baseball, University of Houston
Lucas Heilig – Baseball, California Lutheran University
Micah Claverie – Baseball, Arizona Christian University
Austin Brett – Baseball, Hope International University
Cooper Dixon – Boys Water Polo, Cypress College
Joshua Lindner – Boys Water Polo, Cypress College
Zavier Velasco – Boys Water Polo, Cypress College
Leilani McIntosh – Girls Basketball, LBCC
Kyley Seeds – Girls Water Polo, LBCC
Lilla Angelov – Girls Water Polo, LBCC
Aubrey Greene – Beach Volleyball, Life Pacific University
Nikki Cheshire – Flag Football, King University
Ella Garza – Song, UC Berkeley
Savannah Galvan – Girls Soccer, UCSB
Bella Nunez – Girls Soccer, Idaho State University
Caoimhe Tighe – Girls Soccer, Emory & Henry University
Gigi Fang – Girls Soccer, Biola University
London Perez – Girls Soccer, LBCC
Jake Karkanen – Boys Volleyball, LBCC
Peyton McCutcheon – Football, Sacramento State
Jude Nelson – Football, Utah State
Ashton Pannell – Football, Chicago State
Dominic Palma – Football, University of Puget Sound
Jeremiah Hunt – Boys Basketball, Cal State Monterey Bay
Joseph Wicker – Boys Basketball, Cal State Stanislaus
