By TJ Murphy ‘20

National Signing Day was Tuesday, Nov. 12, and Brother Rice was sure to get a piece of the action. Three students of the class of 2020 committed to colleges.

In baseball, Jack Payton received an almost-full tuition scholarship to University of Louisville and Micah Gouwens received a scholarship to University of Wisconsin – Parkside. In soccer, Jack Finnegan received a full-ride offer to University of Wisconsin. All three students have had successful sports careers here at Brother Rice and plan to continue as they head to college.

“When I go out on the diamond I only want to get better, and I’m so glad I can keep pushing to get better as I move on to college,” said baseball player Jack Payton.

Payton plans to major in Biology and go to graduate school to study physical therapy. “I’m just so blessed to save tens of thousands of dollars just by playing a sport that I love at a school that I love,” he said.

Jack Finnegan, an up-and-coming soccer star, is ecstatic to have received a full ride to the University of Wisconsin, a Big 10 school. “I’ve been playing soccer since I was three years old, and it’s a wonderful feeling to see all my hard work paying out.”

Finnegan has been a starter on the soccer team for four years and has been a captain since his sophomore year. After college, he plans to continue playing soccer as a professional player. “As long as I keep putting my sweat and tears into this game, I definitely believe I can make it as a pro. I’ve made it this far, and I don’t plan on quitting while I’m ahead.”