AJ Esperanza

Height:
6-1
Weight:
190
B/T:
L/R
Class:
Freshman
High School:
El Modena HS
Experience:
HS

High School -- A four-year varsity letter winner in baseball under head coach Josh Kliner at El Modena High School in Orange, Calif. ... hit .326 as a senior with five doubles, two triples, a pair of home runs and 16 RBI, leading Vanguards to a 16-11-1 record and a berth in the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 playoffs ... a career .272 hitter at El Modena with 12 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 40 RBI ... hit .260 as a sophomore with two doubles, one home run and nine RBI and .235 with 50 hits, including nine doubles, a triple, one home run and 29 RBI along with six steals,?as a junior ... named team's scholar-athlete award winner four times ... Esperanza also won the team's Cardinal and Gold Award as a sophomore ... his travel team, the SoCal Birds, placed second in the 2017 Perfect Game World Series and he was named to the all-tournament team ... Esperanza also was the starting quarterback for El Modena for three years, leading the Vanguards to three Crestview League titles ... the school's all-time career passing leader with 4,903 yards, and passing for 49 touchdowns, also a school record ... El Modena finished 12-3 overall in 2017, captured the North Hills League and CIF-Southern Section Division 7 championships and lost in the semifinals of the state 3-A Division playoffs ... Esperanza chose Cal Poly because "it has the combination of great academics and a solid baseball program that I?was looking for. I also love the location. It's far enough from my home to feel different, but close enough for my family to drive up to games" ... AP Scholar with Distinction ... also named Male Vanguard of the Year ... played summer ball for Utah Marshalls, an under-18 team based in Kearns, Utah, which won 62 of 80 games.

Personal -- Son of Chris and Lori ... both are USC graduates and high school teachers ... one brother, Trey, and one sister, Niya ... wants to serve as an officer in the Coast Guard ... born in Orange, Calif. ... majoring in environmental management and protection.