The Villa Maria College program announced on Monday afternoon that dual-sport athlete Adeika Santana Santiago has signed with Villa to join the women’s soccer and basketball programs beginning in the 2017-18 season.
Santiago comes to Villa from The International Preparatory School in Buffalo, NY, after excelling in both soccer and basketball, while maintaining high academic standing. The 5-foot-2 guard was both team’s leading scorer, scoring 29 goals and notching eight assists on the field and netting 25 points and dishing out 10 assists on the court.
“Adeika is an exciting player and will help our entire athletic program,” Villa women’s basketball coach Al Monaco said. “She is a tremendous student and will help us tremendously on the basketball court. She is very quick and someone we needed to add to our roster.”
“Adeika is a hard worker and never gets tired,” Villa women’s soccer coach Amanda Janosky said. “We need goal scorers and Adeika is just that. She will be a good influence on our team and she brings a number of skills to our program.”
Santiago led I-Prep to a 11-4 overall record during the 2016-17 season and a trip to the Class B1 quarterfinals. She has been playing basketball since the age of nine where she grew up in Puerto Rico. At the age of 15, she moved from Puerto Rico to the United States where she became a two-sport athlete at I-Prep. She says that she was never a natural athlete but worked extremely hard to get to where she is today.
In the classroom, Santana holds a 95 grade point average and ranks third in her class. She hasn’t had the easiest path to that academic success as she knew little to no English when she first arrived in America. She challenged herself this past year, applying for nearly all advanced classes and was accepted into the National Honor Society for her work in the classroom.
“Adeika is a very dedicated girl. She accomplishes what she wants,” I-Prep girls soccer coach Sean Martin said. “As a team leader she was willing to teach everyone what she knew about the sport, as well as learn new skills she didn’t already know. She was a great team captain and I can’t wait to see her play at Villa Maria College.”
“Adeika did an outstanding as a basketball player at I-Prep,” girls basketball coach Chelsea Prophet said. “Despite her height she pushed through all stereotypes and played with heart. She was an upbeat captain who always made her team smile. She doesn’t give up until the game is over.”
The Lady Vikings will add Santiago to a roster that graduates just one senior and advanced to the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Final Four. They were led by First Team All-American Shaquana Owens (Buffalo, NY/Tapestry Charter) and Second Team All-American Armoni Jordan (Lockport, NY/South Park).
Santiago will study as part of the Physical Therapist Assistant Program.
