Rose City Roundup: Local college basketball transfers, softball and baseball top performers
April is coming to a close it and with it comes league play in baseball and softball, as well as bigger track and field meets to prepare for state.
The annual Nike/Jesuit Twilight Relays went down, which you can find coverage of down below from this past Friday with more stories to come on local athletes.
Plus, we take a look at who had strong weeks on the diamond, college transfer portal news and the latest in the incident involving Central Catholic baseball.
Stories from the past two weeks
Ellery Lincoln crushes mile record, Aster Jones keeps winning at Nike/Jesuit Twilight Relays
Central Catholic seeing the benefits of improving golf culture with strong 2026 season
Sean Hausman part of a Cleveland baseball team growing into its young core
Hazel Heron helping pitch Grant softball into 2026 PIL contention
Portland high school baseball statistical leaders in 2026
Portland high school softball statistical leaders in 2026
Local basketball players on the move in college
Transfer portal season at the college level has arrived and a handful of locals are on the move.
Roosevelt alum Terrence Hill Jr., after his memorable performance in March Madness where he led VCU to a win over North Carolina, is one of the bigger names on the move.
Hill is moving a little bit west to play in the SEC for Tennessee where he's expected to be a starter and an vital piece for the Volunteers next season.
Also making a move is former Jefferson start Mookie Cook. He started at Oregon before moving to San Francisco and is now on the move again to San Jose State.
Marley Zeller, a former state champion with Central Catholic, is transferring from Loyola Marymount to Cal State Fullerton to keep his college career going.
Former Cleveland star Jackson Cooper is making a big leap, going from NAIA Oregon Tech to Indiana State next year, the land of Larry Bird. Cooper was named a second-team NAIA All-American this past season.
Some are still in the portal as well, like Central Catholic alum Duce Paschal currently at Weber State, Benson alum Kavon Bradford currently at Northern Arizona after starting last year in Buffalo, and Franklin alum Colby Christiansen moving on from Queens.
Franklin alum Kap Laila, who started at Lower Columbia College, is looking to move on from Division II Colorado Mesa as well.
It's not just the men either as a couple Benson girls basketball alums are on the move.
Mauriana Hashemian-Orr spent two years at Saint Mary's and is moving to UC Santa Barbara. She joins Jefferson alum Chauncey Andersen on the Gauchos roster.
Malaya LeSueur is moving closer to home after starting at Fresno State and playing last year for Texas Southern. She's set to play for Western Oregon.
Central Catholic baseball
The coverage has been heavy the past week on a reported racist chant said by the Central Catholic baseball team prior to its games against Lake Oswego and Gresham on April 9 and 10.
Classes were canceled to start the week after the Rams also forfeited two games to Barlow to end last week.
After students returned to class, a walk-out was held by the students Friday demanding more action take place for the racist remarks. The students also told The Oregonian that the remarks came with an alleged hazing of a JV player swinging up for varsity.
The students presented a list of demands that included suspension of the baseball coaching staff until they have undergone training, a pause on baseball players being allowed to continue their season and changes to the school’s anti-racist policies.
Central Catholic told The O it will require new training for its coaches and is working with consultants to review school policies.
For now, the Rams continue their season at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 28 against Reynolds at the University of Oregon Portland campus.
Softball performances
McDaniel’s Kaylie Schmitz had another insane week, this time going 7 for 12 with 12 RBI and six runs scored. She had two doubles and two triples in those seven hits as the Mountain Lions went 2-1 on the week.
It was a great week for Central Catholic with two wins, 23-14 over Nelson and 14-0 over Gresham. Many of the Rams had great weeks, but we’ll go with junior Portland Razo who went 6 for 9 last week with six runs scored and a couple RBI.
Cleveland junior Estelle Ranta had a double and a triple in the Warriors 10-9 win over Lincoln on April 24. She brought home three runs and scored once in the tight victory.
Franklin junior Brooke Aman went 3 for 7 this week with three RBI and two runs scored as the Lightning took down Wells 8-4 on April 22 and fell to McDaniel 11-5 on April 24.
Gwyneth Gerber, a senior at Grant, had a strong week in the PIL going 5 for 6 with five RBI and four runs scored across two wins for the Generals, 23-8 over Roosevelt and 10-6 over McDaniel.
Wells junior Liv Firestone was excellent at the plate in two games this week, going 6 for 8 with two RBI and two runs scored, meanwhile freshman Ella Greenman threw a complete game shutout in a 7-0 win over Roosevelt.
Lincoln senior Darby Drozdenko had a monster week going 5 for 8 with five RBI, three runs scored and three doubles. She’s hitting .529 on the season with a 1.505 OPS.
Standings
PIL
1. Grant 7-2, 8-7 overall (OSAA 25)
2. Cleveland 6-2, 10-5 overall (OSAA 20)
3. McDaniel 7-3, 9-8 overall (OSAA 28)
4. Wells 6-4, 8-8 overall (OSAA 34)
5. Franklin 4-5, 4-12 overall (OSAA 39)
6. Roosevelt 2-6, 3-11 overall (OSAA 40)
7. Lincoln 0-10, 2-13 overall (OSAA 45)
Mt. Hood
T1. Sandy 3-0, 9-7 overall
T1. Barlow 3-0, 8-7 overall
T3. Nelson 2-1, 10-5 overall
T3. Gresham 2-1, 7-10 overall
5. Central Catholic 2-2, 6-9 overall (OSAA 19)
T6. Clackamas 0-4, 6-10 overall
T6. Reynolds 0-4, 1-13 overall
Baseball performances
Cleveland freshmen pitchers take a bow! Sean Hausman was up first and threw a complete game shutout over McDaniel where he allowed one hit and had 10 strikeouts in the 3-0 win April 22. Then on April 24 against the Mountain Lions, Seth Balderson threw a complete game shutout giving up only three hits and picking up 13 Ks.
Grant senior Elliot Raiton swatted two home runs in an 11-0 win over Jefferson on April 22, as well as tossing three innings on the mound where he gave up no runs on three hits with six strikeouts.
Grae Wilson, a junior at Wells, went 2 for 3 with three RBI in a 9-2 win over Roosevelt on April 22, then threw five innings in a 10-2 win over the Roughriders on April 24 where he gave up only one run on four hits with eight strikeouts.
Lincoln junior Torin Zierath went a perfect 4 for 4 in a 20-4 win over Franklin on April 24, bringing home four runs and scoring four more himself. Earlier in the week, senior Graeme Warner-McGee had a double and a home run in a 10-1 win over the Lightning, picking up four RBI.
Portland Christian senior Noah Humphrey had a great series with Knappa, which the Royals went 2-1 in. Humphrey went 4 for 12 with an RBI and three runs scored and also pitched the second game, which was a 5-4 win behind his 6.1 innings with four runs allowed, two earned, on three hits with nine strikeouts.
Standings
PIL
T1. Grant 4-0, 11-5 overall (OSAA 12)
T1. Cleveland 4-0, 9-6 overall (OSAA 22)
T3. Lincoln 3-1, 10-6 overall (OSAA 15)
T3. Wells 3-1, 7-9 overall (OSAA 31)
5. McDaniel 2-2, 7-9 overall (OSAA 40)
T6. Roosevelt 0-4, 3-12 overall (OSAA 43)
T6. Franklin 0-4, 1-13 overall (OSAA 45)
T6. Jefferson 0-4, 1-8 overall (OSAA 46)
Mt. Hood
1. Clackamas 7-0, 14-2 overall
2. Barlow 6-1, 11-5 overall
T3. Nelson 4-3, 8-8 overall
T3. Sandy 4-3, 7-8 overall
T5. Reynolds 3-4, 6-9 overall
T5. Gresham 3-4, 5-11 overall
7. Central Catholic 1-6, 7-9 overall (OSAA 28)
8. David Douglas 0-7, 1-15 overall (OSAA 47)
2A Special District 1
T1. Clatskanie 5-1, 9-5 overall
T1. Portland Christian 5-1, 9-7 overall (OSAA 13)
T3. Nestucca 4-2, 11-6 overall
T3. Knappa 4-2, 6-8 overall
T5. Gaston 0-6, 3-12 overall
T5. Vernonia 0-6, 2-13 overall
