College Commitment: Brian Goracke (2020 Churchill HS)
When it came to his college recruitment, Brian Goracke certainly did as complete a job as one can do. The athletic 6-foot-5, 190-pound wing from Churchill High School took several college campus visits, talked things over with his family and coaches, and took into consideration just about every detail. He originally wasn’t sure he was going to make an early choice but when it came down to it, Goracke knew where he wanted to go and on Wednesday afternoon he made the decision to sign with Point Loma.
“It felt right,” Goracke said. “I had a good relationship with the coaches and everything about it just fit me. I figured that even though it’s Division II – to me at the end of the day, Division I, Division II, it’s just a number. I wanted to go where it would be the best fit for me, not because of where other people would want me to go.”
Goracke described what made Point Loma the aforementioned right fit. “I definitely like the values that the coaches have and their beliefs match up pretty well with me,” Goracke said. “And obviously the program has been very successful – they were second place last year and this year they’re off to a good start.”
Naturally the locale of Point Loma being located literally overlooking the coast in San Diego was a positive. “That obviously plays a little bit of a factor, it’s beautiful down there,” Goracke said. “It’s far enough away from home so I’ll be on my own and it will be an adventure but it’s still on the West Coast, so I have a little sense of a homey feel.”
Goracke made quite a few visits during the recruiting process, and Point Loma was actually the first one he took. He also took trips to Northwest Nazarene, Western Oregon, Biola, the Naval Academy, and twice to Seattle – one unofficial and one official. It was a grueling gauntlet of sorts but Goracke made the most out of each one.
“After every visit, I sat down with my family and we talked about it, how do we feel about this school, how are the academics, how is the program, how are the coaches,” Goracke said. “I would take on notes on schools after I visit so I would always have stuff to refer back to. And I attribute the coaches – they would stay in contact with me to make sure I knew what was going on and that helped a lot.”
In the end, it was Point Loma that won out for Goracke’s signature, which has been signed, sealed, and delivered to the Sea Lions athletic office. With that all done, the senior wing is honed in on the last phase which is this upcoming season at Churchill.
“I definitely think we should win the state championship,” Goracke said. “I think that if we don’t, it will be our fault and nobody else’s. I think we have the talent to do it for sure. Individually, being league player of the year would be a big accomplishment for me but other than that, it’s just winning.”
Goracke currently ranks as the #1 ranked player in the PrepHoops Oregon Class of 2020 rankings.