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GilbertSunNews.com
GILBERT SUN NEWS | OCTOBER 10, 2021
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Top athletes in respective sports representing Higley BY ZACH ALVIRA GSN Sports Editor
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rizona’s rise in athletic prowess over the last decade has led to national recognition for the state by way of top-ranked athletes in their respective sports. Many Arizonans have appeared in championship games, Olympics and more high-magnitude sporting events. In recent years, several schools in the East Valley have seen some of its own competing at a high level, including Highland, Desert Ridge, Perry, Chandler and Hamilton. These same schools, plus others, are also breeding the next generation of talent. Higley now joins that list. “Personally, I’ve never been a part of something like this,” Higley football coach and the on-campus NCAA Coordinator Eddy Zubey said. “I think it goes to show you can come to Higley and get a good education while also being a top-notch athlete. It’s a unique situation having them here. I just hope they can all become their own support system.” Higley is home to four of the top athletes in the nation for their respective sport and class. Juniors Chuck Bailey, a high-level basketball recruit, Keaton Jones, one of the top swimmers in the country, Justin Chambers, a Washington State baseball commit, and sophomore Nijrell Eason II, one of the state’s top class of 2024 defensive backs, have all been representing Higley the last two or three years. It has created an interesting dynamic around the school, as their peers and fellow athletes see their rise in college recruiting rankings. But despite their notoriety on campus, the four have rarely come together. That is, until one September morning. Zubey and school Athletic Director Aaron Dille had the four meet each other in the
From left: Chuck Bailey, Keaton Jones, Justin Chambers and Nijrell Eason II are all top athletes in their respective sport for their class and they all represent Higley on game days. (Zach Alvira/GSN Staff)
“Just knowing there’s other people here going through the same thing we are going through, it’s nice,” Bailey said. “Just knowing I have three other top athletes like myself here we can sort of help and support each other.” Bailey, who Justin Chambers, a Washington State baseball commit, is the only one moved from Deof the four top athletes who has made a college decision. He said it’s a unique situation having a group of talented high schoolers all at one troit, Mich. Midway through last school in different sports. year, has earned school’s weight room. Their goal was to the nickname “Chucky Buckets” for his have them mingle and get to know one athleticism and overall ability on the another. It didn’t take long for numbers court for the Knights. His arrival last season helped vastly to be exchanged and conversation to improve a team that struggled in year’s turn into their respective recruitment to past. Now, he hopes to further improve schools. They all said having other athletes the Higley program. At 6-foot-3, he currently holds offers around their age going through the same from the University of Detroit, Loyola process would make it easier.
Marymount, New Mexico and UNLV. He recently embarked on recruiting trips to other Division I schools. Should he have another season like he did as a sophomore — 24.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game — he believes more schools will begin offering scholarships for his services at the next level. Like Bailey, Jones has spent most of his fall semester on recruiting visits to colleges. It has kept the top-ranked swimmer in the state for the 2023 class away from the Higley team, but he soon hopes to return in time to compete in a few meets before the state competition. On top of his No. 1 overall ranking in Arizona, Jones is the 16th ranked swimmer in the country for the 2023 class. He holds offers from major Division I programs across the country and this past summer qualified and competed in the Olympic Trials. He exploded onto the swimming scene as a freshman when he qualified for the trials. But due to the pandemic, his trip was delayed. Instead, he and several teammates from his club team, Swim Neptune, swam 25 miles in 24 hours as part of the Going the Extra Mile Challenge. Together, the swimmers raised money for retirement homes and other assisted living facilities, which at the time were being hit the hardest by COVID-19. Along with his accomplishment for charity, Jones has also been crowned champion on several occasions. Just this past summer he took first in a variety of events in several high-level competitions, including the Arizona Senior Long Course Championships on July 22 and Speedo Sectionals in Texas on July 15. Jones has also claimed several school records while at Higley. “The team has put in so much work,” Jones said. “Just being able to come in and work with them, all of us together have
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