Brophy junior Miguel Esparza ’27 stepped back from soccer for sophomore year. However, after starting the new year, he’s considering a return.

Esparza was a starter for the freshman football team and, along with his team, placed second in the Desert Super Cup. However, he backed off from Brophy soccer during his sophomore year.

Esparza himself is not new to soccer; not at all. He’s been playing since he was three years old, and he says in his NCSA personal statement that he wants “to become a professional soccer player, a goal fueled by [his] love for the sport and [his] drive to compete at the highest level.”

It’s not like he hasn’t been playing soccer, however. He’s been playing club soccer with SC Del Sol for 2 years now, and he enjoys working with them. “It’s a good team,” Esparza said.

Along with soccer, he’s also been doing track & cross country at Brophy, especially during sophomore year, when he played for the Junior Varsity team. “Usually in JV meets I’m always in the top couple of places,” he said, and his statement tracks. According to the NCSA, he had the second-best freshman time for the 5K race for cross country. 

Esparza has spent 3 years in Brophy’s track & field, with only one in cross country. Despite that, his performance in that one year was good enough to earn him a Varsity letter. 

Esparza also has other priorities outside of school. He’s a big chess player and competes with Brophy’s chess team. He also collects Legos and has amassed quite the collection of Batman Lego sets specifically.