On early signing day, Andre Henry of St. Francis enjoys his moment

St. Francis guard Andre Henry, at left with coach Todd Wolfson, will play basketball for UC Irvine.

Nov. 13, 2019 2:15 PM PT

It was early signing day on Wednesday for dozens of high school senior athletes from across the Southland finalizing their college choices. Many have made public their journeys, via social media, committing and decommitting, an encouragement for others to follow their every move.

All-CIF guard Andre Henry of St. Francis was different. He’s not big on social media. His recruitment happened more quietly, and those seeking to recruit him spoke to him on the phone and saw him in action. He ended up signing with UC Irvine.

“One hundred percent, he trusted the process,” coach Todd Wolfson said of the 6-foot-3 Henry, who averaged 19.3 points and 11.9 rebounds.

Said Henry: “I trusted it and am happy where I’m at. Honestly, I had faith in my coach, and I had faith in what they were preaching, and if you work hard, good things will happen.”

Asked what he thought about after signing, Henry said, “That dreams come true. My whole goal was to be able to go to college for free and not have my parents worry about anything, and today I accomplished that.”

Seniors were signing for any sport other than football, and there were many celebrations.

Congrats to our 2020 seniors Evan Mobley and Dominick Harris on signing their letter of intent on their National Signing Day! #RCHSHoops pic.twitter.com/hgzpBtRjHc
— Rancho Christian Basketball (@rchshoops) November 13, 2019

@avajustman15 signs with @BadgerSoftball. @Chatsworth_SB looking for a great year and a great finish to Ava’s HS career. @Tarek_Fattal @latsondheimer @CIFLACS pic.twitter.com/w8H6UIoFLv
— Chatsworth Athletics (@ChatsworthAD) November 13, 2019

So proud of our 2 D1 signees @preston_howey and @dustinallen22. Preston will attend @SMC_Baseball and Dustin will attend @USDbaseball. @WCCsports @latsondheimer @PBR_California @LesLukach @James_Escarcega @SGVNSports pic.twitter.com/OGKsiV7Mr2
— Arcadia Baseball (@ArcadiaBaseball) November 13, 2019

Congratulations to @olubaseball player Max Rajcic on his commitment to @UCLABaseball #GoBruins #OLuOn2 pic.twitter.com/B6k3KcgiH8
— OLu Athletics (@OLu_Athletics) November 13, 2019

Congratulations to @olubaseball player Tank Espalin on his commitment to @USC_Baseball #FightOn #OLuOn2 pic.twitter.com/SCoLsy0yAM
— OLu Athletics (@OLu_Athletics) November 13, 2019

Diego Moran of Alhambra signing with St. Mary’s baseball. pic.twitter.com/83t9oHx7rT
— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) November 13, 2019

@MaterDeiGBB 2020 Shooting Guard Camryn Kiernan National Signing Day!! She has signed her NLI and is officially an @cuiwbasketball Eagle 🦅, Congratulations Camryn! #NationalSigningDay #NLI #GoCammyJamJam #FlyEaglesFly #CamCordia pic.twitter.com/pf33gSbQ0D
— Mater Dei Girls Basketball (@MaterDeiGBB) November 13, 2019

Congrats to @dreezydoesit2 of @hwbaseball for signing his NCAA National Letter of Intent with @StanfordBSB - We are very proud of you! @Tarek_Fattal @latsondheimer pic.twitter.com/rWEotejAnJ
— Harvard-Westlake (@hwathletics) November 13, 2019

Big Day for @mdhs_softball. 6 Seniors signing today:

Atlantis Perez - Akron
Riley Orcutt - Georgia
Allison O’Heaney - Harvard
Hannah Jacobsen - CSU Monterrey Bay
Jolie Gustave - Syracuse
Marlene Friedman - Arkansas pic.twitter.com/1BOmze1UOg
— Mater Dei Softball (@mdhs_softball) November 13, 2019

Great Day for @NDKNIGHTBASE ! Congrats Fellas ! More to come. @latsondheimer @Tarek_Fattal @LesLukach @PBR_California pic.twitter.com/1mzr3ZOFXr
— NDHS BASEBALL (@NDKNIGHTBASE) November 13, 2019

Signed sealed delivered🖊
Congrats to our very own @malikaiwickley2 on signing his NLI to @USC_Baseball this morning the Trojans got a good one! Welcome to the club 🔵🔴✌️@latsondheimer @breezepreps @PBR_California @PerfectGameUSA @USC_Athletics @serrasports @SerraCavaliers pic.twitter.com/07yA2pPV6l
— Serra Baseball (@BaseballSerra) November 13, 2019

Congrats to Wynton Brown on signing his National Letter of Intent to Northern Arizona University! @BoscoBasketball @StJohnBoscoHS @presstelegram @latsondheimer pic.twitter.com/8YRoImoG0W
— Bosco Athletics (@sjbathletics) November 13, 2019

Congratulations to Damien's newest college commits! pic.twitter.com/0jAzhEN4XX
— Damien Athletics (@DamienSports) November 13, 2019

Next up is Sarah Willis! Sarah is a high school All-American and was named the Pitcher of the Year in southern California!#MightyAreTheWomen x #SigningDay2019 pic.twitter.com/u5mQi0DcPq
— Washington Softball (@UWSoftball) November 13, 2019

Congratulations to our 9 student-athletes who were recognized during today’s Signing Day Ceremony including Garret Guillemette, Peter Newton, Alex Hanz, Nic Harrison, Cameron Xiao, Jack Terrones, David Mitzner, Uriel Sanchez & Josh Medina! #credo #ForeverAFriar pic.twitter.com/gGbvsTCU8Q
— Servite Athletics (@ServiteSports) November 13, 2019

Huge congratulations to 5 of our Seniors signing their #NLI today: Jared Jones (Texas), Emilio Morales (USC), Michael Deharo (UCSB), Eugene Jeon (UCSB) and Jacob Sharp (Hawaii). We’re so proud of you guys! #LMFamily @James_Escarcega @LesLukach @latsondheimer @PBR_California
— La Mirada Baseball (@LMBaseball20) November 13, 2019

@_adamc2 Its a great day. Adam Christopher signed his National Letter of Intent to join the @lmulionsBSB Loyola Marymount University family. Thanks to @Ecrbaseball for their commitment. We re proud of you son. @latsondheimer @PBAofLA @Tarek_Fattal @ecrathletics @WVLeague_ pic.twitter.com/XMZJTsEexM
— TC CHRISTOPHER (@TCCHRISTOPHER2) November 13, 2019

High School Sports

Eric Sondheimer

Eric Sondheimer is the prep sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times. He has been honored seven times by the California Prep Sportswriters Assn. for best prep sports column.