By Kyle JorreySeniors Ben Weber, Jordan Cooper and Michael Stahl took the NCAA Division III volleyball world by storm in 2024, leading the Kingsmen to their first national championship. Only this was no swan song.
Thanks to an NCAA ruling that granted student-athletes an extra year (or two) of eligibility to compensate for the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the trio was able to return this fall for one final season. Great news for Cal Lutheran ― less so for their opponents.
“It’s nice for the athletes to get that year back that was taken away from them,” head coach Kevin Judd said. “And for this program, it’s certainly worked out in our favor.”
Up and down Cal Lutheran athletic rosters, these so-called “super seniors,” the last of their kind, are having an outsized impact.
Take Devon Lewis, Tommy Griffitts and Stephen Davis, who just led the Kingsmen basketball team to a 21-4 record and a second straight Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) regular season title. The three were all part of head coach Russell White’s first recruiting class in 2020, opening up a special bond as the world around them closed down.
“It’s never happened before and it’s never going to happen again,” White said of the current batch of fifth-year players. “I think the value of those guys speaks for itself. It shows in the leadership they’ve provided … the way we’ve done a really good job closing out games. That comes with experience. And as a coach, I’m the beneficiary.”
Before COVID-19, a serious injury was the only path to an extra year of eligibility as Division III schools don’t allow for elective redshirts, student-athletes who join a team but choose to sit out from competition to retain a full four years.
The Regal water polo team is benefitting from an extra year from goalie Izzy de Souza (an All-American honorable mention in 2023) and attacker Megan Findlay, and an extratwo years from returning All-American Bethany Metcalfe, who because of the timing of the water polo calendar, lost out on multiple seasons as a result of COVID-19.
Metcalfe, who has played for six coaches during her six years at Cal Lutheran, said she simply loves the game too much to pass on a chance to keep competing.
“When it comes to water polo, there’s not that many opportunities to play at a high level after college. There’s not a professional league, and it’s not like softball where you can just join a league and play on Wednesday nights,” she said. “My dad played water polo in college and didn’t get to use all of his years of eligibility. I had a conversation with him and he basically said, ‘If you’re having fun you might as well keep doing it as long as you can.’ It’s a blessing.”
The Oakdale, California, native said the program’s coaching carousel served as motivation to return.
“I felt I needed to be there for the younger girls and to lead the team,” she said. “There was this sense of responsibility to provide some consistency in a time of consistent change.”
Age gap
The extra year of COVID-19 eligibility has created an interesting dynamic on several Cal Lutheran teams: a significant age gap between some student-athletes and their freshman counterparts.
For instance, Jordan Cooper is 23, while fellow starter Keaton Hendry, the team’s new setter, is only 18. Cooper admits that the age difference has taken some getting used to.
“They’re great guys,” said the All-American outside hitter, “but we don’t exactly have the same weekend plans.”
The age gap has prompted Cooper and fellow super seniors Stahl and Weber to make a conscious effort to connect with the younger players.
“I think we’ve done a good job of including the younger guys and making them feel welcome, like we’re one team,” said Cooper, who transferred to Cal Lutheran before the 2023-24 season. “Ultimately, we’re all united by our desire to win.”
Starting pitcher JJ Frazier, now in his fifth season with the Kingsmen, has seized upon the age dynamic to embrace the role of mentor. The Tennessee native has tried to impart to his younger teammates that success doesn’t come overnight.
“When I was a freshman I didn’t really get to start, didn’t get to play much, so I know what it’s like to get discouraged, to start thinking, ‘What am I doing wrong?’” Frazier said. “When guys come to me for advice I just tell them you’ve got to pitch or play like every day is your last. You want an opportunity? You’ve got to work hard for it.”
Even as he begins his fifth season on the diamond, Frazier shows up to every practice with an open mind.
“You can’t go into this thinking you already know everything,” he said. “Some of these young guys, there’s probably something they can teach me. That’s how I look at it. We benefit each other.”
Baseball head coach Erik Scherer and Frazier have developed an extremely close relationship. Scherer said when the hard-throwing righty shared the news that he intended to stay a Kingsman for his final season, one of the first people Scherer let know was his son Camden.
“I said, ‘Hold on, let me call Camden.’ And I asked him ‘Can JJ stay?’ And he said ‘yeah!’”
“That’s the thing. If he wasn’t happy here, he had opportunities to go elsewhere,” Scherer said. “You want guys who want to be here, guys who when they’re done playing, miss it because they enjoyed being here — not because we won a bunch of games, but because they loved being part of the Cal Lu family.”
Metcalfe, who is bound for Uniformed Services University and a career as a physician in the United States Navy, said she doesn’t take offense when her teammates refer to her as “grandma.”
“I can take that,” the 23-year-old said with a laugh. “I don’t have TikTok or anything but at the end of the day, we’re here to play water polo. I might not have the closest relationship with our freshmen but they all know if they need anything from me, I’m there. If they need help in the pool, or if they need help in class, they know they can count on me.”
None encapsulates the year of the super senior better than Lewis. An above-average scorer during his first four years playing basketball for the Kingsmen, the Pasadena native has turned in one of the greatest seasons in program history. A likely All-American, Lewis gives Cal Lutheran a legitimate shot at its first NCAA Tournament victory in 21 years.
“His growth this year, if you look at his efficiency, it’s just been nuts,” White said. “It’s been awesome to see. It’s awesome for a coach to see a guy put everything together like that, to see everything we’ve talked about come to fruition.”
More time for practice
One significant benefit of being a super senior is the increased flexibility in their academic schedules. Nearly all Cal Lutheran student-athletes utilizing their fifth year of eligibility are enrolled in graduate programs, which often require fewer in-person class hours. This translates to more time dedicated to training, practicing and honing their athletic skills.
All-SCIAC power forward Tommy Griffitts is one of several fifth-years taking Cal Lutheran’s brand-new Sport Management master’s degree program. The one-year course is completely online, leaving ample free time to focus on basketball.
“It’s worked out perfectly,” Griffitts said. “I have night class two days a week, which leaves my days almost completely open. It’s really helped me focus more on the season, and of course, Dev (Lewis), Stephen and I use that time to get extra shots up … Dev especially.”
The Carlsbad native said he currently rents a home near campus with six roommates, including two fellow grad students, two former Cal Lutheran student-athletes and one undergrad.
“This year definitely has a different feel to it,” he said. “I’m really only on campus for basketball. But it’s great.”
Cooper is also enrolled in the Sport Management program. Though he still feels like part of the campus community, he admits the mentality is far different from being an undergrad.
“You’ve definitely got one foot in the real world,” Cooper said.
Coaches perspective
Second-year water polo head coach Tim Settem described the return of de Souza and Metcalfe for another year as a tremendous advantage. Beyond their experience and leadership, they also exemplify a dedicated work ethic that inspires the entire team.
“(For them) it’s all about the love of the game and the love of the program. Because this is hard work,” Settem said. “It’s a desire to finish in the best light possible. It’s a desire to be champions. They wouldn’t be back here if they didn’t have that goal.”
Settem gives credit to the university for having a grad-school option available to student-athletes who have a desire to return. Not all SCIAC schools do.
“I think our grad school does a great job and enables them to have that opportunity if they need it,” he said. “These particular individuals have been in very unique situations.”
Because of its grad program, Cal Lutheran has become a destination for some fifth-year seniors whose prior schools didn’t provide that option. Take Leo Bristow and Matt Campo, two transfers poised to make an immediate impact for the Kingsman baseball team.
Bristow, a starter, graduated last year from Stevens University Institute of Technology (New Jersey). Campo, a relief pitcher, actually began his college career at Cal Lutheran before leaving and earning a degree from Cal State Monterey Bay.
“When I saw him (Campo) in the portal, I wasn’t exactly sure how that conversation was going to go, so I asked my assistants what they thought, and they said, ‘Give it go,’” Scherer said. “So I texted him and I figured he’s either going to get right back to me or he’s going to tell me to kick rocks. And within 10 minutes he got back and said ‘Coach, I’m so glad to hear from you.’”
Scherer called Campo a “great story.”
“He’s truly just grateful to be here,” the coach said. “When we talked I told him ‘Hey, I’m not sure what we’re going to do with you,’ and his response was ‘I don’t care … I just want to play.’ He’s a great veteran presence and a great competitor.”
No Cal Lutheran coach will be sadder to see their super senior go than women’s basketball’s Kelli DiMuro. The team’s lone fifth-year contributor is DiMuro’s daughter, Aliya, who has spent her entire collegiate career as a Regal playing for her mom.
“On Senior Night, I did get pretty emotional,” Kelli DiMuro said. “Usually I save the tears for the team banquet, not in front of everybody in the stands. But I definitely got emotional for all the seniors, especially my daughter.”
The head coach said she’s noticed something magical happens around a player’s fifth year.
“They start to understand that the world doesn’t revolve around them, it revolves around the team, and when they learn that, it’s like the light bulb goes off,” DiMuro said. “That’s the biggest thing, more than anything else.”
Desire to return
Scherer attributes the success of the super seniors to attitude more than experience or physicality.
“I think it shows that they want to stay, because let’s face it, they are making a financial decision, it’s not like ‘It’s your fifth year it’s on the house,’ these guys are making the decision to forgo doing something else,” Scherer said. “If you play at this level, you’ve got to love playing, and I think it shows that they still enjoy it.”
After graduating last spring with a degree in chemistry, Frazier considered hanging up his cleats and heading straight to medical school to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor. However, a summer playing for Athletes in Action, a Christian-centered organization that utilizes sports to spread the Gospel, reignited his passion for baseball, convincing him that his athletic journey wasn’t over yet.
Even after suffering a injury, he rehabbed hard to get himself in shape to start his final season as a Kingsman.
“I’m really just enjoying being out here with the guys and my coaches,” Frazier said. “It’s not only about competing. It’s about being in the dugout, encouraging one another, embracing this rare opportunity we get to be part of a team.”
As much as he wants to win, Frazier tries not to lose sight of the big picture.
“It’s my last year of baseball. Let’s have fun with it,” he said.
Metcalfe, too, reflects the true spirit of purple and gold. Despite having the skills to land at a Division I program, she said she never considered transferring.
“It was never a thought in my mind. I love the community here so much, and the girls I’ve played with have turned into family,” she said. “I honestly never could imagine playing anywhere else but at Cal Lutheran.”
