Pitching ace Jasmine Reyna went beyond the norm to become the Desert View student body president.
Prolific-passing quarterback Ryan Vasavilbaso gathered his courage last year to stick with football in the aftermath of his brother Jesus Reyes Diaz Jr. committing suicide before spring practice started.
It was symbolic that they sat side by side Thursday afternoon when Desert View honored them with a celebration in which they signed with their respective college — Reyna with Eastern Arizona College and Vasavilbaso with Rockford (Ill.) University.
They are determined individuals and quality students who are well respected by their peers.
Other schools may feature around 10 athletes signing with a college during their ceremonies. Desert View had two this afternoon. Their value to their families and their school are immeasurable.
Desert View QB Ryan Vasavilbaso (@RyanVasa_12) has signed with @RockfordUFB, an NCAA Division III program at Rockford, Ill. He talked about working toward that achievement, which included pushing forward after his brother passed away from suicide last March. He thought at first… pic.twitter.com/WN352qfdKh
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) May 14, 2026
“During spring ball, I was not here mentally,” Vasavilbaso said after the passing of his brother. “Every day felt really long and I just didn’t know if I could keep going on with sports, or school, to be honest.
“But then, after Week 3, I was asking God, I was asking every body in my circle. I was like … Not asking, I was telling, ‘I can’t be with him in the grave, so I gotta keep living.’ I decided right there that I needed to keep pushing forward, so I can do something with my life, not stay stuck.”
Vasavilbaso embodied the exact opposite of being stuck.
As the senior quarterback, Vasavilbaso combined his skill and leadership capabilities with the explosiveness of sophmore running back Jaylee Abraham, and productivity of receivers Anthony Rodarte, Fernando Soto and Eric Barcelo to lead the Jaguars to a historically good season.
Desert View finished with an 11-1 record, after achieving the first undefeated regular season in school history (10-0), a 5A Southern Region title, and a deep playoff run to the quarterfinals.
Vasavilbaso, with good size and arm strength at 6-foot-1 and 170 pounds, completed 189 of 270 (70%) pass attempts for 2,613 yards with 28 touchdowns and six interceptions.
“It felt good to come to people every day who wanted me to be there,” he said about using the opportunity to play as a release following the loss of his brother. “I’m doing something that I’m good at; something that I actually love.
“Throwing is like therapy for me. Being on the field, being able to throw to receivers, playing against the defense, that’s just fun, too.”
Vasavilbaso will major in Pre Law with a minor in Criminal Justice with the plan to be a lawyer in his post-football career.
Desert View ace Jasmine Reyna has signed to play softball with @eacmonsters. She was one of my fifth grade English students at Gallego Intermediate and was also part of my afterschool classes, including blog writing. Like I told her mom during the signing ceremony today at Desert… pic.twitter.com/gIKb1mOJmx
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) May 15, 2026
Reyna will study nursing at Eastern Arizona.
She will head to Thatcher after tallying 152 strikeouts in her career. The stats don’t tell the whole story of Reyna, who developed a love for softball over the years since her T-ball days.
It’s what she does outside of the circle and diamond, representing her school that distinguishes here. The energy with her peers and teammates is infectious.
“I’ve developed so much,” Reyna said. “I found myself in high school and mainly in softball as well. I really found my confidence in the circle, having all the pressure on me in a game. I found the confidence to strengthen myself.
“I grew a lot from being little, starting softball, like in T-ball with no confidence in myself, not really understanding the game but going forward, understanding that it’s not only on my shoulders but it’s an entire team effort.”
The confidence led to her believing she can not only become the student body president at Desert View but she can also leave her mark for future students.
“I have to put a lot into being president at Desert View,” she said. “It was a lot of things I needed to fix this school year, fixing our student council as well. It was a lot of work; it was a lot of work outside of school, as well.
“I feel like I really changed the Desert View community. I brought a lot of school spirit back, a lot of dances that we never had before. I feel like I made a pretty positive impact here at Desert View High School. I feel like that takes me to who I am the person today.”
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