BROWNSVILLE — Brownsville St. Joseph starting point guard Martin Tapia signed Wednesday with Monterrey’s Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon.
“I am super excited,” he said. “It was my dream to keep playing basketball in college. I am super excited. There is not much I can say, I am excited for this. This is a new chapter in my life.”
Tapia said it has always been a dream to go to the university in Monterrey because his cousin — who is like a brother to him — attended the university. The university is one of the best academically in Mexico.
At St. Joseph, Tapia was a key starter on one of the best teams in the Rio Grande Valley. He helped lead the Bloodhounds to an undefeated TAPPS 5A District 4 title and an overall record of 29-5.
“Martin does a lot of important things that people do not realize,” Bloodhounds basketball coach Sam Lucio said. “He rebounds, sets up our offense, takes charges and he is an all-around good player that we are really going to miss next year.”
Lucio said Tapia has put in the hard work since his freshman year.
“He always wants to be in the gym,” he said. “He works hard in practice. He deserves what he is getting today. To get a chance to play in college is something he has wanted since his freshman year.”
Tapia is aware of the new challenges he will take on at the university. Off the court, he said the classes could be challenging, and on the court, international basketball is different than American basketball.
“Because it is in another country, it is a different type of game over there. Over here the game is fast, and there the game is a little slow,” he said.
Tapia will swap the red and white of St. Joseph to the colors of Tigres, but at his signing ceremony he said he will always be a Bloodhounds player.
