Foresthill's Caleb Byers signs with Simpson University

It's been a big week for Caleb Byers. The Foresthill senior had his last day of high school Thursday and will walk across the stage to receive his diploma Saturday morning. He also was named Foresthill's Athlete of the Year, which wasn't even his biggest athletic accomplishment of the week. On Tuesday, Byers put pen to paper and signed with Simpson University on a volleyball scholarship. Byers chose the Red Hawks over Jamestown University, Newman University and Mount Mercy University. He will join several familiar faces, as many of his former Northern California Volleyball Club teammates play at Simpson. "Throughout my recruiting process, I've been trying to find a college that is close to home, and Simpson was just a three-hour commute," Byers said. "Another reason is that I have players on the team already that I played club volleyball with, so I'm already going to know people at the school and it's just a very friendly environment already going up there." Byers was a standout for the Wildfires this season, earning Central Valley California League MVP. He led Foresthill in kills (141), assists (123) and aces (68) in helping lead his squad to a second-place finish in the CVCL and a quarterfinal appearance in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoffs. "Being recognized as one of the top players, if not the top player, in the league is everything. I've worked so hard for this and it's finally so good to see my work finally paying off," Byers said. Byers entered the season with no college offers and knew if he wanted to extend his volleyball career, he had to have a strong showing. "I knew that I had to play my heart out for every single game," he said. "I was locked in, and I was ready to play each and every game. "The recruitment was a very quick process," Byers said. "At our last playoff game, we had a recruiter there from Simpson who was scouting me and he liked my style of play. The next day, we were in the works of getting me there." Forty-eight hours later, it was official and Byers was a Red Hawk. He will join a young Simpson team that went 8-10 this season and is coming off a berth in the Cal Pac Conference Championships.