TEMECULA – High school seniors in certain sports were allowed to sign National Collegiate Athletic Association letters of intent on November 13. The San Diego Sports Association and the CIF San Diego Section hosted a signing ceremony at Snapdragon Stadium that morning, and nearly all of the seniors were from San Diego County. Temecula Valley High School senior Cassidy Drago plays club soccer with the San Diego Surf and joined her club teammates in San Diego that morning when Drago signed to play soccer at Brigham Young University.
“I’m super excited to sign with them,” Drago said. “I hope to be able to come in and be a goal scorer for them.”
Drago will settle for assists if her teammates score goals, although as a forward taking shots is her responsibility. “I want to come in and make an impact on them. I want to be a player they rely on and move them up in rankings,” she said.
Prior to choosing BYU she was also considering Harvard, Michigan State, Rutgers, Texas A&M, and Cal. Drago selected the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints university because of her faith. “I chose it because this is a place where I’m going to feel most comfortable with my faith,” she said.
Her activities in her own ward include playing the piano at the church. She provides community service as part of her LDS activity, and she also founded Temecula Valley High School’s Just Serve Club to promote community service. Drago has performed more than 350 hours of community service during her high school years.
Drago plans to major in physical therapy at BYU and hopes to have a physical therapy career. She is a lifelong Temecula resident who attended French Valley Elementary School and Bella Vista Middle School prior to enrolling in high school.
Her father, Darren, coaches the Temecula Valley High School boys team and played soccer both for Ramona High School in San Diego County and for San Diego State University. Drago’s mother, Sarah, attended high school in Montana and played basketball and volleyball.
Cassidy Drago is the third of five children. Her brother Malachi played soccer at Temecula Valley High School before graduating in 2020, and he now coaches the Golden Bears junior varsity boys. Her sister Naomi, who is currently at Brigham Young University, is a 2022. Temecula Valley High School graduate who played soccer for the Golden Bears. Cassidy Drago and her sister Liberty, who is currently a sophomore, played together on the 2023-24 high school varsity team. The youngest child, Delaney, is currently 14 and in eighth grade.
At the age of four Cassidy Drago began her organized soccer activity with American Youth Soccer Organization play. She was eight when she began travel club competition with Temecula United.
Drago made the high school varsity team as a freshman. She was a forward for all three high school years, and the Southwest League coaches selected her as an all-league player all three years. As a sophomore she was the league’s offensive most valuable player.
The Golden Bears will be playing their 2024-25 season without Cassidy Drago. She has received no grade lower than an “A” while in high school and will graduate in December. Drago will spend the school year’s second semester at Brigham Young University, and she will join the other Cougars soccer players for spring practice and games.
Joe Naiman can be reached by email at jnaiman@reedermedia.com.
