Sergio Murtinho '26 Recruiting Profile

Basketball is something that came naturally to me. I was born and raised in Ecuador, where the primary sport is soccer. Typically, you are peer pressured to play it since being good at soccer makes you cool, but I never enjoyed it. Then, in school, they had a basketball court. When I was around 6-7 years old and entered elementary school, at lunch, every kid went to the soccer field to play; instead of doing that, I discovered basketball. The basketball coach was usually alone during lunch, so I took advantage of it, and since then, I fell in love with basketball. I never told my parents that I played every day at school. I joined the 1st-grade team. My mom told me they randomly got a call from the school saying that I had a basketball game and that she should come and see me play. Since my first game, I stood out because of my speed. I switch paces and drive strong to the basket. From that first game, I played in Ecuador until 2020, when I moved to the US.
Moving to the US was a big transition. Basketball here is way more developed than in my home country, so I struggled initially, but I love how fast-paced the game is here. People here are more athletic and dedicated to the sport, which motivates me to improve. Here, basketball is more accessible, and there are courts everywhere, and people are trying to improve. When I got to 8th grade in the US, I transferred to MAST Academy (ranked 17th in Florida by US News and World Report). They are not very competitive in basketball, but either way, they had a culture of only accepting high school students into their basketball program. As a middle schooler in 8th grade, I got discouraged, but I still tried my best to get to know the coach and try out for the team; I attended the conditioning pre-season workouts and made myself stand out.
When tryouts came, it was a week of tryouts; I stood out by my speed, my consistency, driving strong to the rim, and my positiveness. In those tryouts, I tried to stick to my skills and make the right decision. What stood out was that people trusted me with the ball in my hands; they knew I could take it up, and when I did, either score or make the right decision. I was the only middle schooler at tryouts, and when the list came in, I was the first selected for the JV team. I started every game in the season and played most of the game. That was the most fun I had in a season that year, playing along with first- and second-year students, and it made me many friends for the years to come. At the end of the year, there was an award ceremony, and the coach gave me the "Coaches Award". The following year, I was happy to see how many middle schoolers were trying out in tryouts; now, the coach gave middle schoolers a chance. In my first year, I suffered an injury but returned strong and finished the season in JV. At the end of that season, the coach gave me the "MVP" award in the award ceremony. In my sophomore year, I played varsity. I started most games or played as a 6th man; they let the seniors play more since it was their last year. I was comfortable at my school.
I had a starting position in varsity for the next two years and was getting good grades, but I decided to challenge myself and transferred to the 2023's 3rd best public high school in the nation (US News and World Report) among 25,000 ranked. This was to challenge me academically, but also, since they don't offer sports, I was allowed to play for another school nearby, so I made the varsity team for Mater Brickel Academy. When I graduate high school, I will graduate with an Associate in Arts diploma from Miami Dade College in May of 2026. My goal for the future is to keep playing basketball for as long as I can; my dream is to play in college. I love being part of a team. I am always positive; I like to encourage others and bring good energy to the team, be serious when needed, and make everyone laugh when needed. I like to receive criticism. I know it's the only way to improve; I want to learn and get better. I want to graduate from college.