COMMERCE, Calif. --- Veralie Naranjo has had her own share of surprises during the past calendar year. But the trust she's shown in God, her work-ethic and her love for her sport have led those surprises to become blessings for her road ahead.

Beyond Naranjo's stellar production over her first three years of varsity play, the intricate connections that surround her signing with Biola are really cool. Naranjo's older sister, Gisselle, played on the same Commerce Water Polo club as Orozco during their high school years before the two locals played on the same UCLA team from 2009 to 2011. 

Before there was ever any indication that Biola's head coach would recruit and sign younger sister Veralie, Orozco and Gisselle Naranjo earned two third-place finishes at the NCAA Championships and trained alongside each other on the Mexican National team in 2012. 

"Veralie will help lead the team and set the tone in style and skill," said Coach Orozco. "She is a very talented and skilled player and I am excited that she will join this specific inaugural team where she will have the opportunity to grow immensely and be all that she can be."

As a result of the hard work she's put in since starting water polo as a young child, Veralie's high school accomplishments are just as impressive as her older sister's. The attacker scored 32 goals in 30 games as a freshman, finishing third in scoring for a varsity squad at Schurr High School that is a veritable powerhouse of the CIF Southern Section. Then Naranjo added 20 goals with 35 steals during the next season when Schurr won the CIF Southern California Regional Championship after advancing to the CIF-SS semis. 

It was a similar story when she transferred to Rosary Academy for the 2019-20 academic year. Naranjo was a major contributor to the Royals' 27-8 record and the program's first CIF Southern Section Championship since 1999 with 44 goals in 21 games. The future Eagle earned All-Orange County and All-CIF honors last season as a result of her performance and heard from Coach Orozco about Biola's recruiting interest shortly thereafter. 

Naranjo told her school newspaper that she was elated about the possibility of going to an "amazing" small Christian school. And she's also looking forward to competing locally like her sister did. 

"I chose Biola because it keeps me close to home and I like knowing God is going to be with me every step of my 4 years of college," said Naranjo.

Veralie Naranjo plans to major in political science at Biola and hopes to become an international seller in marketing after playing for the Mexican national water polo team. More information on the rest of the student-athletes that will join her at Biola in 2021-22 can be found on the Committed Athletes page.