Four Knights Turn Eyes Toward College Football

For four Oak Creek High School football players, Wednesday marked the beginning of the next chapter of their football-playing days.

Alex Hahn, Jordan Veloz, Austin Sirovina and Dylan Oleszak were all part of National Signing Day and signed letters of intent to play football at the college level.

Hahn committed to North Dakota State, Jordan Veloz to Western Illinois, and Austin Sirovina and Dylan Oleszak are both headed to Minnesota-Mankato.

A fifth Oak Creek Knight, Virgil Hammond, is also likely to wind up on a collegiate roster.

"It's exciting that these kids want to go on and play at the next level," Oak Creek Head Coach Mike Bartholomew said. "They all did what they needed to do in the offseason to improve themselves."

Hahn shifted from defensive end to linebacker for his senior season and was named first-team all-state by the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association as well as the Southeast Conference defensive player of the year.

Hahn verbally committed over the summer but said he felt relieved to finally put his signature on the letter of intent.

He said he wanted to stay loyal to NDSU, the first school to recruit him and offer a scholarship.

"I'm just going in there open-minded, and will work my butt off and see what happens," Hahn said.

Veloz was recruited to Western Illinois as a defensive lineman but also played tight end at Oak Creek.

Veloz picked Western Illinois over Minnesota-Duluth, which also offered him a scholarship, so he could play closer to home.

"It just feels good to finally know where I'm going and finally get it off my shoulders," he said of signing day. "Now I can focus on school and get ready to play football in the fall."

He plans on redshirting his freshman year but hopes to be on the field the following year—when Western Illinois' schedule features a trip to Camp Randall Stadium to take on the Badgers.

Oleszak and Sirovina were key cogs on the Knights' defense as a defensive back and linebacker, respectively. Oleszak started the last two seasons and intercepted five passes in that time. Sirovina is a back-to-back all-conference selection.

They said they were looking forward to continue playing together and felt the familiarity should help when they first arrive on campus.

"We can push each other in practice and outside" of practice, Sirovina said.