Legendary Sunnyslope Sibling Athletes Rider Portela ‘26 and Josie Portela ‘26 have both officially committed to D1 colleges for basketball and volleyball, respectively.
Rider announced his commitment to the University of Colorado Boulder on September 14 of last year, and Josie announced her commitment to the University of Portland on November 13.
It’s not an easy task to be recruited for D1 level sports, but the Portelas found schools that were right for them. In fact, according to NCAA.org, only 1.1% of boys basketball players in high school will get a Division 1 offer.
Meanwhile, in girls volleyball, only 1.3% will receive an offer. Rider was in the third most competitive sport for boys, and Josie plays in the most competitive girls sport. “The kids kind of did it themselves,” said their father and Basketball Coach Ray Portela.
Not only are the University of Portland and the University of Colorado Boulder excellent schools, but they also fit the pair’s personalities. “With Portland being a smaller school, I think that fits Josie tremendously.
And the team that she’s going to play for at Portland, they’re very tight-knit. And she’s a more close-to-the-vest kind of introvert, where I think, you know, that smaller type school will really help her out and help her blossom,” Coach Portela said.
A smaller school with a tight-knit volleyball team was her perfect fit, and this was especially perfect, having already come from a well-bonded volleyball team. “Josie is not only an amazing teammate on the court but also off the court.
She was a mentor and a best friend to me, and for the past 2 years, I couldn’t have asked for a better person to learn from,” said Sophomore Ava Martinez.
Beyond the team, Portland is the perfect fit for her and her plan to major in Business and Sports Management. When she visited the campus, she adored not only the team but also the coaches and program, and had “a strong feeling that [she’d] end up there,” Josie said. Rider also found his perfect match to support his college basketball career.
“Rider is more of an extrovert, and Colorado’s a bigger type school, and he’ll get along there and have great teammates, but I think he’ll flourish because he’s at that bigger school,” said Coach Portela.
Rider’s outgoing personality has also had a lasting impact on his teammates.
“Rider is a great teammate on and off the court. He is super funny and kinda weird,” said Teammate Darius Wabbington.
But Rider also brings wisdom to his team. Rider teaches his teammates, “don’t be afraid to be yourself,” Wabbington said.
Josie and Rider are incredible independently, but they also work together to push each other to do more and to do better.
“They are just competitive people by nature, and they want to do their best. And it’s a good thing. Competition is a great thing, but they do a good job of balancing out and still remaining good friends,” Coach Portela said.
