This story was excerpted from Daniel Kramer’s Mariners Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
SEATTLE -- Of all the off-the-field accomplishments that the Mariners’ Hometown Nine program has achieved in its five years of existence, the 100 percent high-school graduation rate of its inaugural class, in the organization’s eyes, is as rewarding as any.
That group was celebrated in a special pregame ceremony on Tuesday, where each member was introduced to the field, posed for photos with their mentors -- both players and those in the front office -- then collectively threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
“To see the kids succeed and actually go into the next step is the ultimate blessing,” J.P. Crawford said.
Seattle’s shortstop was an instrumental figure in getting Hometown Nine off the ground back in 2020 in the midst of racial and social unrest, having approached the Mariners -- along with other players from that year’s team -- to ask how the organization could better address barriers frequently encountered by student-athletes, especially young people of color, in access to baseball and softball.
Thus, Hometown Nine was established and its inaugural class was announced that September, the same group that walked the field on Tuesday -- and will walk as high-school graduates.
“That's such a big success on their part as well,” Crawford said. “It just shows that this works, and the kids are really about it, and hopefully [the Mariners] just keep this going, so that way we can get more kids out here and go to college.”
Here’s an overview of that group (Note: one Hometown Nine fellow moved away from Seattle, which is why there are eight):
• Gabriel Lopez: Graduated from Mercer Island High School and will attend Warner Pacific University in Portland on a baseball scholarship.
• Kahealani Sharpe: Graduated from Decatur High School and will attend Eastern Arizona College next year to play softball.
• King Allah: Graduated O'Dea High School and will be attending University of Mary in North Dakota on a football scholarship.
• Noah Broussard: Graduated Kent Ridge High School while completing Aerospace Manufacturing Leadership Academy. Next year, he will complete his associate's degree before transferring to a four-year college.
• Joy Wilde: Seattle University Softball commit (reclassed and will graduate in 2026 due to health issue), earned back-to-back Tacoma Athletic Commission Player of the Year Honors behind an .805 batting average this past season. Joy also self-published a book on her experiences with racism in sports.
• Michelle Arimura: Graduated from Garfield High School (softball team took 2nd in 3A state this year); committed to D-II Goldey-Beacom College in Delaware.
• Darnell Carlisle: Graduated from Franklin High School, headed to South Seattle College next year with his sights on a career in dentistry or as a pilot.
• Tycean Martin: Graduated Evergreen High School. He'll attend local college to study business marketing and fashion/textile design, and hopes to get a job working for the Mariners.
Hometown Nine is a five-year commitment to nine incoming eighth graders in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties, providing financial, academic, professional and social support to encourage success in their athletic careers and educational journeys.
And beyond opening their clubhouse doors to players, the Mariners are trying to instill that there are paths to careers in baseball well beyond the playing field. Fellows of the program are invited to seek out mentors in various front-office departments -- spanning sales, human resources, hospitality, food and beverage, business operations, baseball operations and anything else that piques their interests.
“We know that everyone's playing days are over at some point, that everyone has a different end time for that,”said Nova Newcomer, Mariners director of community relations and CEO of the Mariners Care Foundation. “And we wanted to make sure that we were providing that exposure. Just like growing the game on the field is important ... We also know that those opportunities in the front office are a big part of growing people's connection and access to sports.”
There’s been a camaraderie component, too, that extends beyond team employees -- and one that the organization didn’t necessarily envision when the program was created, specifically of mentors within Hometown Nine to the subsequent classes that follow.
And as the program has evolved, they’ve adjusted the mentoring structure to allow Fellows to lead themselves. Many of these Fellows, regardless of their class year, have become close confidantes away from the ballpark.
“It’s been really cool to see, especially as we've added those layers to the program, you can see that original cohort becoming closer and closer,” Mariners vice president of baseball product David Hesslink said. “And I have the utmost confidence that these are going to be kids that are like friends as adults now because of the experiences here over the years.”