Both hands on the driver, head down and eyes on the ball, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School sophomore Andres Barazza swings the club making a hole in one.

Andres Barazza plays for the MSD men’s varsity golf team. He was born and raised in Parkland, Florida.

Ever since elementary school, Barazza has been competing in golf matches. Making it onto the MSD varsity his freshman year has helped him further his golf career. After years of winning in tournaments and constantly practicing, all of his hard work has paid off, as he recently committed to play Division One golf at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

Barazza found out about Bucknell from his friend Jack Gardner and immediately found a liking to the golf program they provide at their school.

“I first found out about Bucknell University through my friend Jack who is currently a junior at Bucknell,”Barazza said. “We’ve been friends for a while now and he told me how much he’s loved the environment and the team camaraderie at the school. From then I started doing my own research on the school and fell in love with the golf program there and all they had to offer.”

There are many factors of Bucknell, like the golf program, that Barazza is looking forward to being a part of. Not only did he fall in love with their golf program, but he also was fond of the Bucknell head golf coach Micheal Binney, and his welcoming team.

“Coach Binney, the head coach at Bucknell, also was a big factor in making me want to go play golf for him. He’s a great guy and has had a lot of really successful golfers come out of his program so I knew that under his watch I would have a great time,” Barazza said. “The last thing that really sealed the deal for me was when I went on my visit to the campus I got to meet the whole team and instantly could see myself there, the whole team was extremely welcoming and it made the decision a lot easier after going up and checking out everything that Bucknell had to offer.”

Barazza keeps a driven work ethic by spending hours practicing after school and on the weekends. He’s constantly perfecting his swing and working on mechanical and fitness work. During matches, or even warm-ups and practices, Barazza uses his other teammates to help push him to be more competitive.

“Trying to beat my friends was really what helped me get better. Ever since I was little I’ve always competed with my friends and my biggest satisfaction didn’t ever come from winning tournaments but it came from beating my friends during just a casual round. Losing to them has made me a better player and drove me to practice and at the end helped me be successful in the sport,” Barazza said.

Barazza will be attending Bucknell with his friend James Key who verbally committed to the university.

“I go to The Benjamin School and I committed to Bucknell a few days before Andres actually. It wasn’t really planned but when I found out I was pumped because I knew how good of a player he is and going to college already knowing someone makes the transition a lot easier,” senior James Key said.

Barazza looks forward to playing golf at Bucknell University for the next four years and furthering his athletic career.