The family aspect of Elmira High School’s signing celebration on Tuesday, Feb. 24 was hard to miss and easy to appreciate.
Luca Capilli is following in the footsteps of his older sister, Mercyhurst women’s player Mia Capilli, and will play college soccer at Division I Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania. For their parents, the joy of having two college athletes in the family got an added boost with Luca’s decision.
“It makes my mom and dad’s life easier, so they were happy,” Luca said with a laugh.
At one point, there were a combined 14 family members on stage as Noah Cain and Elizabeth Hunter had their signings together.
Cousins Aedan Palmer and Logan Palmer are set to join Logan’s older brother, Michael, in becoming college baseball players. When asked about the family’s diamond success, Aedan pointed to parents who push them and a drive to do what they love.
Aedan and Logan are also part of Elmira High’s baseball family, which had seven signing seniors celebrated among 12 athletes who were part of Tuesday’s ceremony at the school’s theater. The Express is defending Section 4 Class AAA champion.
“These are all guys that I grew up with, so seeing them succeed just makes me really happy. It’s just awesome,” Aedan said.
Noah Cain
College: Tompkins Cortland Community College for baseball.
Express highlights: Cain is a two-year varsity player who was part of Elmira’s Section 4 Class AAA championship last season. His speed and fearless approach help him excel as an outfielder.
Luca Capilli
College: Division I Mercyhurst University for men’s soccer.
Express highlights: Four-year varsity starter, two-year captain led Elmira to back-to-back Section 4 Class AAA titles as a junior and senior. He is the career leader in assists for Express boys soccer, a two-time all-state pick, and was a United Soccer Coaches all-region selection in 2025.
Jackson Cavalier
College: Marywood University (Scranton, Pennsylvania) for baseball.
Express highlights: Cavalier is a four-year varsity player who plays first base and pitches. He was a Southern Tier Athletic Conference West all-division selection last season as a pitcher.
Logan DeMember
College: Division I University at Albany for baseball.
Express highlights: DeMember, a pitcher/shortstop, was a STAC West/Metro all-conference selection last season. He batted .311 and went 5-2 on the mound with 69 strikeouts and a 2.13 ERA.
Quinn Hanrahan
College: St. John Fisher for baseball.
Express achievements: The three-year varsity player was a STAC West all-division pick last season. He came up with several big hits in the middle of Elmira’s order last season and provided a strong outfield arm.
Sean Hanrahan
College: SUNY Purchase for men’s soccer.
Achievements: Hanrahan’s Express goalkeeping records include 15 career shutouts in 36 games and nine shutouts this past season, which saw Elmira secure back-to-back Section 4 Class AAA titles and the STAC West championship. He was named to the STAC West/Metro all-conference team after earning West all-division recognition as a junior.
Elizabeth Hunter
College: Mohawk Valley Community College for women’s basketball.
Achievements: Elmira head coach A’Don Allen described Hunter’s journey as “a true example of growth, resilience, and unwavering belief in herself.” She returned to Elmira this school year after moving to Sayre last school year, where she started at point guard. She has not seen as much playing time for Elmira as she did at Sayre, and Allen said Hunter has handled that with maturity and professionalism.
Ryan Mathews
College: Finger Lakes Community College for baseball.
Achievements: Mathews is a two-year varsity player set to contribute this spring at third base and pitcher. Academically, the National Honor Society member carries a 96 average and is in the top 5% of his class.
Aedan Palmer
College: Division I Le Moyne College for baseball.
Achievements: Palmer is a two-time Section 4 all-star and was a third-team Class AAA all-state selection last season as a pitcher/outfielder. As a junior, Palmer batted .459 with 3 home runs and went 4-3 on the mound with a 1.19 ERA and 83 strikeouts in earning STAC all-conference honors. His career stats include a .348 batting average, 5 homers, and 12 pitching wins.
Logan Palmer
College: Finger Lakes Community College for baseball.
Achievements: Palmer is a four-year varsity player who has overcome a couple of serious knee injuries. He was a STAC West all-division pick last season as a catcher/utility player. Palmer threw out 43% of runners trying to steal as a junior.
Madison Smith
College: Division I Mount St. Mary’s University (Emmitsburg, Maryland) for women’s bowling.
Achievements: Smith finished the regular season with a 200 average, high series of 682, and high game of 257. She was the tournament’s top scorer as Elmira captured the team title at the STAC championships, then helped the Express repeat as Section 4 Class A champion last week. Last year Smith played a key role as Elmira placed seventh in Division 1 at the state tournament.
Julianna Wilbur
College: Nazareth University for women’s soccer.
Achievements: Wilbur has been part of Elmira’s varsity since getting called up as an eighth grader. She has been slowed by two ACL injuries over the past two seasons, but head coach Zach Sarno said Wilbur has been a big contributor when healthy. She contributed to two STAC West titles and two sectional championships.
This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Elmira High celebrates 12 seniors who have committed to college teams
Reporting by Andrew Legare, Elmira Star-Gazette / Elmira Star-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
