For as long as he could remember, Justin Ortiz has dreamed of suiting up for Fresno State, though not in the sport in which he has recently made such a positive impact.

Ortiz has always been a basketball player, and each time his family would visit Fresno and drive by the Save Mart Center, he would envision himself dominating under the basket.

That was until he began playing football as a freshman at Hilmar High School in 2023.

Since, Ortiz has walked away from the hardwood and has dedicated his free time to developing on the gridiron. Last Friday, he took a significant step in his career, verbally committing to compete at the collegiate level with the Bulldogs.

“I'm happy that I made the decision,” said Ortiz, a three-star offensive tackle who recently wrapped up his junior season. “Being a Bulldog is going to be a great experience that I’m looking forward to.”

Those Fresno State dreams weren’t by coincidence. Fresno State is where his parents, Stefani and Anthony, met. In fact, his mother, then Stefani Jericoff, was a senior on the school’s inaugural women’s lacrosse team in 2009. Since graduating, the Ortiz family have been loyal season ticket holders for multiple sports, including football and basketball.

“We’ve been season ticket holders for as long as I can remember,” said Ortiz, who stands 6-foot-7 and 290 pounds. “We’re always there. It’s great. This past football season, we went to almost every home game. I love Fresno State”

It’s that family heritage that played a significant role in the Bulldogs’ successful courting of Ortiz.

“We already had the seats,” his mother posted on X last week, “Now we get to watch YOU from them. Let’s go!!

The loyalty to the university translates deeper to gameday experiences, as the family has also been to their fair share of alumni events, including one that took place in Hilmar in 2025.

Last summer, Fresno State held the Rally the Valley Tour, which offered activities, as well as networking opportunities, for families, fans and prospective students and student-athletes at venues across the Central Valley. Newly named Fresno State head coach Matt Entz was on hand in Hilmar, and as several attendees have noted, became fixated on Ortiz, who was walking around the patio space at Great American Grill.

“My parents being alumni, and all of us being the Fresno State fans we are, we said, ‘We need to go see this, right? Why don’t we see what this is all about?’ We didn't know it was a full blown gathering with the coaches and staff with things starting at certain times, so we were actually late,” Ortiz said with a laugh. “We remember seeing Entz, and my parents noticed he was looking at me. As soon as the (Q&A panel) ended, he was right there with me and we were talking.”

After several conversations with staff, Ortiz was formally offered by Fresno State just hours ahead of the team’s home opener against Georgia Southern on Aug. 30. The Bulldogs maintained their interest by having scouts and games, practices and hosting Ortiz on the field during gamedays.

“On one of the gameday visits that we went on, Entz said that one of the main things that he likes about me is that he can build me,” Ortiz said. “He said I have the frame to be able to build off of. Like I said, I've only been playing for three years, so I'm definitely not perfect, right? But he likes my frame, and he said that they can build me into a Bulldog.”

Entz spoke with the Journal at the Hilmar event about the program’s increased emphasis on scouting in the Central Valley. 

“There is a lot of talent that is simply being overlooked in the Valley,” Entz said. “We don’t always have access to go into certain pockets of the nation, so we need to recruit and find those hidden gems in our backyard and make sure we develop them.”

Ortiz was also offered by Sacramento State, and has received interest in programs like Oregon State, Washington State, San Jose State, Minnesota, Boise State, Colorado State, Nevada, Wyoming, La Verne, Columbia, Cornell and Dartmouth.

At the time of the Rally the Valley meeting, Ortiz was coming off an eventful sophomore year.

Standing well over six feet tall in middle school, Ortiz liked football, and he was always encouraged by friends to play the sport, but he ultimately delayed strapping on the helmet to avoid any injuries that could hinder his impact on the court. During his sophomore year, Ortiz was brought up to varsity in both sports. He earned significant playing time on the Yellowjackets’ offensive line, while rarely seeing action in the gym. After that season, he scrapped his basketball plans. 

“I thought for sure that I was going to college for basketball because I was good at it, but everything changed my sophomore year,” Ortiz said. “I honestly never thought that I would be playing football at the Division I level.

“When we were making our runs this last summer, visiting the campus, my family was looking back like, ‘The last time we were here, we thought you were going to play basketball here.’ Well, look at us now. We're going to be playing football, and I couldn’t be more excited.”