Hilmar High's Landon Azevedo has committed to continue his athletic skills at Sacramento State University on an athletic scholarship for golf, signing his letter of intent Thursday.

Azevedo, the three-time Trans Valley League and team Most Valuable Player, said there were many reasons why he decided to pick the state capital as his collegiate home.

“Besides the family part. The coach and I get along real well,” Azevedo said. “I know him more personally than any other coach. I have talked to him and the team as well. I went up there and spent some time with the team on an unofficial visit and me and all the guys clicked, it was like being with family and that is what made the overall decision for me.”

Azevedo becomes the first member from Hilmar High School to achieve an athletic scholarship in the sport of golf at a Division-I athletic program.

“Golf is such a unique sport,” Hilmar High's golf head coach Ty Pettigrew said. “As far as I know in my 13 years in the program, I have had talented golfers, but by far Landon is the top quality player that I have had reach this level in college.”

Azevedo has been so successful since his freshman year but it really wasn't until last year's junior season that he started to gain some recognition, not just in the area but in the very competitive Pac-12 Conference.

UCLA and University of Arizona were among those schools from the Pac-12 that contacted Azevedo and even University of Idaho, but his final decision was to stay local.

“Sac State has been recruiting me for about two and a half years till now, far as I know but I was contacted by many big schools but a lot of my decision was that I liked the location,” Azevedo said about his decision. “It’s far enough to be on my own but its close enough to come and visit whenever I need to.”

Azevedo credits his coach with getting all the college attention thrown his way.

“As far as I know, Ty, originally contacted Sacramento and that’s how they got all my information and he was always there,” Azevedo said about his high school coach. “He was the one just as motivated as I was to pick out a school. He has been a great coach and helped with everything.”

Heading into his senior and final season, Azevedo has only lost one league match in three years.

He was the league champion his sophomore and junior season and placed second as a freshman.

“He had the drive and the abilities and he just put it all together with his maturation process, he has come a long way just since his freshman year,” Pettigrew said. “The time he puts into it, he is not the type of kid that I need to tell to put time into it. He has done it all himself. By the time he came to me there wasn't a lot I could help him with. I was more there as a mentor than a coach. I could help with some things.”

Azevedo has also competed at the Master's in all three seasons. Azevedo still has some unfinished business and says that he would like to make it further than the master's in his final season.

“Definitely this year I want to make it past master's. That has been a goal there but I want to go and I really need to make it to state this year,” he said. “I need to make it past the postseason. I need to take it one shot at a time. In the past I have looked at the round as a whole and I just need to take it one shot at a time and hit every shot to the best of my ability and go from there.”