By Ray Hamill — McKinleyville’s first H-DNL champion in boys golf in 13 years is taking his talents to the college courses.

On Wednesday, two days after competing at the North Coast Section tournament, senior Jake Gardner signed his letter of intent to play golf for Simpson University in Redding.

It caps an impressive multi-sport playing career in high school.

After placing third in the H-DNL as a junior, Gardner held his nerve down the stretch of this year’s league campaign on the way to securing the championship, which was the first for the Panthers since Cody Bates in 2012.

He also was a part of the 2024 McKinleyville High boys soccer team, which reached the NCS semifinals and went further in the postseason than any other boys team in school history.

But that success is not all Gardner says he will remember from his days at Mack High after moving back to the area from New Jersey before his sophomore year.

“It’s a great school,” he said. “I’m happy I came here … It’s good to look back on. It’s good memories.”

Simpson golf coach Jason Deavers was on hand for the letter signing and says he is looking forward to having Gardner on his squad for next season.

“I met Jake last year in the Baywood Pro Am and instantly fell in love with his swing,” the Simpson coach said. 

“And I’m super excited to have on board and we’re gearing up for a really good year next year.”

McKinleyville principal and athletic director Dustin Dutra also spoke to the gathering on Wednesday and said he believes Gardner has the temperament to succeed on the college golf courses.

Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

Submitted photo

“Jake was a big part of (the boys soccer team’s NCS run), played with a lot of fire, a lot of intensity, and played hard game in game out,” Dutra said. “But really golf is where I think he made his mark here at McKinleyville High School.

“This kind of nice even keel that he had, I think, really lends itself to being successful on the golf course.

“Never saw him get too high, get too low, or anything like that, so that’s one of the things I always appreciated about Jake.”

Dutra also described Gardner as a “wonderful student athlete” with a GPA close to 4.0.

For Gardner, the decision to join the Red Hawks program was an easy one after meeting Deavers at the Baywood Pro Am.

“He helped (me) really an astounding amount in two days time, and then he took over the job at Simpson and I guess he remembered about me and reached out to me and wanted me to come play for him,” the H-DNL champion said. “I felt like the school was a great fit for me, and it’s a good environment for me to improve my golf game.”

Gardner also wrestled for one year for the Panthers, but it was golf that he really began to gravitate towards in high school after so many years of playing.

He says he’s had a golf club in his hands “since probably I could walk,” and at the end of his sophomore year is when he began to get serious about the sport.

The decision paid immediate dividends.

As a junior he placed third in league, before claiming the league title this year in what was a very competitive H-DNL.

McKinleyville coach Todd Bates believes Gardner has the tools to succeed at Simpson, and one trait in particular that will serve him well at the next level.

“Probably one of the hardest working athletes I ever worked with,” the longtime, multi-sport coach said.

“I’m really proud of Jake and I hope he does good things over there.”

Gardner, whose father serves in the Coast Guard, was born in Washington and has lived in several places across the county, first moving to Humboldt in 2016.

After spending some time in New Jersey between 2020 and 2022, he moved back to the area in 2022.

Gardner says he wants to major in engineering.

This week he closed out his high school career by shooting an 81 at the NCS Division-2 championships at Fox Tail Golf Club in Rohnert Park, barely missing out on advancing to the Division-1 tournament by just two strokes.

This spring, the Simpson men’s team placed second at the Cal Pac/Frontier Conference tournament.

Submitted photo – Jake Gardner, third from right, and his McKinleyville teammates.