Rochelle senior Max Torres spent the majority of his final season with the Hubs working his back from a knee injury he suffered during the previous offseason. Now healthier than he’s been in quite some time, Torres will have an opportunity to prove himself collegiately.

Torres has committed to the Kishwaukee College men’s soccer program, where he’ll reunite with several of his former teammates including Ruben Herrera, Josue Almaraz and Juan Montemayor. The senior forward and co-captain spent roughly four years with the RTHS varsity soccer team, scoring 26 goals and adding 13 assists for the Hubs this season.

“I chose Kishwaukee College because the team has a great new coach in [Colby] Newquist and it was also about staying close to my family,” Torres said. “Kishwaukee College will be a great place for me to improve and continue rehabilitating my knee. Playing alongside my old teammates will help a lot because I will adapt very quickly to their faster play style and pacing. I’m looking forward to the higher level of competition at the collegiate level.”

Torres helped lead Rochelle to a 13-8 this season, and he played an integral role on the 2018-19 team that won the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference and totaled a school-record 20 victories while reaching the IHSA 2A Sectional Championships. Torres compiled 13 goals and nine assists his junior season after recording five goals and six assists his sophomore season.

“Competing at RTHS helped me not only improve on my game, but become a leader as well,” Torres said. “I learned a lot from coach [Brad] Male, coach [Koby] Stern and coach [Bobby] Gardner about not stopping until the whistle. I also learned how important it was for me to not only be a leader and mentor on the field, but off the field as well.”

Torres said he will be studying sport management, and he said he hopes to use his education to become a collegiate soccer coach in the future. Torres is the second RTHS student-athlete to commit to playing soccer for Kishwaukee College next year (Viviana Belmonte).

“I think it’s great that Max will have the opportunity to move on,” Rochelle head coach Brad Male said. “I think he’ll be a wonderful addition to the Kishwaukee College program. Max has developed into an excellent team player. His skills have always been there, and he’s always known how to command the ball, but he learned to give the ball up more as I watched him develop over the years. I think that will be the most beneficial skill for him in the long run.”