Gonzaga Prep standout Kaz Melzer signs national letter of intent with Stanford

Signing day is an important part of any athlete’s journey. For Gonzaga Prep’s Kaz Melzer, it takes on extra significance.

Melzer, the Greater Spokane League defensive player of the year and all-state defensive end, committed to continue his athletic and academic pursuits at Stanford on Wednesday on national letter of intent signing day.

“It was awesome to have my whole family there, as well as some family friends,” Melzer said. “My grandma was able to make it down. Just being surrounded by school friends and everybody coming out to show support was really special.”

A devastating knee injury sustained in training for his junior year forced him to miss almost the entire season. In a testament to his hard work and perseverance, he came back to play in two games at the end of the pandemic-shortened spring football season. It just made him more determined to come back for his senior season to prove he could play elite football again.

“As soon as it happened, I immediately went to ‘What is it going to take to get back to the point where I am playing high-level football again?’ There really was never any point of doubt of me coming back to play football. It’s been my dream since I was 6 years old to play college football. I wasn’t going to let that injury stand in the way of that.”

He expressed gratitude for a deep support network.

“I’m really appreciative of all the people who have helped me get to this point,” he said. “Especially my coaches and trainers who kept me motivated and my teammates also, pushing me every day and willing to go out to the field for some extra work or another lift. Little things like that, keeping me motivated and getting better together.”

He was the catalyst of a robust Bullpups defense that helped carry the team into a State 4A quarterfinal game, eventually falling to state runners-up Lake Stevens 35-14.

Melzer was heavily recruited despite missing his junior season. He had offers from several local and Big Sky schools and drew interest from a couple of Ivy League programs as well. But Stanford ended up a logical choice for him.

“Academics has always been the most important part to me of the process, so I feel like Stanford was the best school that fit all of my needs in that regard,” he said. “And also, it’s just a great football program to top it off. It just really feels like the perfect fit for me.”

Melzer is following in big footsteps, taking a similar path to the Pac-12 as former G-Prep standout, then University of California star Evan Weaver.

“It’s super exciting to kind of continue that legacy of big D-ends coming out of Prep and going on to play in the Pac-12. I’m excited to do that for sure.”

Melzer counts Weaver as a mentor.

“My junior year when I tore my ACL, he was one of our assistant coaches at the time while he was getting ready for training camp,” he said. “I got a lot of guidance from him at that point. He definitely took on a mentor role, so that was really great of him.”

He’s looking forward to getting on campus.

“Definitely excited for the warmer weather,” he said. “Just getting on to that college campus and being surrounded by players who are better than me and older than me and going to push me every day. I think that’s going to be great, a big learning curve at first. But it’s going to make me a lot better football player.”

Melzer played at 240 pounds this season and was down to 235 at its conclusion. The Cardinal wants him to put on “a little bit of weight.”

“Stanford has a 3-4 defense which is a little bit different than what we do in high school so they like their D-ends to be a little bigger, near that 270-275 range. So, I just have to eat a lot of food and work out a lot before I get down there.”

He’s getting guidance from his new school on the process.

“The strength and conditioning coach has already reached out with meal plans and workout programs,” he said. “They’ve made it really convenient to get that all done. I think it’s definitely doable.”

Other local signees

Gonzaga Prep: Bailey Benson, Chaminade (softball); Sammie Symmes, Oregon State (soccer).

Mead: Mercedes Cullen, Seattle Pacific (soccer); JT Connors, Menlo College (wrestling); Nick Sill, Briar Cliff (football); Kris Prince, Carroll College (football); Kelsey Louen, Simon Fraser (wrestling); Courtney Osborn, St. Martin’s (cross country), Spencer Lyman, Whitworth (football).

Mt. Spokane: Aiden Prado, Montana Western (football).

Pullman: Jaxon Patrick, Dakota Wesleyan (football).

Shadle Park: Chloe Flerchinger, College of Idaho (softball).

West Valley: Delani Walker, Eastern Washington (soccer).