Cooper Krigbaum is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Maricopa High School for AZPreps365.com

For many of Maricopa High School's student-athletes, State Route 347 is a road out: a stretch of highway leading to new schools and a chance to prove themselves.

This has been the case time and time again for the Maricopa Rams football team.

Head Coach Tevin Rutherford watches the pattern repeat every season as some of his top players look beyond Maricopa for better exposure.

“Some feel like they have better opportunities in other places in terms of collegiate recruitment,” Rutherford said. “We tell them, 'It’s the college coach's job to find you.'”

In 2016-17, the Arizona Interscholastic Association logged nearly 4,000 athlete transfers statewide, the highest on record. In many cases, it’s younger players leaving towns like Maricopa for what they believe are better chances.

And for programs like Maricopa, a growing city still fighting for athletic identity, the impact is felt every year. Open enrollment, powerhouse programs in nearby cities and constant pressure on athletes to chase exposure have created a cycle that Rutherford is trying to break. 

The Rams often enter each football season with a new roster, new leaders and the challenge of rebuilding chemistry from scratch.

“Some kids have left and echoed the sentiment that they felt overlooked because they were surrounded by Division I-caliber athletes,” Rutherford said. “They got the exposure in front of college coaches, but they didn't stand out as much as they did at Maricopa anymore.”

The constant player turnover creates challenges for the program, Rutherford said.

“We have plans for the season, but then a guy transfers out and suddenly a leadership role we were counting on is gone,” Rutherford said. “It’s a challenge, but we take the philosophy of ‘Next Ram up.’ We’re going to play and win with the guys that are here and want to be here.”

While Rutherford focuses on the team’s day-to-day challenges, Athletic Director Matt Smith takes a step back to look at the bigger picture: how transfers and out-of-boundary enrollments affect Maricopa athletics as a whole.

“We can’t control who decides to leave,” Smith said. “All we can do is focus on what we’re building here and give our players the best experience possible.”

Despite the challenges, tennis head coach Brian Burkett said Maricopa is taking steps to strengthen its programs and retain talent.

“Part of it is probably our schedule,” Burkett said. “For the size of our school, we end up going up against bigger, better-funded teams and that can be disheartening for some players.”

These challenges, however, aren’t just for the Rams. In 2023, the Saguaro Sabercats captured the 6A state football title, yet more than 20 of their players transferred to other programs following the state championship. 

It highlights a growing trend in Arizona high school athletics: even top-performing teams are seeing talent leave in search of new opportunities, Burkett said. 

“For football players, where they think they’re going to get recognized, even if it’s at a bigger program, sometimes they don’t get the playing time they expected,” Burkett said. “They end up not getting the recognition they might have gotten here.”

Despite the transfers, Maricopa continues to build programs that give athletes opportunities close to home and improve the school's chances of beating teams in the valley, even dominating them. 

“If we just had all the people living in town come here instead of going there, we'd be killing people,” Burkett said.

The trend of leaving for perceived better opportunities shows no sign of slowing, but there is optimism among staff, Smith said. 

From improving facilities, schedules and culture, Maricopa aims to keep more athletes on the south side of 347 and playing for their hometown Rams.

“If I go there (other schools in the valley), then people are going to come watch me. And I'm like, they're not thinking about the fact that they've got all kinds of good depth,” Burkett said. “They're going to play their best people, and if you're not absolutely the superstar, you're not going to play very much.”