Former Sacramento high school star is trying to help Mexico compete in Paris Olympics

Mathew Miranda
·2 min read

A former Sacramento high school star wants to help the Mexico men’s basketball team compete in its first Olympics in nearly four decades.

Iseal Silva, 2020 Jesuit High School graduate, will train to make the Mexican national team next week in Nogales — a city in the Mexican state of Sonora. Silva was regarded as one of the top high school basketball players in the country during his time at Jesuit and has since played at Stanford University and Long Beach State.

Now, the 21-year-old Mexican-American is hoping to play in the Paris Olympics later this summer.

“It has always been a dream of mine to represent not only just any country, but the country of Mexico, because it means so much to me, and it means so much to my family, to represent our culture and our heritage,” Silva said. He secured his dual citizenship in his early teens, allowing him to play on the team.

The Jesuit Marauders’ Isa Silva is fouled by the Elk Grove Thundering Herd’s Damar Stewart at Jesuit High School in Carmichael in 2021.
The Jesuit Marauders’ Isa Silva is fouled by the Elk Grove Thundering Herd’s Damar Stewart at Jesuit High School in Carmichael in 2021.

While Silva was born in Sacramento, he has strong ties to his family’s hometowns in the Mexican states of Michoacán and Jalisco.

His grandparents immigrated to the United States under the federal Bracero program, which brought millions of Mexican men into California as farmworkers. They spent years working in the fields of Salinas Valley to give the family a “chance at a great life,” Silva said.

Silva’s grandfather, Rafael Silva, had his oral history archived at Stanford’s Bracero Legacy Project.

“The family stands out because of its work ethic, ganas (desire) and pursuit of excellence” said Igancio Ornelas, a Stanford lecturer who founded the project.

If Silva secures a spot on the 12-man roster, then he will join on its trip to Puerto Rico for a 2024 Olympics qualifying tournament. Mexico will face off against Lithuania and Ivory Coast in its first two games in the tournament.

The Mexico men’s basketball team has not competed in the Olympics since 1976.

Silva hopes to change that.

“It’s more than just basketball,” Silva said.”It’s representing a culture and a community, and in doing that, I can inspire others.”