Mercado signs with University of Providence Argos

Sean Mercado of the Seeley-Swan Blackhawks basketball team has signed an agreement to attend and play for the University of Providence in Great Falls next year.

Mercado has been interested in many sports and athletics since he was a child and has played varsity football and basketball for Seeley Lake. This move to the Argos will be his first time playing in any colors other than black and gold.

"I'm just looking forward to meeting the basketball team and putting on a new jersey," Mercado said. "That's like starting that next chapter in my life."

Mercado made the official announcement on Tuesday, March 14 but the deal has been in the works for months with recruitment and negotiations. Mercado was on the radar of the previous head coach, Steve Keller, who announced his retirement at the end of this past season.

But the new head coach, J. C. Isakson, is excited to bring Mercado onto the team.

"I myself was a small town, Montana Class C player. So I always like when those kids in the smaller Montana communities get an opportunity," Isakson said.

Mercado is entering the psychology  program at the university. He hopes to one day earn a doctoral degree in developmental psychology, and the first step on the road to that prestigious honor will be moving into the freshman dorms in Great Falls.

"I've been to the college before," Mercado said. "I really love the atmosphere."

Mercado will be joining his older brother, Owen Mercado, at Providence where he has been playing basketball for a year.

"That's a good sign of the state of the program, that it's very family oriented," said Isakson.

Although both of the boys played for the Seeley-Swan High School varsity team, they didn't play a season together and have yet to share a professional court. But the brothers have grown up playing sports together.

"We'd always be outside, even when there was snow," Mercado said. "We'd shovel the snow off the driveway and play basketball."

Sean and Owen spent the offseason practicing drills together in anticipation of playing college ball on the same team and the Argos are hyped to see what Sean has learned from his brother.

"Sean is a competitor, plays relentlessly hard," Isakson said. "He's a good defender and we're happy that we get to coach both of them and we get to kind of create that bond and that family dynamic within the program."

Mercado mostly sat on the bench during this senior season at Seeley after suffering a double knee injury in the early season, but he didn't waste the opportunity to learn from the experience. He tried to encourage the team from the side of the court.

"I had to take on that leadership role, which was super beneficial because I've never done that before," Mercado said. "But I hope I inspired them to do better and play better."

His attitude was noticed by his coach who appreciated having the help Mercado attempted to get back into shape.

"He did a good job in the time off helping our young kids and encouraging them on the bench and stuff like that," said Mike Haines, coach of the Seeley-Swan Blackhawks. 

Isakson said the Argos aren't too concerned with Mercado's injuries. They have a long time to train before he will be playing any games, and whether they know it or not he'll be starting his training early as soon as his brother comes home.

"As a mom, I watched my boys practice all of their lives," said Diedre Lechowski, the boys' mother. "When other kids were playing video games, my boys were on the driveway late into the night...often using the headlights from cars to shoot hoops long past dark."