Rio Rancho's Javier Trujillo wins Rookie of the Year Award

BRONX, New York — Former Rio Rancho High School soccer player Javier Trujillo capped off his historic freshman season at the University of Mount Saint Vincent with several of accolades, including a Skyline Conference Rookie of the Year Award.

“I definitely won’t get a big head, and I’ll stay humble about it. I’ll strive to make this place proud ... Rio Rancho and New Mexico in general,” Trujillo said.

Trujillo’s teammates were the ones to tell him to check the conference’s Instagram page, and once he did, he saw that he won Rookie of the Year.

“I called my parents and let them know. I was so excited. It was a really cool moment for me,” Trujillo said.

The young forward also was a First Team All-Skyline Conference selection.

On the season, Trujillo, scored 15 goals and logged five assists. He was second in the conference for goals scored, and Trujillo’s favorite thing about scoring goals was celebrating with teammates.

“I remember I always went to the bench where all of us could be and celebrated together. I didn’t really want to go to the corner and celebrate by myself,” Trujillo said.

Before making his mark at UMSV, Trujillo played for the RRHS soccer team under head coach John Shepard.

“It was a great experience. They taught me a lot. I was just a kid. It was crazy, definitely playing with them, and they were role models,” Trujillo said.

While at RRHS, Trujillo won a state championship with the team and led the team in scoring (10 goals).

“I was a young kid carrying a pretty big burden of starting for them. I was young and small, but they always gave me the motivation,” Trujillo said.

After his sophomore year, Trujillo joined the New Mexico United Soccer Academy. Now, Trujillo heads into the 2025-26 season as one of the top players in the Skyline Conference.