Bradley Cassier didn’t have to stay at St. Monica Prep.
After throwing 25 touchdown passes and leading the Mariners to a CIF Southern Section championship as a freshman, bigger high school programs naturally came calling.
He looked, but never took the bait.
Instead, the 6′ 4″ quarterback remained loyal to his coaches and teammates — and ended up becoming the public face of the Mariners’ football program.
“It doesn’t matter if we’re not the biggest school,” he tells The Sun. “Everything I need is here.”
Well, almost everything.
With just under 400 students in grades 9-12, the small Catholic high school doesn’t have the kind of fancy facilities that bigger programs take for granted. Their home games are played across town at Santa Monica College and there is no on-campus practice field.
So when recruiters from Fresno State and UNLV showed up earlier this year to watch him throw, and the regular practice field was unavailable, Cassier humbly walked them across the street to Reed Park –– an area often populated with neighborhood residents and young children.
“We were literally throwing passes in between trees,” he remembers.
College offers eventually poured in –– the product of hard work, long practices and even longer days. Most mornings, his alarm goes off at 6:40 a.m. Cassier commutes to school from Culver City on the public bus. The trip can take more than 90 minutes each way.
Now, after four seasons in green and gold, the senior has a scholarship to play at the University of New Mexico — and one final playoff run that begins this weekend.
The Mariners finished the 2026 regular season 8-2 and open the CIF Southern Section Division 7 playoffs against Los Altos on Friday, Nov. 6.
“We’re in D7, which is the highest division we’ve been in since I’ve been here,” he notes. “Playoff football is always fun. It’s always competitive, intense.”
So who is Bradley Cassier?
Off the field, Cassier’s story isn’t your typical sports cliché.
An only child, he was born in New York and moved west at age 4. He grew up in Culver City surrounded by the arts. Dad, Brian, is a classical musician. Mom, Tanya, has traveled the world coaching ballet and figure skating.
So naturally, while still in pre-school, he was once cast as a gingerbread man in Tanya’s holiday ice show.
“I never wanted to do it,” Cassier remembers with a laugh. “I was like, ‘This isn’t me.’”
While he inherited plenty of drive from his parents, performing wasn’t really his thing. Cassier admits he isn’t much of a singer or dancer and he can’t read music –– but he maintains a diverse personal playlist.
“The last concert I went to was Bryson Tiller a couple of weeks ago,” he shares. “Before that, I was at a music festival in Palm Springs. It was really fun—a lot of house music.”
Cassier has also been streaming the legal drama Suits in his spare time and balancing high school life with a grounded perspective on social outings. “Obviously, football and school come first, but having fun every once in a while is okay,” he adds.
A long-time Green Bay Packers fan, who grew up idolizing quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Cassier admits to a few everyday blind spots. Among them: “I’m not super good at being organized,” he laughs. “I’ll always lose track of things.”
Luckily, he turned out to be a great passer — a skill he first started practicing as a kid tossing a football in the garage with his mom. It was a fitting family connection, given that Cassier’s grandfather played quarterback at the University of Idaho.
Sports, it seems, were always his calling. Before developing into a high school phenom, he excelled at both soccer and flag football.
His initial connection to St. Monica Prep came through longtime friend Joshua Barnes and his father, Thomas Barnes –– who would eventually become the Mariners’ head coach.
“I’ve kind of been with Coach Barnes since seventh grade,” Cassier says. “He brought me to the youth football team, and ever since, I’ve kind of just stuck with him.”
That bond and unwavering loyalty eventually helped pave his path to college.
The Road to Albuquerque
Cassier arrived at St. Monica Prep in the fall of 2022 –– during Barnes’ first year on the sidelines –– and made the strategic choice to repeat eighth grade. The extra year allowed him to develop physically while getting accustomed to a new environment and making up for classroom time lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I really felt like this was going to be an opportunity for me — not just for football, but in life,” he says. “I’ve always believed in God, but I didn’t come from a family that went to church every Sunday or was super religious. Coming here gave me a new perspective on it, and I’m grateful for that.”
When Cassier was a freshman, college recruiters were visiting St.Monica to scout Joshua Barnes for the University of Idaho. That’s when they met Cassier. Those coaches eventually moved to the University of New Mexico –– and Joshua followed –– laying the groundwork for a reunion in Albuquerque.
Giving Back and Moving On
Over the last four years, Cassier’s contributions to the St. Monica community have extended beyond the playing field. He serves as a student ambassador, giving campus tours to prospective families and speaking at school fundraisers.
“We always talk about how St. Monica gives you a voice and an opportunity,” Cassier says. “It’s kind of cliché, but it’s true. I feel like I’ve grown so much more as a person from being here than I would have at Culver City, just because of the community.”
And the feeling appears to be mutual.
“Bradley is one of those kids that people will talk about for years…one of the best athletes ‘out of the city of Santa Monica’ in a long time,” says team scorekeeper Andrew Meyer.
‘All in’ on football
The transition from high school to college will happen quickly. Cassier says he plans to move to Albuquerque in January, enrolling early to take three college classes while jumping straight into UNM’s winter conditioning program. He’ll be back in June to graduate with his classmates, including standout wide receiver Christopher Barnes, Joshua’s younger brother.
“I’m excited to live in New Mexico,” he says. “It’s a lot different than L.A., for sure.”
Cassier plans to major in business, but his ultimate sights are set on the NFL. For now, at least, there is no Plan B.
“If football ended today, I wouldn’t know what I’m doing,” he admits. “I’d say I’m all in on football.”
Wherever the game takes him, Cassier would like to return home to Los Angeles one day to raise a family of his own.
In the meantime, as his prep career winds down, he hopes to be remembered at St. Monica Prep not just for state titles or passing records, but “as a genuine, loyal person who worked hard, tried to give back to the community, put his all into football and school, and was a real well-rounded person.”
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