Sammamish (Wash.) Eastside Catholic cornerback Ayden Hector will play his college football in the Golden State.

Like his father and uncle before him, Hector will go to California for college, with the four-star announcing for Stanford just moments ago.

And for Hector, it ends a long road of recruiting that began nearly two years ago, when his father’s alma mater, USC, first offered him.

Since then, Hector picked up offers from every other Pac-12 school, one of just a handful of players in the West to have an offer from each Pac-12 program.

California, where his uncle played, was another early offer.

Washington, the hometown school, joined the mix.

So did Alabama, Florida State, Penn State and Wisconsin among his national offers.

But Stanford always weighed heavily on him.

And when Hector was admitted into Stanford, it made the decision that much easier.

“For me, Stanford was kind of a no-brainer,” said Hector. “I’ve been leaning towards them for a few months. But Stanford just seemed like the perfect place for me. School wise, no one can beat them but then you get the high competition at the same time.”

The long history and track record of defensive backs coach Duane Akina didn’t go unnoticed.

“I love Coach Akina and my dad and I really talked about just how long he’s been around and how many great players he’s coached every where he has been. I haven’t even been alive that long and my dad even got recruited by him. He doesn’t get the same national love as some coaches do but he’s got a better track record than just about everyone. He gets less guys each year because it’s harder to get into Stanford but I know he’ll develop them and he’ll develop me.”

Hector said this summer, a visit to Stanford and a subsequent conversation with Akina made a huge impression on him.

“When it clicked for me was in late June, the last time I went down there before this fall,” said Hector. “Me and Coach Akina had a talk and it just clicked from there. I knew I wanted to be a Tree.”

Hector said the rest of the Cardinal staff impressed him too.

“I love the whole coaching staff, Coach (Lance) Anderson and Coach (David) Shaw,” said Hector. “Coach Shaw was really instrumental too. I sat down with him and my family and that meeting with him, again, Stanford was a no-brainer. He’s such a genuine and authentic dude.”

Hector will also have the unique opportunity to spend a year with his older brother, who is a regular student at Stanford.

“My brother, he reminds me that he got in to Stanford the hard way, which is probably true,” said Hector. “But I’m always asking him, how Stanford is for himself and how he’s adjusted. He loves it. He’ll be there for a year with me and that will be a great experience for us both.”

Hector said he’s been talking with a couple of Stanford commits too and has actually matched up against some over the past two years.

“I talk to Brandon Jones and Silas Starr,” sad Hector. “And I’ve lined up across Bryce Farrell and Silas too.”

With his decision out of the way, Hector said he can focus his attention on helping the Crusaders, the No. 1 team in Washington, repeat as state champions.

“It feels amazing but now I have bigger goals and that’s to win another state championship,” said Hector.

Hector will play in both the 2020 All-American Bowl in San Antonio in January and then the 2020 Polynesian Bowl in Honolulu later that month.

A four-star in the industry-generated 247Sports Composite Rankings, Hector is the No. 20 cornerback nationally in the composite while 247Sports is higher on him, ranking him No. 12 at that spot.