Beavers’ safety Akili Arnold said of linebacker Easton Mascerenas, who became brothers in 2012 when Toni and Junior Arnold married: “I wouldn’t say blood makes us any closer. I couldn’t ask for a better little brother.”
It shouldn’t be a surprise that Oregon State’s Akili Arnold and Easton Mascarenas-Arnold have become prominent college athletes.
The bloodlines scream athlete.
Mascarenas-Arnold, a junior linebacker, is the son of Toni Arnold, who as Toni Mascarenas was an All-America softball third baseman at Arizona. She once hit 25 home runs in a season, and is among NCAA’s top 25 in career RBIs. His uncle, Alex, played football at UCLA.
Toni Arnold is so passionate about softball that she named Easton after her favorite bat company.
“It could have been Rawlings or something, right?” she said.
Akili Arnold, a fifth-year junior safety, has uncles who played college football, CJ at San Jose State and Charon at California.
Who’s to say when they’re finished with college that Akili and Easton won’t be the best of them all?
They’re leaders of an Oregon State defense that has been one the Pac-12′s best the past two years. Easton Mascarenas-Arnold (No. 2, 64 tackles) and Akili Arnold (No. 9, 41 tackles) are among the Pac-12′s top 10 in tackles this season. Akili has been on the field more than any Beaver this season, participating in 456 of OSU’s 481 defensive plays through seven games.
What doesn’t connect Akili, 22, and Easton, 21, is blood. They were brought together midway through their childhood when Toni and Junior Arnold dated for two years, then married in 2012.
“I wouldn’t say blood makes us any closer. I couldn’t ask for a better little brother,” Akili Arnold said.
Easton was an only child, and Akili the youngest of three when the Arnolds married. They were used to getting most of the attention. Now, they were two of four – ultimately, two of six, as the Arnolds have added two children since they married.
Easton and Akili knew each other previously to becoming a family, from youth football and the dating years.
“Going to a bigger family was very tough for me,” Easton said. “I would say I was a little snobby. But I’m truly blessed that (Akili) came into my life because without my older sister and my older brother I would have been a totally different person.”
Said Toni: “Them coming together, it was like ‘I’m the baby. No, I’m the baby’ type thing. That’s when they clashed a little bit.”
Easton said it didn’t take long to begin liking his new brother.
“Once I started maturing and understanding that you’ve got to share,” he said.
“I played baseball for two years and told her it was way too slow,” Mascarenas-Arnold said.
Football became an ideal sport for Easton’s mindset.
“He’s way too aggressive,” Toni said. “When he played basketball, I used to tell the family you need to get there before halftime because he’s gonna foul out.”
Ask members of the family who is the best athlete of all, and you’re sure to get many answers.
“We like to trash talk,” Mascarenas-Arnold said.
Easton vs. Akili?
“Respect to Akili and all my other siblings, but they know. They know,” Mascarenas-Arnold said. “Akili can have the athleticism, but I take it in football.”
But better than mom? Toni is a member of the Arizona’s athletics hall of fame, after all.
“I mean, I was pretty good,” Toni said.
“They think this is the one time they going to beat us. They think they’re going to kick our butt before we go home,” she said.
Easton said it’s on every day with Akili, as they also live together in a house with teammate Jack Kane.
“We’ll be competing on eating. Like we’ll go get enchiladas and see who can eat it faster,” he said.
Easton wasn’t initially bound for Oregon State. He went to an Under Armour camp as a junior and blossomed. Offers began to emerge. Then the pandemic struck and offers stalled. Easton had an offer from Washington, but the Huskies stocked linebacker position gave him pause. Meanwhile, defensive coordinator Trent Bray was beginning to win over Easton. Most of the linebackers at the time, like Avery Roberts and Kyrei Fisher-Morris were older.
“I thought that would be a good group to be behind,” Easton said.
Didn’t hurt to have Akili on the roster, either.
“It was tough on me mentally, being without my family,” Easton said. “Me and my mom, we’ve been through a lot of things together. Being away from her was tough.”
Akili said he didn’t pitch Oregon State to Easton.
“I’m like, bro, go where you want to go. It’s not about me. It’s your life,” Akili said.
Akili says he and Easton have similar personalities in that they try to have a good time and smile a lot. Akili says he might be “a little more relaxed, like chill.” Also, Akili reports Easton is a “clean freak,” while he’s just clean.
“It’s fun living with him,” Akili said. “It’s like living at home without the parents.”
On the football field, just as fun.
“It’s an experience, man,” Akili said.
Akili and Easton are both juniors, even though Akili enrolled at OSU two years ahead of his brother. The 2020 pandemic NCAA free year of eligibility and Akili taking a redshirt season makes them equal in athletic eligibility. They’ll leave OSU together in 2024. The Arnolds, who moved from California to Louisiana a year ago, hope to attend all their sons’ games next season.
The legacy they leave?
“It’d be cool to have me and Easton, it be all about us. But at the end of the day, it’s about the team,” Akili said. “I love playing with my little brother, but I just hope we win the Pac-12. I hope we win as much as we can win. That’s the main goal. Always.”
–Nick Daschel Facebook
