Tag: Baseball recruiting

5-star QB commit could be a two-sport athlete for Florida

5-star quarterback DJ Lagway wants to continue his baseball career at Florida, but football will always come first.

Florida’s quarterback of the future, 2024 five-star Willis signal caller [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag], might also be a future baseball star for the Gators.

Schools recruited Lagway for both sports throughout high school. He picked up baseball offers from well-established programs such as LSU, Oklahoma and Texas A&M before committing to Florida for football, and the assumption is that he’ll end up playing for baseball head coach [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag]’s squad at some point.

During his most recent visit to the Swamp, Lagway followed up a day of football activities with a day at Condron Family Ballpark, according to Jacob Rudner of 247Sports. He got to check out the Gators’ practice and scrimmage before and even had a lengthy talk with Sully. The two speak often and are familiar with each other, but the plan right now is for Lagway to prioritize football before figuring out what his role on the baseball team might be.

His path to the diamond might be similar to freshman quarterback [autotag]Max Brown[/autotag]’s. He recently joined the baseball team this spring after missing fall practices to be with the football team. When spring practices start, football will again be the priority.

“We’ll see what it looks like after I get there but the way (Brown) did it could be how it works for me,” Lagway said.

Lagway wants to be a pitcher for Florida but also says that left field could be a spot for him depending on his arm. It’s unclear what Brown or Lagway’s role on O’Sullivan’s club will be when the time comes, but it’s clear that head football coach Billy Napier is willing to work with student-athletes that want to keep playing baseball.

Lagway is ranked at No. 24 overall on the 247Sports composite and is at No. 4 among quarterbacks in the class of 2024. Perfect Game has him ranked as the No. 312 overall outfielder in his class.

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Texas’ baseball recruiting class ranked No. 1

According to baseballamerica.com, Texas baseball has the No. 1 ranked class in the nation. The best player in the class is RHP Jared Kelley.

If you thought Texas was doing well in football recruiting, just wait until you see what they have been doing in baseball. According to baseballamerica.com, Texas has the No. 1 ranked class in the nation.

The best player in the class is right-handed pitcher Jared Kelley. He is from Refugio, Texas and attends Refugio High School. Listed at 6 feet 2 inches, his fastball reaches the mid-90s and likes to mix in his breaking ball. He is one of the best prospects in the entire recruiting class and has been committed to the Longhorns since Jan. 11.

Being the top-rated class, Texas is the only Big 12 school in the top five. Oklahoma comes in at the top 10, ranking at No. 7. TCU is the only other Big 12 team listed at No. 12.  The SEC and Pac 12 dominate the top 15, as 10 of the top 15 teams are from those two conferences.

The Longhorn baseball team will begin on Valentine’s Day in Feb 2020, as they travel to Rice for their opening series.

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Tennessee baseball standout Robert Hassell III ‘a freak’ at the plate

Robert Hassell III, one of the top baseball players in the country, is committed to Vanderbilt.

THOMPSON’S STATION, Tenn. — Robert Hassell III isn’t tired of baseball.

Nothing is burning out the senior outfielder and ace pitcher at Independence.

Nothing.

He spent this past summer traveling the country and abroad to play the sport. He played in some of the best major league parks in the country. He played against the best players in the country his age.

And then he went overseas and played against the best players his age – period.

“There are sometimes when it’s good to have a break,” Hassell said. “But I wouldn’t say there has been a time when I said, ‘I can’t do it.’

“Personally, I could be out on the field every day.”

That’s bad news for opposing teams.

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Hassell, The Tennessean’s 2019 Baseball Player of the Year, is expected to sign with Vanderbilt during the signing period that begins Wednesday. Vanderbilt recruited him as a two-way player – outfielder and pitcher.

Baseball America lists him as one of the top 10 high school baseball prospects for the 2020 MLB Draft, and MLB.com ranked him in August as the No. 14 high school prospect.

“As a hitter, he’s the best I’ve seen (in high school),” Summit coach Chad Kirby said. “Kes Carter, back at Ravenwood in 2008, that’s the closest thing.

“He’s a freak. He can run, hit, hit for power. He’s got the best strike zone recognition that I’ve ever seen.”

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Hassell, who was the Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year in 2019,  hit .423 with 14 home runs and eight doubles this season. He stole 22 bases and had 36 RBIs from the leadoff spot.

On the mound, Hassell was 5-2 with a 1.07 ERA and struck out 113 batters while walking just 21 in 59 innings pitched.

“He could be a draft pick on the mound,” Independence coach Mike McLaury said. “But he’s just a better draft pick in the field.”

Read the rest of the story at the Tennessean.