Commitment Catch-Up

New England Recruiting Report | Monday, April 3rd, 2017

It's a busy time of year on the recruiting front as players are coming off the board at a rapid rate while others are having second thoughts and re-opening their recruitment.

Lost amidst some of the shuffle has been several other commitments, all of which are equally impactful at their respective levels.

Suffield Academy Duo Comes off the Board

Suffield Academy won 20 games this season and advanced to the finals of the NEPSAC Class A tournament. Senior forward Garrett Stephenson and post-graduate guard Bryce Butler were both key contributors to those achievements.

Stephenson will continue his career at WPI next season. The 6-foot-7 big man averaged 11.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists this year for the Tigers while shooting 58% from the floor.

"Garrett has been a rock for our program for the last three seasons," said Suffield Academy head coach Jeff Depelteau. "It's seems that all he has done throughout his high school career is win wherever he has played, whether that be St. Bernard's prior to attending Suffield, certainly at Suffield helping to lead us to two New England title games in his three seasons, and of course winning multiple National Championships with the BABC AAU Program. I have no doubt that Garrett will continue his winning ways at WPI. Coach Bartley is getting a great competitor, who always puts himself in positions to be successful on and off the court."

Butler is headed to Susquehanna University next year in Pennsylvania. This year he averaged 10.1 points, 4.1 assists, 2.5 steals, and shot 38% from behind the three-point line.

"Bryce came into Suffield as a post-graduate and completely bought into the idea of the team, while working very hard to improve individually," Depelteau said. "He has a tremendous game from behind the arc and into the mid-range area. Bryce is a competitor who does what it takes to win. He is a young man who will be very hard to keep off the court at the next level!"

Stephenson and Butler join other Suffield 2017 products who are already committed to Middlebury and Franklin & Marshall.

Cheshire's Nhial D2 Bound

Cheshire Academy post-graduate Deng Nhial III made a commitment to the University of West Georgia just following the completion of the prep season.

West Georgia is a division II university competing in the Gulf South Conference located 45 miles west of Atlanta.

The 6-foot-4 wing is a talented player who had a strong season competing in Class AA. Below are some of his highlights from the first half of the season.

Babson Adds Jaworski

Coming off their Division III national championship, Babson College has landed a commitment from Tolland High School standout Andrew Jaworski.

The 6-foot-3 swingman scored over 1200 points during his high school career for Tolland and was selected to the Class M All-State team in consecutive seasons. He averaged over 20 points along with 9 rebounds and 5 assists per game during his senior season. In the post-season, he averaged 32 points per game in leading Tolland to the Class M Final Four before they fell to the eventual state champions Brookfield.

Jaworski is also a longtime product to the Connecticut Passion AAU program. Below are some of his recent highlights.