First Offers
While scholarship offers are far from the concrete and certain commodities that social media often implies, the moment when a prospect lands his first offer is nonetheless one of the most memorable in the recruiting process.
Ideally, that first offer provides both positive reinforcement for a recent job well done but also future motivation to work even harder both on the court and in the classroom.
We’ve seen a number of local New England products land their first offers recently, and while we’ve recognized them on social media, they deserve additional recognition here.
Isaiah Earl, Lee Academy (ME), 2022 – Before the Connecticut native officially makes the move north to Maine, where he’ll reclassify from 2021 to 2022 at Lee Academy, he got a nice parting gift when local D1 program Quinnipiac extended him his first division I scholarship offer on Sunday. Earl started to make a name for himself this spring and summer with the New Haven Heat.
James Kamich, Proctor Academy (NH), 2020 – Following his summer with Connecticut Elite, the big man landed a full athletic scholarship from St. Michael’s College. Gannon University followed suit to become the second school to offer him over the weekend. Kamich will transfer to Proctor Academy this fall after spending the last two years at Redemption Christian.
Dominic Mello, St. George’s (RI), 2021 – Mello is a southpaw scoring guard for St. George’s and Expressions u16 team. While he’s been well-known in New England for a couple of years, New Hampshire became the first division I school to offer him a scholarship late last week.
Lucas McEachern, Phillips Exeter (NH), 2021 – UNH also became the first division I school to offer Phillips Exeter Academy and Middlesex Magic’s Lucas McEachern. McEaachern is a native of France who will be entering his second season in the NEPSAC.
Aaron Gray, Springfield Commonwealth (MA), 2020 – Gray exceeded all expectations during his recent season with Expressions as he carved out meaningful minutes in their EYBL rotation and played with an unprecedently high-motor. He has visited UMass Lowell and Wagner in recent weeks and landed an offer from the Seahawks.
Guy Ragland, Northwest Catholic (CT), 2020 – Ragland came into the grassroots season as a priority recruit for academic division III programs before playing his way into D2 recruitment and now a division I offer from UNH. The Connecticut Elite DBC big man has good size, great length, and a very soft touch.