UMass Scores with Baldwin

New England Recruiting Report | Wednesday, September 30th, 2015

Less than 24 hours after UMass made waves in the recruiting world by landing a talented tandem from New Orleans, head coach Derek Kellogg and his staff landed another major score on Tuesday when Notre Dame Prep and Mass Rivals big man Chris Baldwin announced he would be returning close to his Springfield home to play in front of friends and family.

Shortly afterward, Baldwin released his own statement, via his twitter account, putting his decision in his own words:

Baldwin's name has been widely known in local basketball circles since he first arrived in high school. Initially dubbed one of New England's best young prospects, he struggled to live up to that potential initially as he didn't always play with quite enough energy or have the total impact he was capable of.

To say he's done a complete 180 in the last fifteen months though would be an understatement as he has thrived both under Notre Dame Prep head coach Ryan Hurd as well as Rivals head coach Vin Pastore.

Baldwin was tremendous this summer, not only showing a high motor, asserting himself on the glass and running the floor, but also demonstrating a skill set that was now consistent out to 18 feet.

He helped lead the Rivals to the finals of the Adidas Summer Championships in Las Vegas, had a strong showing in the nationally televised finals and ended up earning scholarship offers from schools in the ACC, Big 12 and Big East before deciding on UMass.

Below are some recent highlights care of Next Best Basketball: