A number of local student-athletes will be officially putting pen to paper to sign national letters of intent to compete in college athletics.

Here are a few notes on the players that will be signing tomorrow:

Kaitlin Pericak, a star lacrosse and hockey player and member of the Class of 2011 at the Albany Academy for Girls, will sign her National Letter of Intent for lacrosse with Siena College.

In the classroom, Kaitlin has been able to maintain high academic standing at AAG and is a member of the National Latin Honor Society. She has challenged herself with a rigorous course selection and exceeded her graduation requirements in all academic areas.

On the athletic field, Kaitlin has been a member of the AAG Varsity Lacrosse Team for the past four years – helping to lead the team to a record of 16-0 for the second consecutive year in 2010 and its third straight Class C Section II championship. The team has not lost a regular season game in the past two years and has advanced to the regional finals both seasons. Kaitlin has played lacrosse at AAG since Eighth Grade and is also a member of the Albany Elite Lacrosse.

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Averill Park senior Nick Cioffi will be signing his letter of intent to pitch for the baseball team at Towson University.

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Lansingburgh's Meg Volz (softball, Siena College) and Rebecca Pratt (bowling, University of Nebraska) will also make their commitments official Wednesday afternoon.

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Here are some other updates.
Is there anyone we're missing?

Shenendehowa High School
Branden Cogswell – University of Virginia (baseball)
Timothy Coll – West Point (lacrosse)
Andrew Dorsey - Stony Brook (lacrosse)
Nicholas Hourigan - Le Moyne (lacrosse)
Owen Jarem – Merrimack (lacrosse)
Jessica Macaluso – Siena (tennis)
Allison Setter – West Point (basketball)
Robert Wardwell – Syracuse (lacrosse)

Shaker High School
Jimmy O'Brien - Holy Cross (lacrosse)
Jeff Hoffman - East Carolina University (baseball)
Adrianne Devine - Georgetown (lacrosse)
Charlotte Rehfuss - Vermont (lacrosse)

South Colonie High School
Tehresa Coles - Siena (basketball)
Matt Snyder - Virginia Tech (baseball)
Chris Kearney - Siena (baseball)
Chris Kalica - Fairfield (baseball)
Lexi Brannigan - UAlbany (lacrosse)

Bethlehem High School
Jackie Oskam - Quinnipiac (basketball)

Maple Hill High School
Katie Roth - University of Hartford (basketball)

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Meg Volz (right) and Becca Pratt (left) sign their National Letters of Intent in the Lansingburgh High School library Wednesday afternoon. (Photo by Mike McMahon - The Record).

TROY — Lansingburgh High School seniors Becca Pratt and Meg Volz both put pen to paper Wednesday afternoon on National Letters of Intent to compete athletically in college at the Division I level.

One will be staying close to home and the other will be going far, far away.

Pratt, the captain of Lansingburgh's varsity bowling team for the past two seasons, has committed to bowl at the University of Nebraska, one of the nation's elite collegiate programs.

Volz, who captained the Lansingburgh softball team this past spring, will join a host of former Section II standouts at Siena College.

“I've really been looking to go to Nebraska. It's my dream school,” said Pratt, pictured at right. “I can't believe it's actually happening.”

Women's bowling, which was established as an NCAA-sanctioned sport in the fall of 2003, has just 29 participating schools at the Division I level, 15 more in Division II and six in Division III. Nebraska, which finished as the runner-up to Farleigh Dickinson last season, has won three national titles since 2004.

Pratt's statistics intrigued the Cornhuskers, as she rolled a 219 average en route to a Colonial Council MVP season in 2010. She also has a 300 game to her credit and was listed in Bowler's Journal Top 30 High School Prospects in 2009 and 2010.

Pratt led the Section II All-Star team to a New York State title in March, scoring a high six-game tournament total of 1,320.

Outside of high school competition, Pratt won the Troy Annual Prestige Tournament each year from 2007 to 2010 and won the Maria Rapp Award as the City Tournament all-events champion in 2009 and 2010.

The challenges of long-distance recruiting required Pratt to send video clips of her form and technique to Nebraska, which led the Huskers to offer her an invitation for an official visit.

“We did team bonding and they took me to a football game and we just had a lot of fun,” she said. “I just felt really comfortable at the school.”

On her visit, she met Alney Tobias, a former star for the Lansingburgh cross country and track and field teams who currently runs at Nebraska. His recommendation helped seal the deal for Pratt, who plans on double majoring in business law and Spanish.

“It was amazing there,” Pratt said. “Like the coaches said, as long as you have the red 'N' on you, everyone is going to be cheering for you.”

For Volz, at left, a catcher on the softball diamond, Siena, which has heavily recruited local players in recent years, was a natural choice. This summer, Volz played with a pair of former Troy High stars who currently shine for the Saints in the Empire State Games. The Adirondack team took home the bronze medal.

“I played with Shannon Jones and Courtney Brinkman on the Empire State team and they're just awesome to play with,” Volz said. “It definitely played a part.”

Volz's varsity career began in seventh grade at Catholic Central High School, but she transferred to Lansingburgh for her freshman season. She helped lead the Lady Knights to a Section II Class A title in 2009.

“Basically what they told me is you earn your spot, so that's what I'm going to try to do,” Volz said. “Just earn my spot, whether it's outfield, infield or catching. As long as I'm playing, I'll play wherever the team needs me.”

A first team All-Area selection by The Record in 2009 and 2010, Volz batted .474 with 37 hits – 14 for extra bases – and 17 RBI during the 2010 high school season. She was a second team All-State selection this past spring.

Volz, like Pratt, is in the top 10 in her class at Lansingburgh and plans to major in business and minor in psychology at Siena.

2010 high school stats

POS., NAME, AB, R, H, 2B, 3B, HR, RBI, BA, SB

c, Meg Volz, Jr., Lansingburgh, 78, 24, 37, 8, 2, 4, 17, .474, 1

2009 high school stats

POS., NAME, AB, R, H, 2B, 3B, HR, RBI, BA, SB

c, Meg Volz, So., Lansingburgh, 92, 32, 47, 9, 7, 3, 23, .511, 3

2008 high school stats
POS., NAME, AB, R, H, 2B, 3B, HR, RBI, BA, SB
DH, Meg Volz, Fr., Lansingburgh, 68, 20, 30, 5, 4, 3, 25, .441, 0

Former Section II players on Siena College softball roster:
Courtney Brinkman, Troy
Sara Gallacchi, Schenectady
Shannon Jones, Troy
Mandy Ferro, Shenendehowa
Lindsey McKeever, Mechanicville
Taylor Guerin, Shaker
Pitching coach, Abby Arceneaux, Mechanicville
Assistant coach, Stacy Simpson, Shenendehowa
Head coach, Bill Lajeunesse, former head coach at Waterford, Shaker and Cohoes

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Matt Zanotta follows through on a home run swing during a game this summer with the South Troy Dodgers at Geer Field. (Photo by Mike McMahon - The Record).

Matt Zanotta, a 2010 Guilderland High School graduate, who currently attends prep school at Northfield-Mount Hermon in North Hermon, Mass., has made a verbal committment to play college baseball at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island.

Zanotta hit a Section II record 18 home runs at Guilderland in the spring and followed that with another powerful summer season with the South Troy Dodgers.

High school '10: 88 AB, 47 R, 42 H, 5 2B, 4 3B, 18 HR, 56 RBI, .477 BA, 8 SB
Summer '10: 32 G, .340 BA, 26 RBI, 7 HR
Fall '10: 9 G, .348 BA, 5 RBI, MVP of Battle of the Border Tournament

A first team all-state first baseman this spring, Zanotta was also named the Suburban Council's Player of the Year.

Bryant, a member of the  Northeast Conference, announced it would make the jump to Division I in 2007. Bryant begins its third season at the D-I level in the spring and looks to defend its regular season NEC title.


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Six Christian Brothers Academy student athletes will sign a National Letter of Intent on November 10.

Max Naglesmith (Duanesburg) will play baseball at LeMoyne College of the Northeast 10 Conference.

Steve Basile (Latham) will pitch for Iona College of the MAAC.

Galal Cancer (Albany) has committed to basketball at Cornell University of the Ivy League.

Cameron Fisher (Clifton Park) will play lacrosse at Sacred Heart of the Northeast Conference.

Max Kerber (Cohoes) and Carter Sherman (Ravena) have made Manhattan College their choice to play lacrosse.

Matt Gallup (baseball, Stony Brook) and Trevor LaCosse (baseball, Bryant) have also recently made verbal commitments.

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SCOTIA — Matt Gallup pulled a hamstring near the end of his varsity baseball season at Christian Brothers Academy this spring, which nearly derailed his dream of securing a Division I college scholarship.

A strong fall season with the South Troy Dodgers, however, put him back on the radar of college coaches and a visit to the Stony Brook University campus clinched his decision.

Gallup, a Scotia native and a senior at CBA, has made a verbal commitment to pitch for Stony Brook beginning in 2012.

A right-handed pitcher who features a curveball and a changeup and whose fastball tops out at 89 miles per hour, Gallup posted a 3-0-1 record and 26 strikeouts in 25 innings pitched this fall for the Dodgers.

Gallup had previously committed to Liberty University prior to his hamstring injury and picked Stony Brook over Monmouth and a number of Northeast Conference schools.

Trevor LaCosse, a left-handed pitcher, who like Gallup is a senior at CBA, recently made a verbal commitment to pitch for Bryant University. 

LaCosse, a Watervliet native, appeared in 10 games for the Dodgers this fall, collecting two wins and posting 30 strikeouts in 26 innings pitched. He appeared in the 2010 Don Mattingly 17-and-under American Amateur Baseball Congress World Series with the Dodgers in the summer.

Steve Basile, another member of the class of 2011 at CBA, made his verbal commitment to Iona College two weeks ago.

Gallup, who previously attended Schenectady Christian School, believes Mike Urbanski, the fourth member of the Brothers’ pitching staff, is also close to making his college decision.

CBA, which finished in second place in the Big 10 Conference behind La Salle Institute in 2010, advanced to the Section II Class AA quarterfinals before losing to South Colonie, 5-0.

“This year is going to be a big year, too,” Gallup said. “We only lost two guys from last year.”

Three other South Troy Dodgers players have also recently made verbal commitments. 

Nick Cioffi, a right-handed pitcher and Averill Park native, chose Towson University in Maryland. 

Patrick Zilberman, a left-handed pitcher at Niskayuna High School senior, picked Central Connecticut State.

Branden Cogswell, a senior shortstop at Shenendehowa, will play for the University of Virginia.

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Nick Cioffi pitches for the South Troy Dodgers this summer. (Photo provided).

AVERILL PARK — All it took was an official visit to Towson University for Averill Park native Nick Cioffi to be sold on the Tigers’ baseball program.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Cioffi said. “I took an official visit last week and I loved every single thing about it - the campus, the academics, the baseball program. I was down there for two days and they made me feel like I was part of the team.”

Tuesday evening, Cioffi, a senior at Averill Park High School, informed Towson head coach Mike Gottlieb of his verbal commitment to pitch for the Tigers beginning with the 2012 season.

Cioffi, a righthanded pitcher, guided Averill Park’s team to the Section II Class A championship game against Ichabod Crane this past spring. He posted a 7-2 record with a 1.89 ERA and 82 strikeouts against 18 walks in 59 innings during the high school season.

This summer and fall, he pitched for the South Troy Dodgers, compiling a 10-2-1 overall record with 79 strikeouts in 63 innings pitched.

Cioffi mixes in a slider with his fastball and offspeed pitches and routinely hits 84 to 87 miles per hour on the radar gun. Under the tutelage of Averill Park head coach Mike Conroy and South Troy Dodgers pitching coach Wayne Jones, who call all of his pitches, Cioffi has learned to become a pitcher, not just a thrower.

“I’ve always had pretty good velocity,” Cioffi said. “The last couple of years I leaned that I have to outthink the hitters and really focus on my location. I can’t just get away with throwing it as hard as I can, because the players at this level are going to hit it. I have to locate my pitches more.”

Cioffi also considered Iona, Marist, Rhode Island and Central Connecticut State before deciding on Towson. He plans on majoring in Business.

Towson University, located in Towson, Maryland, is about 10 miles north of Baltimore.

Former Schenectady High star and South Troy Dodgers player Casper Wells, who finished out the 2010 season as a major member of the Detroit Tigers’ outfield, played his college baseball at Towson.

With his senior year of high school and a season of summer baseball ahead of him before he heads to campus, Cioffi is glad to have the burden of the decision off his back. He’s hoping that helps him focus on the mound as soon as the snow melts in 2011 as well, perhaps pitching the Warriors back to Joe Bruno Stadium for another Section II championship game.

“It just helps to get it done with now,” Cioffi said. “I didn’t want to be a distraction during the season. We just want to get that bad taste out of our mouths and in a way, I think it might help. We want to achieve the goal of winning a sectional title and possibly even more.”

Nick Cioffi’s 2010 baseball card

Averill Park High School
W-L, ERA, IP, BB, SO, CG, SHO
7-2, 1.89, 59.0, 18, 82, 7, 4
South Troy Dodgers, summer
W-L, ERA, IP, BB, SO, H
6-2, 1.50, 42.0, 13, 49, 31
South Troy Dodgers, fall
W-L, ERA, IP, BB, SO, H
4-0-1, 1.00, 21.0, 3, 20, 10

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On July 4, 2010, we at The Record explored the hazy world of college recruiting and how local athletes and their families have dealt with the experience.

To read those stories, click here.

Today, ESPN announced it has released an online package targeted at high school-level athletes and offers information on the recruiting process. To view that, click here.

ESPN columnist Gregg Easterbrook wrote a succinct 1,000-word column on the major priorities high school athletes looking for a college scholarship should pursue. To read that column, click here. It's worth the read.

Personally, the most important fact I learned while researching our July 4 project was that not every scholarship is a full ride. In fact, most scholarships offer athletes just a fraction of their tuition costs. Here is an excerpt from my story:

Aside from major basketball and football recruits, most NCAA Division I and Division II scholarship players are not paying for tuition solely with their athletic prowess — a full ride. The average athletic scholarship is in the neighborhood of $10,000, according to a 2008 report in the New York Times. Take out the basketball and football scholarships and that figure drops to $8,707.

Depending on whether a student-athlete attends a private or public university, their scholarship may cover 25% or less of the cost of tuition. That doesn’t even take into account room and board, food, books and travel expenses.

Most college baseball teams have fewer than a dozen scholarships to award, meaning that many players split the value of a full scholarship.

Here are the keys that I uncovered in my investigation, some of which overlaps Easterbrook;s column:

Of all the parents and coaches contacted for this story, many have presented a checklist of priorities that all those beginning to embark on a college scholarship journey should consider. Depending on the source, they go something like this:

1) Develop good study habits and time-management skills in high school.

2) Play for the highest-quality travel team that will accept them and take as many private lessons as the family can afford.

3) Recognize what level of college athletics is best for the student-athlete. (Division III schools cannot offer athletic scholarships, but may be able to award an equal package in academic and financial aid).

4) Pick a school and an academic major that fits the student-athlete in case an injury prematurely ends an athletic career.

5) Make a decision based on the coach after selecting the right school. Coaches are always free to leave, which can leave a player out of luck if the replacement has different ideas on how to run the program.

6) Finally, do not get hung up on the dollar amount offered in scholarships. Which school will give your child the best chance to succeed after graduation?

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Does anyone have any thoughts or ideas on the college recruitment process? Would you like to join other parents and athletes in a live chat on the blog on the topic? If so, what day and time best for you?

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LATHAM — Jeff Hoffman will be changing ships in 2011, as the senior at Shaker High School turned a season of fall baseball with the World Yacht Clippers into a scholarship offer from the Pirates at East Carolina University.

Hoffman, a pitcher, confirmed Monday that he had accepted an offer from ECU after visiting the campus in Greenville, N.C. over the weekend.

“It was a long process and a really stressful time that lasted about two months,” Hoffman said. “I visited the campus and I fell in love with it. The coaches are great and it’s a very successful program.”

East Carolina, a member of Conference USA, finished the 2010 season with a 32-27 record. The Pirates have posted 13 straight 30-plus win seasons, which is the ninth-longest active streak in the country.

Hoffman excelled during his junior season at Shaker High School in 2009. He went 7-0 with a 2.06 ERA, striking out 26 in 34 innings in the Suburban Council.

Early in the summer, he played for the East Greenbush Devilcats’ Connie Mack team. Later on, Steve Frank, the new head baseball coach at Shaker High School, helped Hoffman earn a roster spot with the World Yacht Clippers Connie Mack team based out of Jefferson Valley in Westchester County.

“They definitely played a major role in a competitive summer for me,” Hoffman said of his time with the Devilcats. “But all of the college looks I got were through the World Yacht Clippers. I went to a couple of tournaments on Long Island, threw well and that was that.”

College coaches had his eye on him in recent weeks and his stellar performances put him on East Carolina’s radar.

“Facing the hitters that I did in fall baseball, I mean, all of those hitters are going to play Division I or Division II baseball,” Hoffman said. “The competition doesn’t get any better than that, facing the best from up and down the east coast.”

Hoffman is just the latest hard-throwing pitcher to emerge at Shaker. Tommy Kahnle, another former Blue Bison hurler, was drafted by the New York Yankees in the fifth round of the First Year Player Draft in June. Kahnle signed in time to finish the season with the Staten Island Yankees in the short-season Class A New York-Penn League, where he posted a 0.56 ERA over 16 innings during 11 appearances. He struck out 25 and walked five in his first season as a professional.

Hoffman plans to major in physical education in college and plans on being a coach once his player career is over.

He had previously committed to Elon University, but that offer fell through.

Late in October, Hoffman will stop throwing for a few months to let his arm relax and he’ll also lace up his sneakers for Shaker’s basketball team. Once the calendar flips over to January, he can start thinking about one last season on the hill with the Bison and what the future holds in store for him at East Carolina.

“Hopefully I can step in and play a major role as a starter,” he said. “But I’ll definitely have to work at it and earn that role.”

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Branden Cogswell fields a ground ball at shortstop for the South Troy Dodgers during the summer of 2009. Cogswell, who is a rising senior at Shenendehowa High School, recently made a verbal committment to play baseball at the University of Virginia. (Photo by J.S. Carras - The Record).



BALLSTON LAKE — Branden Cogswell has had a lifelong dream of being a commercial airline pilot, but he’s putting that goal on hold, deciding to take a flight to Charlottesville, Va. and Atlantic Coast Conference baseball.


Monday, Cogswell, a Ballston Lake native, made a verbal commitment to play baseball for the University of Virginia.

Cogswell, who is entering his senior year at Shenendehowa High School, has played on the South Troy Dodgers’ 18-and-under Connie Mack team for the past two summers. A lefthanded hitter, he was the Dodgers’ starting shortstop and No. 2 hitter as a 16-year-old, which was a rarity for South Troy’s elite team to feature a player that young, sometime against pitchers who had just finished their freshman year of college.

He started getting looked at by colleges last fall, but his final decision was between Purdue University, which features aviation as a major, and Virginia, which finished the 2010 season ranked No. 10 in the NCAA Division I poll.

“It all started in the fall of last year and it’s a long process,” Cogswell said. “First it started with the local schools and then it kind of went nationwide. We just tried to take the best fit and what I feel I can do at Virginia seems like the best fit for me.”

Cogswell, a second-team Class AA All-State player as a junior at Shenendehowa, batted .424 for the Plainsmen this spring with three home runs and 27 RBI in 66 at-bats. He was also walked 22 times as Suburban Council hurlers often pitched around him.

ACC, Big East and Colonial Athletic Association coaches haven’t been the only people tracking Cogswell over the past year. Major League scouts are also on the trail and some made the trek to Geer Field in Troy this summer to see him play for the Dodgers in their American Amateur Baseball Congress Connie Mack World Series qualifying tournaments.

Cogswell, however, will wait to cross the bridge in June 2011 in case his name is called in the first year player draft.

“You don’t have control of whether you get drafted or not,” he said. “I would love to see it happen, but I would have to go in an early round and get a lot of money to take me away from college. If the offer is there money-wise, fine, but I’ll face that decision if it comes.”

While he’s played exclusively at shortstop in recent years, Cogswell isn’t afraid of making a position switch if that leads to playing time at Virginia.

“I would love to stay in the middle infield, but at college it’s just about getting an opportunity and they tell me that the opportunity will be there,” he said. “I have to take their word on that. It’s going to take a lot of hard work to play at that level and excel and succeed and I want to challenge to win a job.”

Cogswell is putting his aviation plan on hold for now, but that’s fine with him since his baseball career is just beginning to take flight.

“It turned out that my final two were Purdue and Virginia, and Purdue does offer aviation, but I knew my true love and passion is for baseball,” he said.

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The parking lot behind Siena College's Alumni Recreation Center told the story of the sixth annual GymRat Challenge girls AAU basketball tournament Saturday afternoon. Cars with license plates from around the country packed the spaces, as some of the best players in the country hoped to catch the eye of the many coaches on hand.

Women's college basketball coaches were out in force at the first day of competition in the sixth annual GymRat Challenge held at Siena College and the University at Albany Saturday afternoon. Action continues Sunday at both locations. (First three photos by Mike McMahon - The Record).

It was a beautiful day to be outside Saturday, but 1,750 girls decided to spend the day indoors, competing against each other in the sixth annual GymRat Challenge at Siena College and the University at Albany.

Pool play wraps up Sunday morning and championship round action begins early Sunday afternoon. Tickets are still available. Admission is $10 at the door.

Greenwich native Dani DeGregory, of the Albany City Rocks, looks to make a pass during Saturday's game against the Central Jersey Cardinals. Albany won, 60-41.

A number of local teams were in action Saturday, including the Albany Capitals and the Saratoga Sparks. I decided, however, to catch up with two local small-school stars, Dani DeGregory and Katie Roth, who play for the Albany City Rocks.

Playing in the Wasaren League and Patroon Conference, respectively, they don't get the caliber of competition day-in and day-out during their high school regular seasons that they need to prove their worth to Division I college coaches.

AAU tournaments provide them that opportunity.

"It’s good to play here (with the City Rocks) because it’s really where you’re going to get better over the summer and take things back to high school," Roth said. "I wouldn’t say one is more important than the other, though. Here, you’re getting looked at by college coaches. But high school is representing where you go to school and where you come from. I enjoy playing with both and I like everyone on both teams."

Spectators were scattered among the seven courts seeing action Saturday at Siena College, but unlike most high school basketball games, the atmosphere was subdued.

"The Wasaren League is really competitive and the game Katie and I played against each other in was really intense," DeGregory said. "Everything we play here is equally intense. I like playing with both teams. Both teams are awesome to play with. Getting looks from college is great, but high school is really important, too."

The Saratoga Sparks' 16-and-under team, featuring Cohoes High School star Bailei Tetrault (right, with ball) was among the 156 squads in action Saturday. 1,750 players are involved in the event.

Although DeGregory and Roth both list basketball as their favorite sport, they're both three-sport athletes in high school.

Roth plays volleyball and throws the shot put and discus for the Maple Hill track and field team.

DeGregory plays field hockey and softball for the Witches.

We'll have more on the supposed decline of the three-sport athlete ( I think these two athletes are a great example of how that trend is not going out of style, even with their basketball specialization) when our Ben Franklin Project is published on July 4th.

Greenwich High School sophomore Dani DeGregory is hoping that a stint with the Albany City Rocks this summer will increase her exposure among college coaches.

DeGergory and Roth squared off when their teams met on March 8 in the Section II Class CC/C playoff. (Click here to read about that game in the archive).

The gym at Adirondack Community College was packed that day with fans and fellow students, who carried signs and banners and screamed at the top of their lungs. The action at Siena on Saturday was much more subdued...a bit of polite applause here and there...but the intensity on the court was just the same for the players.

"I guess the intensity is always pretty high," DeGregory said. "Out here, you’re looking for college coaches, but in high school, it’s the same thing. Here, you get more exposed so you definitely want to play as hard as you can every day."

And for small-school players like Roth and DeGregory, AAU basketball offers them an opportunity they just could not get playing for their high school teams.

Maple Hill High School junior Katie Roth recently made a verbal commitment to the University of Hartford, an opportunity she attributed to her time with the City Rocks the past two years.

For some video highlights and more quotes, click on the video below.

The Albany Capitals' 16-and-under team, featuring Holy Names' Sarah Agan (right, with ball), won the 15-and-under title a season ago. Over 100 local players will be competing in the two-day event.

For the full story, be sure to check out Sunday's edition of The Record.

We'll also have a big story on former Catholic Central High School boys basketball coach Don Bassett and more on this year's class in the Capital District Basketball Hall of Fame.

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Greenwich senior pitcher Neil Fryer has committed to Siena College along with CBA senior Dennis Buckley. (Photo courtesy Stan Hudy, The Saratogian).

According to a press release just sent out by Siena College, Greenwich High School senior Neil Fryer will be playing his college ball in Loudonville.

From the release:

He comes from the strong Greenwich High School program and played his summer ball for the renowned Saratoga Stampede. Fryer helped Greenwich reach the New York High School State finals this past season.

“Neil is coming off an outstanding high school season where his team finished runner-up in the New York State Tournament,” Siena head coach Tony Rossi said. “He should see quality innings out of the bullpen initially and spot start. He has an outstanding fastball and curve and is an outstanding student as well.”

Dennis Buckley, another local product, just finished his senior season with the strong Christian Brothers Academy team. He started and relieved for the team this year, and with a fastball in the upper-80’s, he will be counted on to come out of the bullpen and provide quality innings.

“Dennis transferred from Colonie Central High School to Christian Brothers Academy where he played football as well as baseball,” Rossi said. “He will be a welcome addition to the bullpen where the hope is he will provide mid to late inning help. He should get quality time immediately.”

Five athletes recently made late signing period commitments to Siena. The group raises the incoming freshman class to 11 – the largest recruited class in the history of the program.

Adam Guinn (Norris, Tenn.), Neil Fryer (Greenwich, N.Y.), Richard Baerga (Pomona, N.Y.), Dennis Buckley (Albany, N.Y.) and Greg Wilson (Medford, Mass.) all committed to the program. They join: Matt O'Kipney (Liverpool, N.Y.), Jimmy Meindl (Old Bridge, N.J.), John Rooney (Syracuse, N.Y.), Tyler Bell (Cornwall, N.Y.), Vinnie Citro (Montclair, N.J.) and Kenny Kirshner (Cornwall, N.Y.) who committed to the program during the early signing period.

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Lansingburgh High School senior Tyler Hammett (50) has decided to accept a scholarship offer from Molloy College, a Division II school on Long Island. (Photo by J.S. Carras - The Record).

D-II school’s offer allowed Lansingburgh senior to turn down a year of prep school

William Montgomery
The Record

TROY — Tyler Hammett, a senior basketball player at Lansingburgh High School, had planned to attend prep school during the 2010-11 school year, hoping to increase his profile and improve his skills.

Then Molloy College gave him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

In the coming days, Hammett, a 6-foot-10 center, will sign his letter of intent to play basketball for Molloy, a Division II member of the East Coast Conference located in Rockville Center on Long Island.

Hammett, a member of The Record’s All-City first team in 2010, averaged 11 points, 12 rebounds and 5.5 blockers per game in his senior season.

At first glance, the mammoth Hammett looks like he was born to play on the basketball court, but it wasn’t always easy for him.

Lansingburgh head coach Guy DiBacco recalled first encountering Hammett when he came out to tryouts as a freshman.

“He was the biggest guy in the gym height-wise and weight-wise, even as a freshman,” DiBacco said. “He really worked hard in tryouts, but unfortunately after three days, he was hurt and missed a week.”

Hammett played just eight games as a freshman and nagging knee injuries kept him off the court entirely as a sophomore.

As a junior, Hammett played football, which led DiBacco to coax him back into basketball. As a junior, he played about eight minutes a game, averaging six points and six rebounds.

The Knights won the Colonial Council regular season title that year and Hammett came back stronger than ever as a senior. He averaged 30 minutes per game and led Lansingburgh to a share of the regular season title with Watervliet and a berth in a Section II title game for the first time since 1967.

Molloy’s financial aid package helped make the decision for Hammett, who was having a hard time finding a similar package from prep schools. He plans to study sports medicine.

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Maple Hill High School's 6-foot-2 junior center Katie Roth has given her verbal commitment to Coach Jen Rizzotti to play for the University of Hartford beginning in the 2011-2012 season. She will make stops in Albany every year, as the Hawks compete in the America East Conference with the University at Albany's Great Danes. Roth chose Hartford over Fordham, Siena and Marist.

Mark Bubniak, Maple Hill's girls basketball coach and athletic director, confirmed the news.

(Photos by Tom Killips - The Record)

During the 2009-10 regular season, the Patroon Conference’s MVP carried the Maple Hill High girls basketball team farther than it had ever advanced before – the New York State Class C Final Four. Roth, who averaged 18.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and four blocks per game, was a second team All-State selection. Maple Hill was ranked No. 1 in the state for much of the 2009-10 season. The Wildcats have won 64 consecutive games in Patroon Conference play.

Roth is also an accomplished track and field athlete and hopes to earn a trip to the New York State meet in the discus toss this spring.

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Bethlehem High School junior Jaci Oskam has given her verbal commitment to play college basketball at Quinnipiac University of the Northeast Conference.

Oskam chose Quinnipiac over schools such as Old Dominion, Sacred Heart and Princeton. Oskam is a four-year varsity basketball player at Bethlehem and has also spent seven years with the Albany Capitals AAU squad.

She has played four seasons of varsity volleyball and won a pair of Section II titles.

Oskam joins fellow Suburban Council star Tehresa Coles in making a decision to play Division I basketball this week. Yesterday, Coles made her verbal agreement to play at Siena College.

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South Colonie junior Tehresa Coles, seen here playing in a game against Shenendehowa in 2008, has made a verbal agreement to continue her career at Siena College beginning in the fall of 2011. (Photo by J.S. Carras - The Record).

Tehresa Coles had always had the label of being a Division I talent and she made that a reality Sunday night, making a verbal agreement to play for the Siena College Saints following her senior season at Colonie in 2010-11.

Colonie head coach Heather Fiore, who played her college basketball in the MAAC at Canisius in the late 1990s, confirmed the news.

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We received a number of college notes today.

Troy High senior lacrosse player Nic Capano, who will graduate as the program's all-time leader in goals and assists, will compete for Division II Dominican College.

Former Catholic Central High School softball player Nicole Hedrick was named the Empire 8 Conference Player of the Year award at Alfred University. She posted a 17-3 mark with a l.47 earned run average and 104 strikeouts this season.

La Salle Institute senior pitcher and outfielder Zach Ferris has accepted an academic scholarship at the University of Hartford and has earned a roster spot on the 2011 team.

When J.P. Sportman made his verbal commitment to play baseball at Central Connecticut State University in February, he instantly became the Blue Devils’ top recruiter.

Josh Ingham (left) and J.P. Sportman (right) made it official Friday afternoon. They'll both play their college baseball at Central Connecticut State University and they'll room together, too. In the background are Ichabod Crane head coach Jack Brady (left) and La Salle Institute head coach Jesse Braverman (right). (Photo by J.S. Carras - The Record).

Sportman, a senior at La Salle Institute, knew that CCSU head coach Charlie Hickey and assistant Pat Hall were also interested in the services of Icahbod Crane senior Josh Ingham, who plays with Sportman for the South Troy Dodgers during the summer and fall seasons.

His efforts as pitchman certainly worked, as Sportman and Ingham confirmed their intent to compete at CCSU in a ceremony at Geer Field.

Sportman, who plays second base for La Salle, can also play the outfield. He will join Ingham, a shortstop and pitcher, on the Blue Devils’ roster in the spring of 2011.

Naturally, the duo will also room together when school starts in the fall.

For the full story, check out Saturday's edition of The Record.

Thursday afternoon, La Salle Institute senior basketball player Marquis Campbell signed a national letter of intent to play Division II basketball at Concordia College, N.Y.

La Salle Institute senior Marquis Campbell is all smiles while speaking with reporters prior to signing his national letter of intent to play Division II basketball at Concordia College (N.Y.). (Photos by J.S. Carras - The Record).

La Salle Institute head coach Steve Sgambelluri and Marquis Campbell have much in common, believe it or not.

Sgambelluri played Big 10 Conference basketball at Bishop Maginn and later played at the Division II level at The College of Saint Rose. Needless to say, he had a lot of advice for his senior guard Marquis Campbell.

A number of schools came calling for Campbell - he also debated spending a year at prep school - before finally deciding on Concordia College in Bronxville.

For Sgambelluri, he knew Campbell was ready to play at the next level when he took charge during a January 8 Big 10 game against Collar City rival Troy High.

"Against Troy, he looked at the bench and said, "We’re going to pull through," recalled Sgambelluri, whose team trailed by 20 points at the time. "That showed great maturity on his part and it’s a quality that all college coaches look for. He went on to hit the game-winning shot."

Campbell’s three-point basket at the buzzer lifted the Cadets to a 56-53 victory.

"My junior year when I started playing on varsity, I realized I could go far with this and possibly get a free education and do a lot with basketball," Campbell said. "My hard work paid off, but I’m not going to stop there."

La Salle Institute senior Marquis Campbell rejoices with his family after signing a national letter of intent to play Division II basketball at Concordia College.

"From the first time I met him, all he talked about was how he wanted to be a college basketball player," Sgambelluri said. "He’s worked incredibly hard. He studies the game and when he’s not in school, he’s playing basketball. He’s just a gym rat."

"I went down to Concordia and visited and it was a beautiful campus and the coaches were cool and the players accepted me," said Campbell. "I hope that I can make an impact and help out next year. With the education, there are a lot of good opportunities down there as well. Concordia was a good fit for me."

For the full story, be sure to check out Friday's edition of The Record.

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The Facebook page for the Albany City Rocks posted the news today that Nolan Hart will be attending Syracuse University this fall.

Presumably, he'll be trying to walk on to the basketball team there, according to this Scout.com profile.

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CBA's Kameron Ritter will be playing at St. Francis (Pa.) next season.

Lansingburgh's Tyler Hammett will be playing prep school ball for a year, hoping to sign with a D-I school the year after that.

Averill Park's Katie Duma will be playing at Holy Family in Pennsylvania, Catholic Central's Maria Foglia will play at Hartwick and Waterford's Jackie Sorensen will play at SUNY-Plattsburgh next season as well.

Where will other Section II basketball stars be playing in college? Let me know of anyone I forgot in the comments.

Christian Brothers Academy senior Kameron Ritter, seen here driving past Troy High's Javion Ogunyemmi in the Section II Class AA quarterfinals, has committed to Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tom Killips - The Record).

Kameron Ritter, who won a New York State Class AA championship during his senior season at CBA, will continue his career at the Division I level at Saint Francis (Pa.), hoping for a chance to appear in the Big Dance.

CBA head coach Dave Doemel confirmed in an email that Ritter had accepted an athletic grant from St. Francis.

Ritter, a 6-foot-2 guard, averaged 14.2 points per game during his senior year of high school and figures to get some minutes in the backcourt at Saint Francis under head coach Don Friday. The Red Flash compete in the Northeast Conference, which includes schools such as Central Connecticut State and Quinnipiac, Robert Morris, Wagner and conveniently, Saint Francis (N.Y.)