First, I apologize for noting the significance of two '09s committing to major Pac-10 schools on the "08 Signees" forum. I would have noted it on the 09 Signees Forum, but one doesn't yet exist!
I'm not particularly a fan of kids committing this early myself, but it is undeniably the trend for the top level prospects. Max Stassi of Yuba City high school might have been the 1st '09 in the country to commit, when he verballed to UCLA. These two student-athletes, who happen to be pretty similarly talented, are part of a very small pool of the top '09 baseball talent in the country, and I felt it was significant enough to note their commitments a year earlier than most top recruits get offers. In the case of these two boys, I do believe it's the right thing to do. Both were getting tons of recruiting mail already, and now they just have to concentrate on doing well in class and scoring high on their SATs. Both boys are taking special SAT tutoring to ensure that they maximize the opportunity before them, and they already do very well in the classroom. What I've seen with these two is that their opportunities have given them additional motivation to excel and they're working harder than ever, both in the classroom and on the field. I don't see anything bad about that, at all.
Both boys are going to what are pretty much their dream schools, and how can anyone feel bad about having an opportunity to be the 1st '09 to commit to the school you'd love to attend and play for, especially when they happen to be the two-time defending national champs?