Gary LeClair, 2011 outfielder from The Steward School, has chosen VMI from among four firm offers he had to consider. In the end, Gary's VMI blood lines won out!
Congratulations to Gary, our second commitment in the 2011 class!
Gary was also first team VIS All State at Steward, and second team Richmond Times-Dipatch All Metro. Gary runs the 60 in 6.56 and has home run power as well. He'll cover pole to pole for the Keydets while providing them a bat that could play in the leadoff spot as easily as in the 3 slot.
The Virginia Cardinals will be turning over their roster at the end of the fall. While we have a number of excellent players who are '12 grads the team will have numerous opportunities for capable and deserving players.
As always - Pitchers are a pressing need (big surprise). If you have or if you are a player who is interested let "MidloDad" know. If you happen to be involved in any of the same tournaments as us this fall make sure to reach out so we can come by and see you play.
We are at Maryland 9/18-19. ECU 9/25-26. Cary NC 10/2-3 and VMI 10/9-10.
As of now we are shooting for our tryout to be the weekend of November 6-7.
It has been noted before and continues to be true - there is no cost to play for the Cardinals.
Thanks,
Rich Graham
As always - Pitchers are a pressing need (big surprise). If you have or if you are a player who is interested let "MidloDad" know. If you happen to be involved in any of the same tournaments as us this fall make sure to reach out so we can come by and see you play.
We are at Maryland 9/18-19. ECU 9/25-26. Cary NC 10/2-3 and VMI 10/9-10.
As of now we are shooting for our tryout to be the weekend of November 6-7.
It has been noted before and continues to be true - there is no cost to play for the Cardinals.
Thanks,
Rich Graham
Congratulations to 2012 LHP Nathan Kirby, who has reached an early verbal commitment with UVA!
Nate becomes our third Cardinals player to reach a commitment, and our first in the 2012 class.
Nate is a junior at James River High School in Midlothian (northern Chesterfield).
Nate becomes our third Cardinals player to reach a commitment, and our first in the 2012 class.
Nate is a junior at James River High School in Midlothian (northern Chesterfield).
Congratulations to Joey Varaksa, who has made a verbal commitment to Longwood!
Joey is a 2011 at Albemarle High School, where he has primarily played SS and pitched. Joey spent the summer for us mostly as our primary third baseman, but also pitched, played SS and 1B. This fall, Joey made the move behind the plate and developed into a sub-2.0 pop time catcher. As a pitcher, his velocity improved to the mid-80's as well. The true do-it-all player with a strong bat, Joey had a chance to put his full versatility on display in our last game of the year, a 9 inning game in which he played every position on the field.
Joey becomes our third 2011 Cardinals commitment, and our fourth overall.
Joey is a 2011 at Albemarle High School, where he has primarily played SS and pitched. Joey spent the summer for us mostly as our primary third baseman, but also pitched, played SS and 1B. This fall, Joey made the move behind the plate and developed into a sub-2.0 pop time catcher. As a pitcher, his velocity improved to the mid-80's as well. The true do-it-all player with a strong bat, Joey had a chance to put his full versatility on display in our last game of the year, a 9 inning game in which he played every position on the field.
Joey becomes our third 2011 Cardinals commitment, and our fourth overall.
Congratulations to Will Brown, Matoaca 2011 RHP, on his commitment to Georgetown today!
Will got stuck behind two stud seniors last spring and saw only limited action for Matoaca, but shined all summer and fall for the Virginia Cardinals. His fastball runs 84-88 with hard boring/sinking action, and he mixes it with a sharp breaker and a true "Bugs Bunny change up".
Will becomes our fourth 2011 Cardinals commitment and our fifth player from this year's team overall to make a D-1 commitment.
Will got stuck behind two stud seniors last spring and saw only limited action for Matoaca, but shined all summer and fall for the Virginia Cardinals. His fastball runs 84-88 with hard boring/sinking action, and he mixes it with a sharp breaker and a true "Bugs Bunny change up".
Will becomes our fourth 2011 Cardinals commitment and our fifth player from this year's team overall to make a D-1 commitment.
Nice article on Will Brown in today's Petersburg paper:
http://progress-index.com/spor...ops-secret-1.1069827
http://progress-index.com/spor...ops-secret-1.1069827
Congratulations to R.W. Payne, Spotsylvania LHP, on his commitment to UVA-Wise!
R.W. is our 5th commitment in the 2011 class from the Virginia Cardinals in our first year in operation, out of only 7 2011 players who were with us for the full run from June through October. He is our 6th commitment overall.
R.W. is our 5th commitment in the 2011 class from the Virginia Cardinals in our first year in operation, out of only 7 2011 players who were with us for the full run from June through October. He is our 6th commitment overall.
Midlo -- Congrats to all your players, and to you and Coach Graham. You guys did a heck of a good thing last year. Best of success in 2011.
Very exciting for the Va Cardinals.....
Congrats!
Congratulations to Garrett Birnbaum, Cosby RHP, on his commitment to Hampden-Sydney College!
Garrett will in fact be a 2 sport player, as he was also recruited to be a quarterback for HSC's football team.
Garrett is our 6th Cardinals commit from the class of 2011, and our 7th overall.
Garrett will in fact be a 2 sport player, as he was also recruited to be a quarterback for HSC's football team.
Garrett is our 6th Cardinals commit from the class of 2011, and our 7th overall.
Great news! Congrats to Garrett and the Birnbaum family. That is very exciting.
Midlo, has a MIF for you the Keranan kid committed anywhere or signed or anything, do you know if he has any offers? Appreciate it.
Clay has not yet committed. We are still working on his behalf. He's a great addition to a team, potential 2-way collegiate player and would make a great April sign for someone.
Midlo,
How common is the April sign? Not specifically in this player's case, but is it the situation that the player has applied to the college and then been offered a walk on spot after being accepted, or is there money left in some programs, and have you found these athletes are the recipients of relatively large scholarship offers....or the minimum 25%?
How common is the April sign? Not specifically in this player's case, but is it the situation that the player has applied to the college and then been offered a walk on spot after being accepted, or is there money left in some programs, and have you found these athletes are the recipients of relatively large scholarship offers....or the minimum 25%?
There is no rule.
Used to be only the big guys had big November classes. Now that's the norm. But a lot of teams don't get everyone they wanted in November, and they continue shopping. Sometimes you'll have a committed player mess up in school or in a disciplinary way, and get released, and then money is back in play.
There's still plenty of openings out there in the spring, and indeed some opportunities persist through the summer, even at the very last minute (after the Aug. 15 draft signing deadline, for example).
We'd all like to be able to rest easy, but the fact is it's only been a few years since November eclipsed April as the major signing period for baseball. There's still plenty going on right now.
Used to be only the big guys had big November classes. Now that's the norm. But a lot of teams don't get everyone they wanted in November, and they continue shopping. Sometimes you'll have a committed player mess up in school or in a disciplinary way, and get released, and then money is back in play.
There's still plenty of openings out there in the spring, and indeed some opportunities persist through the summer, even at the very last minute (after the Aug. 15 draft signing deadline, for example).
We'd all like to be able to rest easy, but the fact is it's only been a few years since November eclipsed April as the major signing period for baseball. There's still plenty going on right now.
Congratulations to Clay Keranen, Courtland HS RHP/SS, on his commitment to Florence-Darlington (SC) Technical College, where he will play for the NJCAA Division I Stingers!
Clay is our 7th Virginia Cardinals 2011 to commit to a collegiate program, and our 8th player to date from our first year in operation.
Clay is our 7th Virginia Cardinals 2011 to commit to a collegiate program, and our 8th player to date from our first year in operation.
Congratulations to Brendan Jones, Clover Hill OF, who has committed to attend the University of Mary Washington and play for the Eagles next year!
Brendan becomes the 8th 2011 player from our Virginia Cardinals squad to earn a commitment to continue playing in college, and our 9th player overall, as we near the one-year mark of our existence.
Brendan becomes the 8th 2011 player from our Virginia Cardinals squad to earn a commitment to continue playing in college, and our 9th player overall, as we near the one-year mark of our existence.