Thursday, Feb. 4 was National Signing Day. Held at 8:45 a.m. in the fieldhouse, coaches from various colleges signed players to their teams in almost every sport.
After scouting players throughout the year, the recruiters finalized the future college athletes that would be given the opportunity to join their team. This year, a total of 12 students were granted the opportunity to pursue their sport during college.
For some athletes, the signing process began early during their high school career when college coaches began looking for skilled players.
“I was signed to Baylor University for golf,” Austin Cotton ‘15 said. “It started during my sophomore year when I started talking to Baylor. Then I committed October 25 of my junior year, and signed early in November of my senior year.”
Others’ talents were noticed through their participation in club sports outside of school.
“About a year ago in last October, the soccer coach for the University of Texas at Dallas saw me play at a showcase for my club team, and he emailed me saying he liked some of the things I could do,” Kris Vrudhula ‘15 said.
After keeping in touch for multiple years, and with the help of the school coaches and Coach Framsy, Vrudhula was able to commit to UT Dallas.
All students interested in being signed shared a common drive to make themselves noticed by the athletic directors.
“The process for me involved a lot of emailing,” Angela Yu ‘15 said. “I had to contact the coaches first, and make the effort to do it because I knew that the chance of them stopping by and watching me was one in a million.”
Regardless of the process, all the athletes were able to make their participation in college sports official on Signing Day.
“I am very happy to being going to Baylor. That is my number one school,” Cotton said. “My dad played golf there and it is a great program. I don’t want anything different.”
In addition to playing their designated sport in college, academics was a key component in scholarship opportunities as well.
“Because it is D3, none of the scholarships are athletic. But, I did pretty well on my tests, so I should get a decent amount for academics,” Vrudhula said. “And I mean that’s exciting, because it helps my parents, leaving less for them to pay.”
Being given the opportunity to play a sport in college was a dream for many. Signing Day made it possible for a number of students to make that dream a reality.
“I was so relieved when I found out I was being signed to Tufts University for volleyball,” Yu said. “ When I heard that I was accepted I was so relaxed and relieved. It was just a big weight lifted off my chest. Now I can play sports and go through school knowing where I am going and that is just a great feeling.”