According to head baseball coach Brian Kelly, all of the stars aligned for freshman catcher Sam Hunt, allowing him to verbally commit to one of the top baseball programs in the country.

After recruitment from Louisiana State University, Stanford University, University of Arkansas, University of Illinois, University of Kentucky, University of Minnesota and Vanderbilt University, Hunt said he verbally committed to Vanderbilt University March 15.

Hunt said he began attending national tournaments in 2017, and then started visiting schools unofficially. According to Hunt, this decision was made on account of Vanderbilt University’s quality baseball program and high academics.

“When visiting Vanderbilt, I was blown away. It had everything I wanted,” Hunt said. “I wanted to go to the highest baseball school I could attend as well as the best education I could receive. And it was most definitely both.”

According to baseball head coach Brian Kelly, Hunt’s commitment resulted from a combination of valuable athletic characteristics.

“Sam’s projectability is huge. The sound that the ball makes when it comes off of his bat, the mechanics of his swing from the right side and the left side and his body type (are important qualities),” Hunt said. “Body type is huge with D1 colleges and pro-scouts. He has the frame that he’s going to continue growing in to and he has a lot of those specifics.”

Hunt said he decided to commit prior to the beginning of the high school season so he could focus solely on the team.

“I decided to do it before the season so when we’re all in the season it will all be about the team,” Hunt said. “I thought that was the best thing to do.”

Hunt said he thanks his coaches, trainers, friends and family for helping him reach this point in his baseball career.