CHSAANow

Category: Recruiting

  • Cherry Creek WR Joseph Parker commits to Wyoming

    (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
    Joseph Parker (3) has committed to Wyoming for football. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

    Joseph Parker, a senior wide receiver at Cherry Creek, announced on Twitter late Sunday night that he has committed to Wyoming:

    He becomes the second member from the Class of 2015 to commit to Wyoming’s football program, joining Gateway linebacker Kevin Prosser.

    Cherry Creek Jordan (Utah) football
    Cherry Creek senior Joseph Parker. (Tim Visser/TimVisserPhotography.com)

    According to the Wyoming Star-Tribune, it was his friendship with former Grandview wideout Tanner Gentry, who is now starting for the Cowboys, that helped him commit.

    “I told him I got offered, and he was saying, ‘Commit! Commit! Commit! Commit! Commit!’ He was just being Tanner,” Parker told the paper. “But it’d be really cool to probably in the future play with Tanner.”

    He was also impressed by Wyoming’s staff, led by new first-year Craig Bohl.

    “When you look into their eyes and meet them, you can tell that they really care about you and they want you and they want you to succeed, and they know how to succeed … The coaching staff was probably the biggest reason why I committed,” he told the Star-Tribune.

    Through Cherry Creek’s first three games, Parker has a team-high nine receptions for 136 yards and a touchdown. He also has one rush for 64 yards, and handles the team’s punt returns (four for 79 yards).

    He also had offers from Colorado State and Northern Colorado, according to his Rivals.com profile. His Hudl profile lists his 40-yard dash at 4.4 seconds.

    Parker also runs track, and qualified for the 100-meter dash at last spring’s Class 5A state meet.

    He is the 12th member of the 2015 class to commit to a Division I (FBS) school. Last year’s class produced 31 FBS players, and another 16 who signed with Division I (FCS) programs.

  • Cherry Creek’s Cody Wood commits to New Mexico for baseball

    Cherry Creek Chatfield baseball
    Cherry Creek’s Cody Wood. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

    Cherry Creek baseball’s Cody Wood has committed to New Mexico, he tweeted on Thursday.

    Wood, a 6-foot-3, 175-pound right-handed pitcher, went 5-1 with a 3.29 ERA last season in nine appearances last season. According to Cherry Creek baseball’s website, he had Tommy John surgery two months ago.

    He’ll continue the Colorado tradition with the Lobos, who had four products of local high schools on their roster last season — including 2013 Cherry Creek grad Lane Milligan. And five members of Colorado’s 2014 class signed with New Mexico.

    Wood becomes the seventh known local baseball player from the 2015 class to announce his college plans. Others include Legacy catcher Wyatt Cross (North Carolina), Highlands Ranch shortstop Nicholas Shumpert (Kentucky) and Douglas County left-handed pitcher Ryan Connolly (Nebraska).

  • A-West’s Thomas Neff commits to DU for basketball

    Chatfield Arvada West boys basketball
    Arvada West senior Thomas Neff, right. (Dennis Pleuss)

    Arvada West senior Thomas Neff, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard, has committed to the University of Denver’s men’s basketball program.

    He tweeted the news on Friday:

    Neff averaged 19.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists last season as the Wildcats went 15-10 and advanced to the second round of the Class 5A state tournament.

    He also had an offer from Air Force, according to his Rivals.com profile.

    Neff becomes the third known local boys basketball player of the 2015 class to commit to a college. He will join Chaparral small forward Jake Holtzmann at DU. Overland point guard Austin Conway has also committed to Wyoming.

    DU went 16-15 under coach Joe Scott last season. Next season, the Pioneers will have five local products on their roster, including 2014 Mountain Vista graduate Jake Pemberton.

  • Heritage lineman Frank Umu commits to Colorado State for football

    (Pam Wagner)
    Heritage’s Frank Umu (77) has committed to play football at Colorado State. (Pam Wagner)

    Heritage lineman Frank Umu has committed to Colorado State, according Matt McChesney on Twitter.

    Umu, a 6-foot-5, 267-pound senior, had 65 total tackles last season. He also forced a fumble, recovered another and blocked a field goal last season. Umu played on the offensive line, as well.

    McChesney, owner of Six Zero Strength & Fitness in Centennial, trains Umu — among many other Colorado athletes. He posted the news Wednesday afternoon:

    The commitment was later confirmed by confirmed by GoldandGreenNews.com, which reported that the Rams hadn’t settled on a position for Umu yet.

    Umu also had offers from Eastern Washington and Weber State, according to Rivals.com.

    The Rams offered Umu last Thursday. At the time, he told GoldandGreenNews.com that “it was such a great feeling.”

    Umu is the tenth player from the Class of 2015 to commit, and third to pledge to CSU. He follows Rocky Mountain offensive lineman Salofi Gaoa and Bear Creek athlete Olabisi Johnson in joining the Rams’ recruiting class.

    Heritage congratulated Umu late Wednesday on Instagram:

  • Centaurus’ Mike DeVries commits to play football at Air Force

    Colorado’s in-state football programs are off to a good start with the 2015 class.

    Air Force added its first local recruit from the class when defensive lineman Mike DeVries of Centaurus committed to the Falcons this weekend, according to Paul Willis of BoCoPreps.com. It means all three Division I (FBS) football schools in Colorado already have local commits this cycle.

    The 6-foot-2, 250-pound DeVries had 23 tackles, including seven for a loss, one sack and 12 hurries last season. He also had an interception, caused a fumble and recovered another for Centaurus, which went 2-7 in Class 3A last year.

    DeVries, who also played on the offensive line for the Warriors last season, runs a 4.84 40-yard dash according to his Hudl profile.

    He was also a forward for the Warriors’ basketball team, and averaged 7.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game last season.

    The in-state colleges are picking up where they left off last cycle. Colorado State had six local recruits in the 2014 class, while Air Force and Colorado both had five.

    Colorado has three known local pledges thus far in 2015, while Colorado State has two. Find a complete list of 2015 football recruits in our database.

    Including DeVries, nine senior football players have already made their college choices.

  • Fairview’s Cameron Frazier headed to Oklahoma for baseball

    Fairview Arvada West baseball
    Fairview shortstop Cameron Frazier (3) is headed to Oklahoma to play baseball. (Dennis Pleuss)

    Fairview athlete Cameron Frazier has committed to Oklahoma to play baseball, he announced on Twitter on Saturday.

    A first-team all-state selection in both football and baseball, Frazier was among 2014’s top athletes.

    Frazier, who graduated in May, played shortstop, outfield and pitched for the Knights. He had planned on heading to San Jacinto Community College in Texas, but will instead play for the Sooners.

    Oklahoma had been scouting Frazier at Fairview’s summer baseball games in recent days.

    In pledging to the Sooners, Frazier becomes the 47th member of the Class of 2014 to commit to play Division I baseball. That is believed to be the most in state history from one class.

    Frazier hit .500 with four home runs and 25 RBI during his senior season this spring. He also stole 12 bases. This summer, during club and Legion baseball, he became one of Fairview’s go-to arms on the mound.

    Frazier was a key member of the Knights’ football team which reached the Class 5A championship game last fall. A wide receiver, defensive back and returner, he had 20 total touchdowns.

  • Rocky Mountain OL Salofi Gaoa commits to Colorado State

    Colorado State football has another in-state commitment.

    The Fort Collins Coloradoan reported on Tuesday that Rocky Mountain offensive lineman Salofi Gaoa committed to the Rams. Gaoa told GoldandGreenNews.com that he committed last Thursday.

    Gaoa joins Bear Creek’s Olabisi Johnson, who pledged on Friday, in the Rams’ 2015 class.

    At 6-foot-6 and 274 pounds, Gaoa is a big body at tackle for Rocky Mountain. The senior-to-be helped the Lobos to a 5-5 record last season.

    He’s the second Division I commit from Rocky Mountain’s football team this season. Punter/kicker Alex Kinney has committed to Colorado, meaning the two will be teammates as seniors, but rivals as college freshmen.

    Gaoa’s addition means there are now eight Division I recruits in Colorado’s 2015 class thus far. Colorado has three of those commits, CSU and Nebraska each have two, and Wyoming has one.

  • Bear Creek’s Olabisi Johnson commits to Colorado State for football

    (Cynthia Betancourt/MaxPreps)
    (Cynthia Betancourt/MaxPreps)

    Bear Creek athlete Olabisi Johnson committed to Colorado State to play football on Friday night, according to various reports.

    (Derek Regensburger/MaxPreps)
    (Derek Regensburger/MaxPreps)

    The 6-foot-1, 186-pound Johnson will be a senior this fall. His commitment was reported by GoldandGreenNews.com, PrepColorado.com and The Fort Collins Coloradoan.

    “They’re a really cool coaching staff, and I know they’re turning the program around up there,” Johnson told the Coloradoan.

    He is the first in-stater from the class of 2015 to commit to CSU. Colorado has three in-state commits so far this cycle: Rocky Mountain’s Alex Kinney, Regis Jesuit’s Tim Lynott and Pomona’s Dillon Middlemiss.

    Johnson becomes the seventh in-state commit from the class. Gateway’s Kevin Prosser is headed to Wyoming, and Nebraska has two defensive backs in Pine Creek’s Avery Anderson and Valor Christian’s Eric Lee.

    Johnson is the reigning champion in the Class 5A 110-meter hurdles, winning in 14.34. He also finished seventh in the 300 hurdles, and was tenth in the pole vault. And he was a finalist for both hurdle events as a sophomore.

    It all adds up to one thing: Johnson is a well-rounded athlete — with some speed. He lists his 40-yard dash time as 4.46 seconds on his Hudl profile.

    Johnson played receiver and defensive back for the Bears last season. He caught 19 passes for 219 yards and three touchdowns, and also had a rushing touchdown. On defense, he made 68 tackles, and had one interception and forced a fumble.

    (Lance Wendt/MaxPreps)
    (Lance Wendt/MaxPreps)

    He was also Bear Creek’s returner, and returned two kickoffs for scores: one for 93 yards against Green Mountain, another for 96 against Chatfield.

    Johnson told GoldandGreenNews.com that the Rams were recruiting him as a receiver.

    “They like my speed and also they say they can see me at like a safety or something because they like my aggressiveness on the field,” Johnson told the site.

    He picked CSU over an offer from Army, according to his Rivals profile. Cornell, Wyoming and Yale were also showing interest.

    Johnson will join 2012 Bear Creek grad Jake Bennett, an offensive lineman, at Colorado State.

    Bear Creek went 3-7 in its second year under coach Zach Morris last season.

  • Broomfield’s Callie Kaiser commits to CSU for basketball

    Broomfield Holy Family girls basketball
    Callie Kaiser has committed to Colorado State to play basketball. (Pam Wagner)

    Broomfield senior-to-be Callie Kaiser has committed to Colorado State to play basketball, according to her club team.

    Kaiser, a 5-foot-10 wing/post, was a key part of Broomfield’s 27-1 season in 2013-14 in which the Eagles finished runner-up to Mesa Ridge. She averaged 14.3, 7.2 points, 3.4 steals and 2.5 assist per game.

    Kaiser plays club basketball for BC Denver, and the club tweeted on Wednesday morning that she was headed to CSU:

    The Rams have just one other Colorado product on their roster right now: 2014 Poudre graduate Myanne Hamm.

    Kaiser is the second known in-state girls basketball commitment from the 2015 class. Fairview’s Annika Lai, who also plays for BC Denver, is headed to Montana State. (Find other 2015 commitments in our database.)

    Broomfield Pueblo East girls basketball
    Callie Kaiser, pictured during a game against Pueblo East last season. (Pam Wagner)

    Last year’s class eventually sent 49 girls to play college basketball, including 18 to Division I schools.

    Kaiser has played varsity basketball for Broomfield since she was a freshman, but really emerged as a sophomore when she averaged 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game.

    She only continued her development last season, and was named first team all-state in Class 4A by CHSAANow. She was the lone non-senior to make the first team.

    Kaiser also plays for the Eagles’ volleyball team as an outside hitter, and actually led the team in kills (4.0 per set) and digs (3.1) last season.

  • Longmont’s Sydney Wetterstrom commits to Michigan for volleyball

    Sydney Wetterstrom Longmont volleyball
    Sydney Wetterstrom. (Matt Daniels/MaxPreps)

    Sydney Wetterstrom, one of the state’s top all-around athletes in the class of 2016, has committed to Michigan to play volleyball.

    Wetterstrom, who will be a junior at Longmont this fall, tweeted the news of her commitment on Tuesday afternoon:

    Sydney Wetterstrom Longmont volleyball
    Sydney Wetterstrom. (Matt Daniels/MaxPreps)

    She’s the fourth known local volleyball player from the 2016 class to make her college choice.

    Conifer’s Makenna Browne is headed to Oregon State, Lewis-Palmer’s Mariah Evans pledged to North Carolina and Brighton’s Karysa Swackenberg committed to Rutgers. (Find other class of 2016 commits in our database.)

    Last season, Wetterstrom averaged 2.4 kills and 1.9 digs per set, and also had 39 total aces. At 6-foot-1, Wetterstrom plays on both the outside and in the middle — she had a team-high 1.0 blocks per set.

    Longmont reached the Class 4A state tournament last season, where it went 1-1 in pool play.

    Wetterstrom also plays basketball, where she averaged a team-high 17.4 points per game as a forward, and runs track. She was second in the triple jump at the 4A state track meet last spring, and also qualified for the meet in the high jump.