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Post by eyeroll2021 on Feb 1, 2023 14:00:54 GMT -5
Since there's been a bit too much nonsense (for my taste) being posted on the Texas Volleyball thread the last couple of days, let's discuss Macaria Spears. Could she be someone who re-classifies from the class of 2025 to the class of 2024 (ala Logan Eggleston)? I get the feeling re-classifying could be on the uptick (across several women's sports) due to NIL. Being the daughter of a former NFL player, I don't necessarily think NIL would be the driving force for Cari to graduate high school one year early; but, from a development and competition standpoint, playing/practicing the 2024 season against college players instead of high school players could be a valid reason for the early jump. She's more than held her own against the elite 2023 and 2024 players in club ball. If she remains 2025, when is the earliest she can be formally offered a scholarship (August 2023?) and verbally (publicly) commit to a school? There's no point reclassifying if you're going to sit or be redshirted. Texas currently has so much depth it just wouldn't make sense IMO. Whereas in Logan's case, the unexpected transfer of She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Smirched left a real opening on the team. For Mendelson (who is the only other recent reclassification who comes to mind), I think it was driven by the timing of the bball opportunity and also a question mark for Nebraska at MB. |
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Post by slxpress on Feb 1, 2023 14:12:06 GMT -5
Since there's been a bit too much nonsense (for my taste) being posted on the Texas Volleyball thread the last couple of days, let's discuss Macaria Spears. Could she be someone who re-classifies from the class of 2025 to the class of 2024 (ala Logan Eggleston)? I get the feeling re-classifying could be on the uptick (across several women's sports) due to NIL. Being the daughter of a former NFL player, I don't necessarily think NIL would be the driving force for Cari to graduate high school one year early; but, from a development and competition standpoint, playing/practicing the 2024 season against college players instead of high school players could be a valid reason for the early jump. She's more than held her own against the elite 2023 and 2024 players in club ball. If she remains 2025, when is the earliest she can be formally offered a scholarship (August 2023?) and verbally (publicly) commit to a school? There's no point reclassifying if you're going to sit or be redshirted. Texas currently has so much depth it just wouldn't make sense IMO. Whereas in Logan's case, the unexpected transfer of She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Smirched left a real opening on the team. For Mendelson (who is the only other recent reclassification who comes to mind), I think it was driven by the timing of the bball opportunity and also a question mark for Nebraska at MB. This is an aside to your point, so I don’t want to sound like I’m arguing with you, because I’m not. But you mentioning the word redshirt reminds me I think Spears is going to be the rare player we end up not redshirting as a middle blocker if she ends up coming to Texas. She sounds like a day one starter regardless of who else is on campus. |
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Post by eyeroll2021 on Feb 1, 2023 14:40:10 GMT -5
There's no point reclassifying if you're going to sit or be redshirted. Texas currently has so much depth it just wouldn't make sense IMO. Whereas in Logan's case, the unexpected transfer of She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Smirched left a real opening on the team. For Mendelson (who is the only other recent reclassification who comes to mind), I think it was driven by the timing of the bball opportunity and also a question mark for Nebraska at MB. This is an aside to your point, so I don’t want to sound like I’m arguing with you, because I’m not. But you mentioning the word redshirt reminds me I think Spears is going to be the rare player we end up not redshirting as a middle blocker if she ends up coming to Texas. She sounds like a day one starter regardless of who else is on campus. IDK, would she be playing OH or MB? To start at MB in '24, she would have to beat two out of three: Singletary / Byrd / Bunton, who will have between 24-12months of collegiate experience in one of the toughest gyms in the country. That seems like a tall order - none them are exactly slouches. At OH, she might have a better chance. But I assume one of those spots is going to be held by Madi Skinner (who IMO is about as close to a guaranteed starting spot as you can be at TX) and the other by either by one of Wenaas, Kahahawai, Helmers, and Byrd. Discounting Tomkinson because she's RS/lefty. Assuming no transfers, of course. Maybe that's not a safe assumption in this day and age though. |
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Post by stevehorn on Feb 1, 2023 14:41:52 GMT -5
June 15. No contact unless you're Kelly Sheffield until then. It would be impossible to regulate verbal commitments. There's nothing to regulate. That's a free speech issue. She could verbally commit to Texas (or Wisconsin) right now and no one could stop her. Especially not the NCAA. But she'd be committing without actually receiving an offer first. Doable, but entirely unrealistic. But the first time she could sign a letter of intent to officially signal her commitment would be mid November of her senior year. For players who enroll a year early, their enrollment is their official signal. As you well know, and has certainly been discussed with great frequency, volleyball as a sport honors verbal commitments in a way other sports do not, so I assume once she gives a verbal commitment it's pretty much done unless something changes at her school of choice. So after June 15 things begin in earnest, for Spears and the rest of the 2025 class. A lot of commitments occur pretty much right away. No way to really know if Spears will go down that route or go through the process some. It sure sounds like Texas is in really good shape on this one. I'm excited at the potential of her commitment, that's for sure. June rings a bell. Thanks. I think the August 2023 date I was thinking of is when 2025 recruits can first begin making official visits. If she formally re-classifies (acknowledge as a senior by her high school come August 2024), then she could sign her LOI in November 2024, I believe. If she were to formally reclassify to a 2024, she would sign her LOI in November 2023 as she would already be in college in August 2024. |
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Post by uofaGRAD on Feb 1, 2023 14:44:34 GMT -5
This is an aside to your point, so I don’t want to sound like I’m arguing with you, because I’m not. But you mentioning the word redshirt reminds me I think Spears is going to be the rare player we end up not redshirting as a middle blocker if she ends up coming to Texas. She sounds like a day one starter regardless of who else is on campus. IDK, would she be playing OH or MB? To start at MB in '24, she would have to beat out two out of three: Singletary / Byrd / Bunton, who will have between 24-12months of collegiate experience in one of the toughest gyms in the country. That seems like a tall order - none them are exactly slouches. Spears is like 100% a pin I thought?? |
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Post by horns1 on Feb 1, 2023 14:54:16 GMT -5
Since there's been a bit too much nonsense (for my taste) being posted on the Texas Volleyball thread the last couple of days, let's discuss Macaria Spears. Could she be someone who re-classifies from the class of 2025 to the class of 2024 (ala Logan Eggleston)? I get the feeling re-classifying could be on the uptick (across several women's sports) due to NIL. Being the daughter of a former NFL player, I don't necessarily think NIL would be the driving force for Cari to graduate high school one year early; but, from a development and competition standpoint, playing/practicing the 2024 season against college players instead of high school players could be a valid reason for the early jump. She's more than held her own against the elite 2023 and 2024 players in club ball. If she remains 2025, when is the earliest she can be formally offered a scholarship (August 2023?) and verbally (publicly) commit to a school? Texas currently has so much depth it just wouldn't make sense IMO. Whereas in Logan's case, the unexpected transfer of She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Smirched left a real opening on the team. For Mendelson (who is the only other recent reclassification who comes to mind), I think it was driven by the timing of the bball opportunity and also a question mark for Nebraska at MB. I don't think that's necessarily true. She and her family might believe her development would be better accelerated in a college practice gym than playing and practicing with/against high school players, many of whom are younger than her and not as physically gifted/developed. The fact that she was only one of two 2025 kids who made the USA U19 team this past summer, and the only sophomore who I can remember being named Texas Gatorade POY this past Fall speaks volumes as to how advanced she is for her age. No guarantee the pin hitters on the 2023 roster would also still be around on the 2024 roster. For all we know, Wenaas and Skinner might not be planning on using their COVID super senior season. |
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Post by anOPINionATEDbeACH(hookemboo) on Feb 1, 2023 19:04:11 GMT -5
IDK, would she be playing OH or MB? To start at MB in '24, she would have to beat out two out of three: Singletary / Byrd / Bunton, who will have between 24-12months of collegiate experience in one of the toughest gyms in the country. That seems like a tall order - none them are exactly slouches. Spears is like 100% a pin I thought?? Correct |
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Post by stevehorn on Feb 2, 2023 9:16:46 GMT -5
There's no point reclassifying if you're going to sit or be redshirted. Texas currently has so much depth it just wouldn't make sense IMO. Whereas in Logan's case, the unexpected transfer of She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Smirched left a real opening on the team. For Mendelson (who is the only other recent reclassification who comes to mind), I think it was driven by the timing of the bball opportunity and also a question mark for Nebraska at MB. I don't think that's necessarily true. She and her family might believe her development would be better accelerated in a college practice gym than playing and practicing with/against high school players, many of whom are younger than her and not as physically gifted/developed. The fact that she was only one of two 2025 kids who made the USA U19 team this past summer, and the only sophomore who I can remember being named Texas Gatorade POY this past Fall speaks volumes as to how advanced she is for her age. No guarantee the pin hitters on the 2023 roster would also still be around on the 2024 roster. For all we know, Wenaas and Skinner might not be planning on using their COVID super senior season. Is your focus on her possibly reclassifying based on just personal speculation or are you actually hearing rumors of such? |
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Post by horns1 on Feb 2, 2023 9:57:04 GMT -5
I don't think that's necessarily true. She and her family might believe her development would be better accelerated in a college practice gym than playing and practicing with/against high school players, many of whom are younger than her and not as physically gifted/developed. The fact that she was only one of two 2025 kids who made the USA U19 team this past summer, and the only sophomore who I can remember being named Texas Gatorade POY this past Fall speaks volumes as to how advanced she is for her age. No guarantee the pin hitters on the 2023 roster would also still be around on the 2024 roster. For all we know, Wenaas and Skinner might not be planning on using their COVID super senior season. Is your focus on her possibly reclassifying based on just personal speculation or are you actually hearing rumors of such? Pure speculation and wishful thinking. Re-classifying has started (in small numbers) for women's hoopsters over the last couple of years. It has happened in football (QB Quinn Ewers) in much bigger numbers. And, while I do think NIL is the driving force, there are some elite athletes who want to speed up their development and career paths to a pro career. |
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Post by stevehorn on Feb 2, 2023 12:28:29 GMT -5
Is your focus on her possibly reclassifying based on just personal speculation or are you actually hearing rumors of such? Pure speculation and wishful thinking. Re-classifying has started (in small numbers) for women's hoopsters over the last couple of years. It has happened in football (QB Quinn Ewers) in much bigger numbers. And, while I do think NIL is the driving force, there are some elite athletes who want to speed up their development and career paths to a pro career. I would say check her age. Among the few athletes where I was aware that they reclassified (or considered it), it seems like the majority are kids that were held back a year and thus reclassified back to their normal age class. |
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Post by horns1 on Feb 2, 2023 12:37:36 GMT -5
Pure speculation and wishful thinking. Re-classifying has started (in small numbers) for women's hoopsters over the last couple of years. It has happened in football (QB Quinn Ewers) in much bigger numbers. And, while I do think NIL is the driving force, there are some elite athletes who want to speed up their development and career paths to a pro career. I would say check her age. Among the few athletes where I was aware that they reclassified (or considered it), it seems like the majority are kids that were held back a year and thus reclassified back to their normal age class. While age may have been a factor some, we know it wasn't for Logan Eggleston; her motivation appeared to be the opportunity to play early. And, it wasn't for Quinn Ewers; his was all about NIL while heading to Ohio State. Conversely, Texas women's hoops had its first ever early enrollee from local product, Gisella Maul of Cedar Park. Gisella was going to be a typical class of 2023 May graduate, but she tore her ACL this past summer. She and her family made the decision that she would graduate high school in December, and enroll at Texas in January. Their motivation was that since she couldn't play basketball her senior season (where her team was a 2-time defending State champion), she would get better rehab and medical treatment in college; plus, that will allow her to be part of the team and getting acclimated to college life a semester early. She even gets to rehab with two other teammates who suffered recent ACL injuries and are not playing this season. So, not necessarily someone who had to reclassify (I don't think), but it shows a completely different reason for graduating high school early. |
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Post by stevehorn on Feb 2, 2023 14:11:39 GMT -5
I would say check her age. Among the few athletes where I was aware that they reclassified (or considered it), it seems like the majority are kids that were held back a year and thus reclassified back to their normal age class. While age may have been a factor some, we know it wasn't for Logan Eggleston; her motivation appeared to be the opportunity to play early. And, it wasn't for Quinn Ewers; his was all about NIL while heading to Ohio State. Conversely, Texas women's hoops had its first ever early enrollee from local product, Gisella Maul of Cedar Park. Gisella was going to be a typical class of 2023 May graduate, but she tore her ACL this past summer. She and her family made the decision that she would graduate high school in December, and enroll at Texas in January. Their motivation was that since she couldn't play basketball her senior season (where her team was a 2-time defending State champion), she would get better rehab and medical treatment in college; plus, that will allow her to be part of the team and getting acclimated to college life a semester early. She even gets to rehab with two other teammates who suffered recent ACL injuries and are not playing this season. So, not necessarily someone who had to reclassify (I don't think), but it shows a completely different reason for graduating high school early. I'm not sure why Maul is relevant to this discussion. The discussion is reclassification, not early enrollees. Basketball (and spring sports) typically don't have early enrollees as that means they must miss all or part of their senior high school season. |
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Post by widdledumpling on Feb 2, 2023 15:40:02 GMT -5
I worry a bit that we’re putting too much hype on Spears. The last player with that much hype to go to Texas will…remain nameless, but we all know how that turned out. At this point Spears being just a very good player but not the best would be a letdown—and there are a lot of amazing talents every class
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Post by horns1 on Feb 2, 2023 16:37:35 GMT -5
While age may have been a factor some, we know it wasn't for Logan Eggleston; her motivation appeared to be the opportunity to play early. And, it wasn't for Quinn Ewers; his was all about NIL while heading to Ohio State. Conversely, Texas women's hoops had its first ever early enrollee from local product, Gisella Maul of Cedar Park. Gisella was going to be a typical class of 2023 May graduate, but she tore her ACL this past summer. She and her family made the decision that she would graduate high school in December, and enroll at Texas in January. Their motivation was that since she couldn't play basketball her senior season (where her team was a 2-time defending State champion), she would get better rehab and medical treatment in college; plus, that will allow her to be part of the team and getting acclimated to college life a semester early. She even gets to rehab with two other teammates who suffered recent ACL injuries and are not playing this season. So, not necessarily someone who had to reclassify (I don't think), but it shows a completely different reason for graduating high school early. I'm not sure why Maul is relevant to this discussion. The discussion is reclassification, not early enrollees. Basketball (and spring sports) typically don't have early enrollees as that means they must miss all or part of their senior high school season. I started the discussion, so I can post what I believe is "relevant". I acknowledged in the quoted post that Maul didn't reclassify. It's relevant because there was an unexpected event which caused her to change her college entry timeline. That's my point. One of the greatest early Spring enrollees in Texas Longhorns sports history was Destinee Hooker. She gave up her senior year of high jumping to enroll at Texas one semester early. 2-3 months later she's winning 3rd place in the NCAA Indoor High Jump Championship; 3 months after that, she's crowned the NCAA Outdoor High Jump Champion. |
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Post by huskerjen on Feb 2, 2023 16:58:23 GMT -5
I worry a bit that we’re putting too much hype on Spears. The last player with that much hype to go to Texas will…remain nameless, but we all know how that turned out. At this point Spears being just a very good player but not the best would be a letdown—and there are a lot of amazing talents every class I was going to say the same. I'm not throwing shade at her, and would be excited if she were to play for Nebraska, but if you watch her videos, I don't see an all-world once-in-a-generation player. Nor do I see one trait that is heads and shoulders above her peers, e.g. Plummer's hitting power, Butler's approach/block touch height, etc. I see a big, athletic, and talented, sophomore who still needs to develop quite a bit. That said, her potential is certainly exciting. |
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