Sorting Recruits

A note at the bottom of a post on an October posting in the New Hampshire Football Report, and the header on a mid-December YouTube highlight video both indicate that Chai Reece – who prepped this year at Loomis Chaffee after playing at Ivy League breeding ground Loyola of California – is a "Dartmouth Commit." It's a little curious that try as I might, I haven't yet been able to find confirmation from any other sources, so he's not included in the list of recruits below.

The 6-foot, 175-pound Reece had five interceptions in his first three games last fall and eight on the season. He also caught 25 balls for 450 yards and 10 touchdowns while making All-New England offense and defense. This Loomis Chaffee note mentions him being chosen the team MVP and scoring four touchdowns in the Hotchkiss game.

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What follows is a list of players reported to be coming to Dartmouth next fall, broken down by position. Those in italics are confirmed early decision admits with the position Coach Buddy Teevens mentioned for them (keeping in mind that may change, and will in some cases). Positions for the others are educated guesses made from media reports because coaches are not allowed to list or comment on regular-decision admits until formal acceptances go out and all the paperwork is completed in the spring. Alternate positions are included for some. Remember, this is just an educated guess. Heights and weights are also drawn from media reports.

Offense
Jordan Are' , 6-2, 197, QB/Ath (Alief Taylor, Houston)
Cameron Crage, 6-3, 210, QB (St. Andrews School, Boca Raton, Fla. )
Ryan McManus, 5-11, 170, QB/Ath (St. Thomas Academy, Minn.)
Charlie Storey, 6-2, 190, QB (Milton Academy, Essex, Mass.)

Cody Patch, 5-10, 184, RB (Lebanon, N.H.)
Ben Ticknor, 6-2, 205, RB (Milton Academy, Concord, Mass.)

Kirby Schoenthaler , 6-0, 184, WR/QB (Bartlesville, Okla.)
Bo Patterson, 6-1, 185, WR (James Island, SC)

Will Guinee, 6-4, 255, OL (Malden Catholic, Topsfield, Mass.)
Patrick Hand, 6-4, 260 OL (Lawrenceville School, Far Hills, N.J.)
Ben Spiritos, 6-2, 295, OL (Landon, Olney, Fla.)
Scotty Whitmore, 6-5, 300 OL (Klein Collins, Spring, Texas)

Defense
Zack Fowler, 6-2, 235, DL (Southwestern, Pulaski, Ky)
Sean Ronan, 6-3, 260, DT/OL (Boca Raton, Fla.)
Corbin Stall, 6-3, 217, DE/LB (Union, Tulsa, Okla.)
Jeff Winthrop, 6-4, 285, DL (St. Paul's, Roxbury, Conn.)

Steve Dazzo, 6-0, 205, S/QB (Prospect, Ill.)
Bennie Niles, 5-9, 170, DB (Clearwater, Fla.)
Marc Sasso, 6-0, 205, S/RB (Palos Verdes, Calif.)

Riley Lyons, 5-10 175, KsP (Blessed Trinity, Roswell, Ga.)

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A note in the Tampa Tribune's online blog gives an idea about the personal touch that sealed the deal with defensive back Bennie Niles, one of the more ballyhooed recruits:

Although the Big Green lost the game, Niles III said the most impressive part was even 20 minutes before kickoff, Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens sat in his office talking to the Niles. They even spent time with Niles IV following the game.

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It's no secret that the Patriot League is struggling with the issue of giving football scholarships and recently tabled a discussion of the issue for two years. With the fate of the Ivy League's sister conference possibly hanging in the balance, the Colgate Maroon Council has made its position known. From a recap of a Maroon Council statement:

Based on Colgate’s rich history of success on the football field--both past and present, the decision recently rendered by the Patriot League and the overwhelming sentiment of our alumni interested in our football program, the Maroon Council strongly believes that Colgate should move forward with football scholarships.

And ...

The simplest and--we believe best--execution of that decision would be to continue being members of the Patriot League in all other sports (as we are now) but not in football.

Dartmouth opens the 2011 season at home against Colgate in the final game of a lengthy series.

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Dartmouth wasted little time hiring a new women's soccer coach, tapping Stanford assistant Theresa Wagner to replace the departed Angie Hind. Wagner helped Stanford go 70-4-3 during her days at The Farm. She also spent five seasons at the University of San Diego with the Toreros going 15-3-3 and ranking as high as ninth in the nation in her final season. She was head coach of the Cal North Olympic Development Program and played professionally for three years in the WUSA after graduating from Washington.

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Today's Daily Dartmouth has a piece about the uptick in applications at Dartmouth and around the Ivy League. From the story:

This year’s increase in submitted applications to the College — which rose 15.7 percent for the Class of 2015 — reflects a developing trend among higher education institutions, according to David Hawkins, director of public policy and research at the National Association of College Admissions Counseling. Dartmouth experienced the second highest increase in the Ivy League, falling in line with peer schools such as Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania.

Green Alert Take: I could be wrong, but having had one kid go through the process last year and another beginning college tours in a couple of weeks, I think the impact of the "Common Application" is being understated in a lot of analyses. It isn't easy, but it is certainly a lot easier to apply to a bunch of schools.

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And finally, two regular readers sent along a story that is at once heartwrenching and inspiring about a Division III basketball coach. If you've got the time, don't miss this one.