Seniors Maisie Arlotto, Chance Legere, and Collin Bosley-Smith claimed their spots on collegiate sports teams on November 13. Students, parents, and coaches gathered in the Wilson atrium to watch them participate in National Signing Day. 

There are many different ways to pursue an athletic career in college. A handful of elite student-athletes receive NCAA Division I offers and scholarships as early as freshman year through the end of their senior year. Division II and III programs extend offers as well, but D3 offers do not include athletic scholarships. In the world of college athletics, any prospect may “verbally commit,” which is a non-binding agreement. However, in D1 and D2 programs, when athletes sign a National Letter of Intent, this finalizes the agreement, meaning neither the recruit nor the coach can change their mind. 

Although the 13th was not the only day for athletes to sign, it was the first, and when most athletes end up signing. Wilson took part in this growing tradition by organizing a small signing ceremony during STEP for the athletes committing at Wilson, and so far three seniors have committed.

Lacrosse player Maisie Arlotto decided to continue her academic and athletic careers at Rhodes College, a D3 college with a competitive women’s lacrosse program in Tennessee. Arlotto began playing lacrosse at eight years old, but “started to think seriously about playing in college once [she] started high school, so [she] joined a club team.” Her decision to play at Rhodes was based upon her search for a small liberal arts school where she could also play lacrosse. Arlotto described her recruiting process as initially “reaching out and emailing the coaches, and then attending recruit weekend.” After her visit, she realized how much she enjoyed the campus and the city, as well as the coach and the team, and soon after she was extended a verbal offer to become a part of the program.

Baseball star Chance Legere will be playing baseball for The Catholic University of America next spring, a close-to-home D3 school in Northeast DC. Legere has dreamed of playing in college ever since he started playing baseball as a kid when he was five. Legere has attended Catholic baseball camps since he was little, and when he saw that they had a showcase, he attended. At the showcase, he was “invited back for an overnight with the team.” This was when the coaches expressed that they would love for him to be an addition to their program, extending him a verbal offer. Legere decided on Catholic because he “loved the campus…[had] a great relationship with the coaches… and had majors [he] was interested in taking.” Finalizing his decision, Legere applied Early Decision.

Baseball player and pitcher, Collin Bosley-Smith, committed to play at Duke University in North Carolina, a D1 school ranked in the top 20 of the NCAA. Bosley-Smith verbally committed to Duke in April of his sophomore year. Attracting other D1 baseball programs as well, Bosley-Smith received interest from the University of Florida and UNC Chapel Hill, with an additional offer from UVA. Bosley-Smith has been playing baseball ever since he was four years old, but playing in college “really became a reality [his] freshman year,” when he began the recruitment process. When he was a freshman he was guided through the recruiting process and taught how to “email coaches and get [his] name out there,” by a senior teammate. After his freshman year, he went to showcases over the summer, and was put into contact with Coach Stephen Barton at Florida by Wilson Coach, James Silk. “Playing for [Barton’s] team in the summer and that helped colleges look at me,” stated Bosley-Smith. He continued working hard his sophomore year, when he began to get scouted. 

In March he received an offer from Duke, and a few weeks later an additional offer from UVA which were two of his top three schools. He chose to commit to Duke because he “likes the coaches a lot,” and he believes it is a competitive, and robust program that has a bright future ahead. Up until November 13, Bosley-Smith could decommit or be de-committed at any time, but after his signing of the National Letter of Intent, he is officially a blue devil.