Future Bruins: The Journey To Division I Baseball

High School Juniors verbally committed to Belmont last November, marking the question: how fast can a cub become a Bruin?

Last December, Belmont Baseball announced a signing class of seven players, but the program’s future expands further upon those names alone with the baseball program with juniors making their verbal commitments. 

According to Perfect Game, one of the nations top scouting and recruiting services for amateur baseball, there are more than just seniors looking to be a Bruin. 

Several juniors have made a verbal commitment to Belmont from their website. 

Chase Farmer, Patrick Freeman, Bryson Germanenko, Jackson Goddard, Conor Gray, and Owen McMahan are the list of juniors who have made a verbal commitment to the program. 

Germanenko is a Junior Catcher from North Forsyth High School in Cumming, Georgia, who made his verbal commitment to Belmont this past November.  

Germanenko did not start looking for schools until his sophomore year. 

“Mainly I wanted to get my feet in the water in terms of recruiting but nothing really sparked. The more important schools came when I actually was able to get recruited my junior year,” Germanenko said.

 Although a verbal commitment can remove the weight off the shoulders of families who have been searching endlessly for the school to suit their kid, the practice of committing early is polarizing. 

The NCAA has a rule in place that was set back in 2019 for baseball recruiters where coaches can not have any contact with prospects until Aug. 1 of their junior year. 

“I honestly kind of like it…I think I would have committed prematurely, and I was just committing to commit rather than committing to a school that matched everything that I needed.” Germanenko said.

The NCAA had set a new rule for the 2025-2026 baseball season shortening the roster limit from 40 to 34. Those who committed early got the short end of the stick. 

“I know of a guy who committed in eighth grade, he committed to LSU, and he actually decommitted this year his junior year, because of the whole roster thing,” Germanenko said.

Germanenko did not go on this journey alone as he got help from the Director of Recruiting Student Athletes Mike Ewing.

Ewing first met with Germanenko in his sophomore year. In their first initial meeting Germanenko was just looking to play college baseball whether that was Division I, Division II, or Junior College. 

“I knew he was talented enough to play, maybe not at Vanderbilt or UT, but at a smaller division one. So that's where I really targeted the schools that I was reaching out to,” Ewing said.

With the way the NCAA baseball recruiting rules are, verbally committing in an athlete’s junior year does not go against any code but it is criticized.

“I'm not overly excited about it,” Ewing said. 

When players decide to verbally commit, Ewing instructs them to inform other schools about their decision and to stop contacting schools after posting their commitment. 

“I tell them, ‘Would you ever ask a girl to marry you and put a ring on her finger, but then keep dating other girls?’” Ewing said. 

Ewing also worked with Pitcher Brady Holbrook, another North Forsyth player, who is a part of the 2025 signing class. 

Holbrook officially signed to Belmont this past November but verbally committed to the school his junior year like Germanenko.

 “I think if you know it’s the one you should commit. But you shouldn’t commit just because you’re excited because it’s the first one. It’s something you need to go over with your parents and really think about it because it’s a huge decision,” said Holbrook in a text thread.

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This article was written by Reece Leddy