The first day of the signing period for 2020 graduates is in the books, and with over 100 NLIs and commitment announcements, fans had plenty of excitement throughout the day. Bear in mind that many teams have not yet signed expected recruits, and some haven’t signed any at all. At this point, that’s no reason to panic since the signing period extends all the way until August 1, 2020. Here are some of the biggest stories from day one with the full coverage available on our website.
Elites
World champions Riley McCusker and Morgan Hurd formalized their verbal commitments to Florida, though Hurd will defer until the 2022 season, citing her desire to compete at the 2021 world championships. Shilese Jones has yet to sign with the Gators but is still expected to do so during this period.
Irina Alexeeva (Russia) and Sze En Tan (Singapore) signed with Stanford as expected, along with Czech elite Sandra Janssen who’d previously expressed interest in attending but had not confirmed either her verbal commitment or acceptance (her brother, David Jessen, is a member of Stanford’s men’s team).
Emma Malabuyo signed with UCLA for the 2021 season, a year earlier than anticipated. It is unknown how or even if this will affect Malabuyo’s elite career, but she is expected to attend this month’s national team camp.
Fan favorites (and recently retired elites) Olivia Dunne and Adeline Kenlin signed with LSU and Iowa, respectively.
Perhaps the biggest story from Wednesday is Victoria Nguyen signing with Georgia despite no prior verbal commitment. Speculation was rife after Nguyen was recently spotted in Athens on a visit, but there was no official word that she would be joining the team until now.
What Else?
Along with Hurd and McCusker, Legacy Elite’s Eliana Lazzari, who won the all around, beam and floor at this year’s J.O. nationals, signed with Florida. Lazzari will graduate early and join the Gators for the 2021 season. Likewise, two-time J.O.
In addition to signing Amaya Marshall and Kyra Burns for the 2021 season, Missouri announced Kambrie Brandt will be joining the team for 2020. Brandt is top-notch on vault and bars and should contribute regularly upon her arrival in Columbia.
Nicole Wojick, younger sister of Michigan standout Natalie, signed on with Lindenwood.
One of the biggest question marks remains Carina Jordan, a level 10 bars standout from World Champions Centre who made waves earlier this year by changing her verbal commitment from Florida to Utah, and then continuing to visit other teams (N.C. State and Georgia among them). As yet, she remains unsigned.
Article by Rebecca Scally and Claire Billman
Like what you see? Consider donating to support our efforts throughout the year! [wpedon id=”13158″]
Malabuyo accelerating her schedule would seem to create a scholarship logjam for the Bruins and UCLA has not issued a press release on their signing day haul yet.
Anyone have any indication whether UCLA’s 2021 class will remain intact?