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Sophomore Star Picks Texas

Although he has not even finished his sophomore season yet, Madison shortstop
Andy McGuire decided to wrap-up his college recruitment early by giving the
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University of Texas a verbal commitment late last week.
Why such an early decision for McGuire who many colleges to pick from? "Texas
has been my dream school for as long as I can remember. I went on an unofficial
visit and absolutely loved it. I committed early because, well, I had that
option so I jumped on it", McGuire told VirginiaPreps.com.
McGuire had interest from a host of schools including Virginia, South
Carolina, Florida, but his ties to Texas allowed him and his family to be
comfortable with an early decision.  Andy's father David explained the
connections to the Lone Star state:  "His mom and three uncles all
graduated from Duncanville High School in the Dallas area and are all big Texas
fans. He was exposed to Texas as a young kid and it made an impression. Ever
since he was in little league it's always been his dream to be a Longhorn but
didn't think it was an option since there are rarely many non-Texans on the
roster."   McGuire was actually born in Morocco and spent his first
four years overseas before we moved to Virginia.
Andy's older brother Ryan  (Class of 2011) will be playing  next
season in Texas for the Odessa College Wranglers (Junior College) and hopes to
either get drafted or transfer to UT to reunite with his brother in 2013.
Madison coach Mark "Pudge" Gjormand told us that he was caught off guard a
little bit by the early commitment, but knew early on that he had a special
player.  "We don't normally start freshmen here at Madison", Gjormand told
VirginiaPreps.com, adding "but last spring we put him in the lineup and he
responded with his best games in our biggest games of the season, something you
would not expect from such a young player.  In all my years here at Madison
we have had some very talented players but none like Andy. He is very mature for
his age, in practice it doesn't matter if D-I coaches are in attendance or not,
he practices the same way, hard, all the time."
"Texas wants him as a shortstop and a late inning closer," Gjormand said.
"Andy is very talented, fast and has such quick hands. He is already very good
defensively and he will become a much better and more aggressive hitter. We want
him to enjoy the progression of becoming a great player."
So far this season McGuire is batting  .350 and as a pitcher he has
recorded a 3-1 record with a 1.20 earned run average.  His fastball already
hits the high 80s.
When not playing for Madison McGuire has played for the Stars and Canes. 
Jeff Petty, General Manager for the Canes had this to say "This has been a dream
of Andy's since he could swing a bat to play for Texas, and now that dream is a
reality. Andy is a special player. There aren't a lot of players that are
sophomores that have the full package in size, speed, arm strength, upper 80's
on the mound, and overall make-up that McGuire brings to the table. We are
excited for Andy, and thrilled to have him in our infield the next two years."
McGuire told us "The early commitment takes a load of pressure off a high
school baseball player. In my next few years at Madison my biggest goal will be
to progress and become the best baseball player and the best young man I can be.
Our team is fortunate to have a great coaching staff and great guys and
hopefully that'll lead us to what we all want, a state championship. "
Related:
Class of 2013 Top 75 Prospects  | 
Class of 2012 "Cream of the Crop"
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