I’ll say this: the portal has changed everything. What we were consistently advised was that kids need to go to a school where they can legitimately compete for playing time from the moment they step on campus. Otherwise, they will be portal victims pretty quickly.
NIU absolutely made him a priority, both in terms of what they said and what they offered. (NCAA baseball programs have 11.7 scholarships to allocate among 32 players, so there can be vast differences in who gets what).
The Power 5 offer was for far less money, and they have a logjam in the MIF.
He’s really excited about NIU, and about trying to be part of building a program. Never say never, but I’d be pretty darn surprised if he changed course.
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What if the bigger programs come calling in a year or so?