Chad Holbrook serves as the official recruiting coordinator for the North Carolina baseball program.
In the case of Cal Hayes Jr., though, Tar Heel sophomore Daniel Moore might have done just as much work in luring the East Rowan star to Chapel Hill.
Hayes called Holbrook on Tuesday night to deliver the news:After visiting the campuses of South Carolina and North Carolina — and not even taking official trips to dozens of other suitors— Hayes was verbally committing to the Heels.
The decision came easily after Hayes visited the baseball program last weekend.
“They took us out and we had a great time,”Hayes said this morning before heading to school. “I got to meet the players and we got along great.”
Several key factors played into Hayes’ decision. His sister, Andrea, is a junior at UNC, and he said he’s already met several people in Chapel Hill through her. Most importantly, though, nearly everybody on the baseball team seemed to know all about Hayes before he even showed up for his visit.
The culprit?North Rowan graduate and Rowan County American Legion teammate Daniel Moore, who is beginning his sophomore year with the Tar Heels.
“By the time I got down there, Daniel had told all the players about me,”Hayes said. “It was like they knew me.”
Hayes added that the visit to South Carolina was similar to his trip to Chapel Hill, with one notable exception. “I didn’t know anybody, so it was kind of weird.”
Hayes, one of Rowan County’s most storied athletes, has starred for the Mustangs and the Legion team since his freshman year. In only three full seasons of Legion baseball, Hayes already holds the career record for runs scored and tied the mark for hits. The shortstop batted .470 this past summer with 45 stolen bases, leading Rowan to its second straight appearance in the state tournament.
He still has another year of eligibility on the Legion team. Before that, he’ll try to lead Jeff Safrit’s East Rowan High School squad to the state championship.
“Cal just continued to improve ever since he’s been here,”Safrit said. “He works hard, he tries to make himself better, he’s very coachable.
“I think he made a good choice,”added Safrit, who said he distances himself from his players’ college decisions. “I didn’t tell anybody this, but in the back of my mind I felt that was probably where he wanted to go. I remember him when he was young mentioning Carolina, his daddy mentioning Carolina. I felt that might be where he ended up.”
Before Hayes can make it 100-percent official, he must get qualifying scores on either the ACT or SAT. Hayes, who just missed the magic number on his only previous SAT attempt, said he’s taking the ACTon Saturday and will get another crack at the SATin October.
In talking to Holbrook on Tuesday — UNC head coach Mike Fox was out of the office when Hayes called — the coach told Hayes not to worry over his scores.
“He said I’ve got plenty of time,”Hayes said. “Don’t stress out and it won’t be a problem.”
Carolina coaches could not comment on Hayes’ signing this morning because NCAA rules prohibit talking about recruits until a National Letter of Intent has been signed. It’s clear, however, that the Tar Heels are excited, Hayes is excited and all of Rowan County is taking pride in the thought of having two players on one ACC team next season.
“I think it’s great, because for as many good players as we’ve had, we haven’t had a whole lot of Division I players come out of here,”Safrit said. “It speaks highly of our county.”
And while emotions like pride and excitement are front and center today for Hayes, there’s another big one he’s feeling: relief.
“I’m glad to get it off my shoulders,”Hayes said. “I’m glad I have it chosen and now I don’t have to worry about it.
“I think I made the right decision.”
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Contact Steve Hanf at 704-797-4287 or shanf@salisburypost.com
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