![\"Matt](\"http:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/hand.jpg\")
<\/a>\u201cWhen I started [the recruiting process], I kind of felt I was starting later than other people,\u201d said Hand, who enrolled with NSR at the start of his junior season in late March. \u201cSome of my friends already had offers. I didn\u2019t really care what division I played in. I just wanted to continue playing. I had no idea I would end up playing in Division I.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hand began receiving attention last spring. A first-team All-Suburban One League pitcher and honorable mention shortstop, he helped CR North capture the District One championship and advance to the Class AAAA state quarterfinals. Then he helped the SOL National\/Bicentennial Athletic League all-star team win the prestigious Carpenter Cup tournament at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. On top of that, he was a top performer last summer for the Philadelphia Bandits, one of the premier showcase teams in Southeastern Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
Then the recruiting floodgates opened.<\/p>\n
In August, Hand received offers from Villanova, La Salle, Saint Joseph\u2019s, Lafayette and Navy before finally committing to Lehigh, a 7,000-student private university in Bethlehem, Pa., located about 40 miles northwest of his suburban Philadelphia home.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was crazy,\u201d Hand said. \u201cI never thought I would receive more than two or three offers, much less six. All of my hard work, dedication and training finally paid off.\u201d<\/p>\n
What made Hand more attractive to college recruiters was his outstanding work in the classroom. With his impressive 4.21 grade-point average and 1940 SAT score, he qualified for many top academic schools.<\/p>\n
\u201cEver since I was a little kid, my parents stressed the importance of academics,\u201d said Hand, who turns 18 in December. \u201cI wasn\u2019t able to go outside or play sports unless my homework was finished. I grew up in an atmosphere where academics were more important than sports.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hand said his older sister, Michelle, was a great role model. A two-sport athlete at Council Rock North, she boasted a 4.2 GPA in high school before enrolling at the University of Maryland. \u201cMy parents expected the same from me,\u201d Hand said.<\/p>\n
Hand said he ultimately committed to Lehigh because of its great academic reputation and conference champion baseball team. Lehigh is a member of the prestigious Patriot League \u2013 composed of eight private universities and two service academies (Army and Navy) — one of the most selective academic conferences in Division I.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted a good academic school that competes at a high level,\u201d said Hand, who will major in Business. \u201cMost likely, I will be playing baseball for four more years. Then, like everybody else, I\u2019ll be out there looking for a job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hand is one of 10 incoming freshmen committed to Lehigh for 2016. He hopes to contribute right away as an infielder and relief pitcher.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I made an official visit, I spent a lot of time with the coaches and players,\u201d Hand said. \u201cCoach [Sean] Leary and the other coaches were very welcoming. So were all the players. They made me feel right at home.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
You have to hand it to Matt Hand. A 2016 National Scouting Report baseball prospect, Hand received six NCAA Division I offers this year before making a verbal commitment to defending Patriot League champion Lehigh University. He is expected to sign his National Letter of Intent on Monday at Council Rock North High School in … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[31,336,335,222,337],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8427"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8427"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8427\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8445,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8427\/revisions\/8445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}