Jim Penders has done wonders for UConn baseball over the last decade and today he has done something I thought he'd never do: get me to write about baseball recruiting. Why? Because Saturday he landed the commitment of Andrew Zapata, the top pitcher in New York City and an athlete who was being pursued by baseball blueblood LSU and pitcher factory Kentucky.

So how did Penders landa Zapata? He pulled out a massive trump card: a full-tuition scholarship. That's big because in Division One baseball a team has to divide up 11.7 scholarships for its 30-man roster, so tossing that kind of cash at Zapata is a big commitment. Zapata is a senior this year, so he'll be appearing at J.O. Christian in 2014, assuming he stays on the college route and doesn't decide to go pro after next year's draft.