By Laura Amato
While there were nerves and handshakes and plenty of pictures taken, the main feeling was pride as four McClancy baseball standouts signed their national letters of intent on Thursday.
Brandon Demma, Quentin Holmes, Ryan Neuweiler and Charlie Neuweiler all inked their names on the dotted line—cementing their future and making a bit of Crusaders’ history as well.
“I think it’s big for the program,” said McClancy coach Nick Melito. “What I’m really proud of is that all four of them are getting academic money from the schools too. They’re honor students, AP students, so they’re taking care of it in the classroom.”
All four players said they battled some butterflies when they felt the pen in their hand, but after months of waiting for this moment, it felt good to officially take their game to the next level.
“When [we first verbally committed], we were so psyched and we couldn’t wait for this day to come,” said Charlie Neuweiler, who will join his twin brother Ryan at LIU Brooklyn next year. “It kind of dragged a little bit, but now it’s back to excitement plus some more.”
The Neuweilers weren’t the only Crusaders standouts waiting for their signing moment. Outfielder and fellow captain Quentin Holmes verbally committed to Mississippi State in October 2015 and after a summer that included a stint at some of the most prestigious prospect events in the country, there were plenty who wondered if he might entertain other offers.
A weekend at the school earlier this month cemented his choice and Holmes is just as committed to the Bulldogs as ever—and now he’s got the letter to prove it.
“I definitely still felt comfortable with that school and with the coaching staff and the environment there,” Holmes said. “I liked what I was doing with the academic development part of it, so I decided to stay with it. It was all just incredible.”
Of course, the opportunity to play Division I baseball—not to mention compete in the SEC—while still getting an education was also something that appealed to Holmes and his family.
“It’s definitely not something I ever thought I’d be doing,” he said. “I dreamed of it, but I didn’t think it would actually happen. It’s just crazy that they gave me the opportunity to do this. It’s a blessing.”
Whiles Holmes is heading south next season, the rest of the Crusaders signees are sticking close to home and the Neuweilers are, as per usual, doing it together.
The pair visited LIU Brooklyn together and hoped for an opportunity to compete at the next level side by side. After all, that’s what they’ve always done.
“We’ve done everything together since we’ve been born,” said Ryan Neuweiler. “And to spend another four years together and possibly make a lot of great memories is just incredible and not something that’s experienced often.”
Now that all four players have set their futures in letter-of-intent stone, the Crusaders are turning their collective focus towards their final season of high school baseball. And after coming up short the last two years, this group is only willing to end with a title.
“We’ve all been together for all four years and we’re all seniors, so for us to have not taken a city championship yet is pretty rare,” Demma, who is heading to Pace University, said. “So we’ve all got to work hard and hopefully pull it through.”
