Eric Ayala, the 6-foot-4, 203-pound combo guard from IMG (FL) Academy and the WE-R1 AAU program, committed to Maryland on Saturday afternoon.
Ranked the No. 70 combo guard in the Class of 2018 by 247Sports.com, Ayala also considered Oregon and Miami, but did not take a scheduled visit to Oregon last week.
“I’m going to Maryland,” Ayala told ZAGSBLOG by phone. “Just the opportunity that they have for me to come in and step into a role where I’ll be playing right away. And just overall, just how comfortable I am with them. They were probably one of the first schools to start recruiting me and we just had that relationship from Day One.”
College Park ? pic.twitter.com/njtk8uc9sY
— Eric Ayala (@EA_Glo) October 15, 2017
Terrell Myers, the Director of WE-R1, said Ayala’s upside and basketball IQ will be a bonus for the Terps.
“Eric has tremendous upside, he has been conditioned to work and constantly perfect his skill set,” he said. “His size (6’5) at the guard position allows him to play 4 positions on the floor. He can shoot, rebound, pass and has a high basketball IQ. He is a coach’s dream competitive, tall, smart and easy to coach. We are fortunate to have had him in our program.”
Ayala expects to play both guard positions for head coach Mark Turgeon.
“I can play multiple positions,” he said. “They feel as though I can play either one.”
Eric AyalaUnder Armour AssociationWE-R1Watch video on Overtime
Ayala said he would get to work recruiting other stars to join him, including 6-7 Oak Hill Academy (VA) wing Keldon Johnson, who visited Maryland along with Ayala, and 7-2 Archbishop Molloy center Moses Brown, who visited a week after those guys.
Johnson is down to Maryland, N.C. State, Kentucky and Texas, while Brown is focusing on Maryland and UCLA, which he visits next weekend.
“Absolutely, Keldon, Moses, a couple guys,” Ayala said. “After I commit, then I’ll probably get to it.”
Ayala joins small forward Aaron Wiggins and power forward Jalen Smith in Maryland’s 2018 class.
“We’re going to be really good,” he said. “We got Aaron Wiggins and Jaylen Smith, so those are tow good players so I think we got a recruiting class coming in. I’m going to try to get Moses, too.”
