By JACOB POLACHECK
After remaining largely under-the-radar for most of his junior year, class of 2022 forward Jonathan Beagle is starting to draw the attention of high-major schools.
Beagle, a 6-foot-9, 220-pound forward from St. Thomas More (CT), picked up his first high-major offer from Pitt on May 27 and is currently planning an unofficial visit.
“We talk a little bit. We talked about their program and all of the players they have coming in,” Beagle told ZAGSBLOG Saturday. “We talked about [Justin] Champagnie, how he didn’t have a lot of high-major offers coming in, but he made a big impact and proved everyone wrong.”
Beagle’s most recent interest came Saturday when Iona head coach Rick Pitino extended an offer.
“It means a lot to me, especially with coach Pitino since he’s such a legend,” Beagle said. “Everyone knows about him and he only recruits kids he believes in. That means a lot coming from him. They were just talking about how they can develop me and make me into a really good player for the future.”
This summer, Beagle has been on the visit trail, taking unofficials to Albany (June 1), Siena (June 2) and UMass (June 7).
He broke down each school:
Albany: “What stood about them was their energy. Their energy was unmatched from any other program that I went to. I love them. I loved the visit, everything about it. Their energy was really good and they had a really good future for me. They can develop me into the player I want to be and they have a really good plan.”
Siena: “It was good. They had a really good plan for me. They showed me where I could fit in with their offense. I like them. They’re good too.”
UMass: “Their campus is huge, which I like. It’s a big campus. Their facilities are really nice and they obviously play in a really good division, which really stood out to me. They have really good players right now and then coming in that I could fit in with.”
Beagle is a stretch-four with the ability to play inside-out.
“I’m a good passer,” he said. “I play with a high motor and I like to get my teammates involved.”
Photo: Dfritz
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