Dylan Bundy kept the recruiting process for his services
very simple this year. And very effective, as it turned out.
Bundy took an unofficial visit to the University of Texas, fell
in love with the school, fell in love with the program and had no trouble
accepting a scholarship from one of the top college baseball teams in the
country.
In the final analysis, little else mattered.
Bundy, an exceptional pitcher and infielder from Sperry,
Okla., signed a national letter-of-intent with the Longhorns on Wednesday. He’s
ranked No. 5 in the nation in the Class of 2011 by Perfect Game USA and is
considered a potential first-round draft pick this June.
Texas was an easy choice for the 6-foot-1, 200-pound
right-hander who’s been clocked at 97 miles per hour.
“You’ve got to pick which one you want to go to and then go
with it, you know?” he told Perfect Game in a telephone interview. “I fell in
love with the Texas facilities, I really like the pitching coach down there –
Coach (Skip) Johnson, and I really like the whole program.”
So that was that, but it’s not like he didn’t have other
suitors.
“The Big 12 schools, some of the SEC schools, some of the
Mountain West schools – TCU, Utah,” he said. “And of course OSU (Oklahoma
State), Baylor, Arkansas.”
Arkansas finished second. Bundy’s older brother, Bobby,
committed to Arkansas in high school, but Dylan wanted to do something
different.
“I’m not a follower,” he said. “I want to do my own thing.
I’m kind of independent. I don’t want to follow every step that Bobby does.”
Bobby Bundy was taken in the eighth round of the 2008 draft
by Baltimore and is currently in the minor leagues.
Bundy, an Aflac All-American, compiled an 11-1 record and
1.58 ERA for Owasso High School last season, with 164 strikeouts in 79 2/3
innings. He also hit .442 with seven homers and 52 RBIs. He would like to keep
swinging the bat in college, perhaps as a pitcher and designated hitter, but
his rocket arm is probably his ticket to fame.
“Dylan is one of the top pitchers in the nation,” said
Johnson, the pitching coach at Texas “They don’t come along like him very
often.”
Bundy said the college recruiting for his services
intensified at the end of his junior year, going into this past summer, but it
didn’t last long. He committed to Texas on June 23, although it got pretty
intense for a while.
“A bunch of recruiters always calling you about it, but then
it’s kind of fun at the same time,” he said, “different guys calling you and
wanting you to go to their school so bad they can’t stand it.”
He said his parents, Denver and Lori, never had to set any
firm rules for recruiters, even at the height of the madness.
“We didn’t really have to do any of that,” he said. “They
would always call my dad first and make sure they could talk to me. Then they’d
call me and ask me some questions and I’d talk to them.”
Bundy was flattered by all the attention.
“I thought my brother was getting a lot of attention when he
went through it, and I was like, ‘Wow, that’s pretty cool,’” he said. “And I
ended up getting quite a bit of attention from those guys. It was pretty fun.”
Now that Bundy has been through the process, he might offer
a few suggestions to ease the strain on other players.
“If I was a college recruiter, I would try the coach first
and see if the athlete was ready for it, and if it’s all right to call him and
ask me all these questions,” he said. “Because when they call you and get a
hold of you, they ask you plenty of questions.”
Bundy had to learn how to ask questions himself.
“When I went down to Texas the first time for my first
unofficial visit, I didn’t really know what to expect,” he said. “And my dad
kind of got on me for not asking any questions. People thought I was kind of a
quiet one.
“My dad was like, ‘You need to ask questions and get
familiar with the program and see what it’s all about,’” he said. “And as my
other visits went on I did, and I started asking a lot more questions.”
In the final analysis, he had only one question that
mattered for Texas: Where do I sign?
Overall, Bundy said he enjoyed being recruited by all those
schools.
“It would be fun to go through it again. It gives you
options,” he said. “You can see what’s out there. Yeah, I wouldn’t mind doing
it again.”