Recently in Recruiting Category

Kennedy softball pitcher Julieanne Martinez has been offered scholarships by Boise State and Louisiana Tech.

As a junior last season, the 5-foot-5 right-hander was 24-4 with a 0.56 ERA and 273 strikeouts in 176 innings.

gerry.gittelson@daIlynews.com

Mike Spagnola, a former top defensive lineman/linebacker from Canyon who reportedly had three scholarship offers on the table, has decided to quit football and will enroll at College of the Canyons as a full-time standout, according to his father, Tom.

"Mike has decided to ... 'retire,'" Tom said.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

Interesting follow up story to last week's strange tale about the high school football player who faked being recruited and accepted a never offered scholarship to Cal

Loyola water polo teammates Forest Monroe and Connor Plaga have signed with USC. Both were All-Southern Section Div. I selections this past fall for the Mission League runner-up Cubs. Monroe was the team's leading scorer while Plaga was a speedy two-meter defender.
The pair join a talented USC recruiting class that also includes Agoura's Peter Kurzeka, Northern California standouts Thomas Avery and Andrew Reego as well as Michael Rosenthal, a driver from Florida.

Michael Lien, a top linebacker at Valencia, has committed to South Dakota State, according to The Signal.

-- Gerry Gittelson

A USC men's water polo program that has reached the NCAA championship game the past three years has gained another of the country's premier players. Agoura's Peter Kurzeka committed to the Trojans today.
Kurzeka was the Southern Section Div. IV Player of the Year after scoring a school-record 143 goals and leading Agoura to its first division title this past fall.

Newbury Park junior infielder Jack Marder has verbally committed to Oregon. Although he has two full high school seasons ahead of him, his performance in the first two was enough to convince Ducks coach George Horton that the second baseman/shortstop should be a part of an Oregon program that is reinstating baseball beginning with the 2009 season. Marder hit .371 with 22 RBIs and a team-high 10 doubles last season.

Wow, crazy story out of Nevada today. Remember the college freshman who pretended she was a student at Stanford last year, even though she never got in? Well, this is the high school football version of it.

Kevin Hart, a 6-foot-5, 290-pound offensive lineman for Fernley High School in Nevada called a news conference last Friday to announced he'd committed to Cal, choosing the Bears over Oregon. One problem: neither school had ever recruited him.

Yikes!

Both schools came out pretty quickly and spilled the beans. Hart then said that a man he'd paid to help promote him to college football programs had duped him. He told authorities that the man's name was Kevin Riley.

One problem: Kevin Riley didn't exist either.

"When I realized that wasn't going to happen, I made up what I wanted to be reality. I am sorry for disappointing and embarrassing my family, coaches, Fernley High School, the involved universities and reporters covering the story," Hart said in a statement issued through the Lyon County school district on Wednesday.

Another problem: Lt. Rob Hall of the Lyon County police department told the Associated Press that his department would continue to investigate to see if Hart had broken any laws, such as filing a false police report.

Hart baseball senior infielder Trevor Matern has committed to San Francisco. Matern batted .355 last season.

The area's most sought after boys' water polo player is getting closer to making a college commitment. Agoura's Peter Kurzeka has narrowed his choices to USC, UCLA and 2007 national champion Cal.
Kurzeka was the Southern Section Div. IV Player of the Year and repeated as Daily News Player of the Year after leading Agoura to the division championship and scoring a school-record 143 goals this past fall. In December he was selected to the U.S. Men's Senior National "B" training squad.