The recruiting process had been stressing out Francis Howell Central's Jake Henson, but that ended when he made a verbal commitment to the St. Louis University baseball program Sunday.
"It was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders," Henson said. "I feel like it's what I needed. I was way too stressed out about everything."
A senior catcher, Henson committed to coach Darin Hendrickson's Billikens after also considering Southern Illinois Carbondale.
"I thought they were a pretty perfect fit for me," he said. "I liked all the coaches. They were all pretty cool. That was a major factor. ... I liked everything they were telling me, so I thought it was a good fit."
On his official visit to SLU last week, Henson liked everything he saw on the midtown campus and liked what he heard from Hendrickson. But Henson was still struggling with the decision after making official visits to both schools in the past month.
"It was a hard decision," he said. "It took me a while."
Henson, who prides himself on his defense, has been one of the area's top catchers, both offensively and defensively, for the past three seasons.
As a junior, Henson batted .489 with eight doubles, two triples, four home runs, 32 RBIs, 14 runs scored and a .562 on-base percentage. He was a Post-Dispatch All-Metro third-team selection.
He hit .431 as a sophomore with 12 doubles, four triples, 33 RBIs, 24 runs scored and a .532 OBP. As a freshman, he batted .357 with three doubles, three triples, four home runs, 28 RBIs and a .432 OBP.
In his first three varsity seasons, Henson is hitting .426 (102 hits in 239 at-bats) and has more walks (34) than strikeouts (21).
Henson joins a St. Louis University recruiting class that also features local standouts in Francis Howell North infielder Braxton Martinez and Pacific pitcher Josh Moore.
"That is another reason why I did commit there," Henson said. "(Hendrickson) was telling me about all the players they have now, and I knew Braxton committed there and I knew about Moore. I was excited. They are both high-quality players."
