Daniel Jacobsen, former La Cueva Bear, signs with Purdue
Nov. 10—While he was a Boilermaker, 7-foot-4 Zach Edey became one of the elite big men in college basketball. He was a first-team All-American last year for Purdue.
The Big Ten school has signed what might be Edey's successor.
Daniel Jacobsen, who began his prep career with La Cueva High School, but blossomed into a national recruit when he left New Mexico for the East Coast, where he was pursued by multiple Power 5 conference programs, committed to Purdue just last week and signed his letter of intent with Purdue on Wednesday. The 7-2 Jacobsen can serve both as a rim protector and a threat from the perimeter.
Jacobsen was supposed to be a part of the Class of 2025, but has reclassified and will join Purdue next season, according to reports. Wisconsin was reportedly his other finalist. But he had a slew of scholarship offers, including from other schools in the Big Ten such as Minnesota and Illinois.
Other schools to have offered Jacobsen include both New Mexico and New Mexico State, plus Tulsa, Xavier, Boise State, Creighton, Clemson, Providence and Georgetown.
Jacobsen left Albuquerque to play at Legacy Early College in South Carolina. Currently, he is at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire.
The Journal was unable to reach Jacobsen for comment. His younger brother, Eric, is a 6-9 sophomore for La Cueva.
ADDITIONAL SIGNINGS: This week marked the beginning of the signing period for high school athletes who are going to Division I and Division II programs.
Some of the additional metro-area athletes who are headed for Division I competition are:
Albuquerque Academy senior goalkeeper Cara Anderson, one of the state's top netminders, will be going to Cal Poly. She signed her national letter of intent on Wednesday. Another Academy athlete, baseball player Mark McNaney, is signing with the Air Force Academy.Moriarty had a rare Division I signing this week, as sprinter Antonio Muñoz, the state's reigning Class 4A state champion in the 400-meter dash, signed to compete for the University of New Mexico. It was not immediately known when Moriarty last had an athlete sign with a Division I program.Mya Pacheco of Cleveland High, a shortstop for the Storm who did not play for the Storm last season due an injury, her family said, has signed to play softball at UNM.
THIS AND THAT: The state volleyball brackets will be announced by the New Mexico Activities Association on Sunday afternoon. The tournament is next week in Rio Rancho, with championship matches at the Rio Rancho Events Center at either 4 or 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18. ... West Mesa High's new baseball coach is Paul Chavez, and this will be his second go-round with the Mustangs. He was also the coach there from 2000-2006. He replaces Marc Hilton, who is now the Sandia head coach. ... Los Lunas boys soccer coach Eric Chavez has resigned.
