John Jay’s Mike Daniello is the ninth-ranked junior
in the nation by Inside Lacrosse.
(File photo by Jim Stout/MaxPreps.com)
John Jay’s Mike Daniello, one of the top junior recruits in the nation, has done some soul-searching after verbally committing to attend North Carolina on Sept. 28 and has decided to change his commitment and attend Johns Hopkins.
Daniello had narrowed his choices to UNC, Johns Hopkins and Syracuse before making his initial decision to commit to UNC.
Daniello, who led John Jay in scoring this past season, said then that the fact that both UNC and Hopkins have medical schools gave them a bit of an edge over Syracuse, where his brother, Chris, is a senior attackman on the two-time defending national champions.
“Ever since I was a child, I dreamed of playing for John Hopkins and worked very hard to turn that dream into a reality,” Daniello said. “The rich tradition and the opportunity to have a chance to be a part of that tradition was something that I could not let go of after my commitment to UNC.
“While UNC is a very special place and everybody who is a part of that program from the coaching staff down to the players are exceptional individuals, I felt I had to chase my childhood dream of being a Blue Jay.”
Daniello said he informed the coaching staffs of both schools of his decision last week.
“(Hopkins) Coach (Dave) Pietramala wanted me to make sure that I was changing my decision for the right reasons and that I spoke to UNC before committing to them,” Daniello said. “The next morning, I made the very difficult call to (North Carolina) Coach (Joe) Breschi.
“He was understanding of my decision and wished me well. Coach Breschi is a remarkable person who I have gotten to know very well throughout the recruiting process along with (UNC assistant) Coach (Pat) Myers and I wish them nothing but the best. After speaking with UNC, I called Coach Pietramala and officially committed to John Hopkins.”
Even minus Daniello, North Carolina will be pretty stacked at attack.
Fellow lefty attackmen Nick Galasso, a senior from West Islip, and Jimmy Bitter, a junior who grew up in Manhasset and now plays at the Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts, had committed to UNC prior to Daniello’s commitment. The nation’s No. 20-ranked senior, Boys Latin’s Pat Foster and No. 13-ranked junior, Joe Sankey of Penn Charter, Pa., also committed to Carolina.
There is now quite a contingent of current Section 1 stars heading to Hopkins. In addition to Daniello, senior attackman Kevin Interlicchio of Yorktown, senior defenseman Jameson Pickel of John Jay and junior defender Eddie Schurr of Somers have committed to the Blue Jays.
“I’m very excited to be teaming up again with Jameson as he is one of my best friends at John Jay,” Daniello said. “I’ve played against Eddie and Kevin in summer tournaments and games and I’m looking forward to being teammates with them at Hopkins. All three of them are great players and hopefully we can help bring another national championship to John Hopkins.”
Daniello was contacted by more than 30 Division I programs when the contact period began on Sept. 1.
Reach Joe Lombardi at joe@laxlessons.com.
• Early fall commitment rundown for Hudson Valley/Long Island/Connecticut
• For breaking recruiting news, check the “Comments” portion of this thread for frequent updates
October 7th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
Well, guess we will be able to see Kevin Interlicchio and Daniello on the same attack line… WOW! Nice work Petro
October 7th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
Welcome aboard bro
October 7th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
what was his reason for switching???
October 7th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Not sure but I can think of some reasons why he might reconsider. Hopkins has an exceptional medical school and Mike wants to study medicine. Lacrosse is the main sport at Johns Hopkins and has an excellent lacrosse tradition, unlike UNC. Also, Mike will probably have more playing time at Hopkins than at UNC considering the recruiting classes that UNC is getting.
October 7th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
“and has an excellent lacrosse tradition, unlike UNC. ”
4 NCs is enough to qualify as “tradition” in my opinion..
October 7th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
Mike Daniello changed his commitment?! Wow, that’s great for Hopkins. Lookin good.
October 8th, 2009 at 12:47 am
What attack line would you want?
Kevin Interlicchio & Mike Daniello – Hopkins
OR
Nick Gallasso & Jimmy Bitter – Carolina
Gonna be one heck of a rivalary in the coming years…
October 8th, 2009 at 7:35 am
Hopkins gets great recruits but average results lately. UNC on the upswing, SU is always on the upswing, and Hopkins on the downswing. He is a great player but a bit small. Good luck in B’more.
October 8th, 2009 at 8:17 am
small but very strong
October 8th, 2009 at 8:22 am
Galasso and anyone else would be better than any attack. It’s an interesting question to ask but do you guys not realize yet Nicky G. is just at another level from any one?
I would take Nicky G. and Little Bo Peep over any other 2 attackmen.
October 8th, 2009 at 9:28 am
Congrats Mike, in the end a better fit for grad school possibilities, playing time, and a team with historically a much, much stronger defense. And everyone knows what wins championships.
October 8th, 2009 at 10:47 am
Wow. What a turn of events. Way to get the scoop on this as always Joe.
October 11th, 2009 at 11:46 am
well i think that he is easily gonna be the sexiest player not only at hopkins but in all of college lacrosse
October 11th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Hey anyone know what other sports Mike plays?
October 11th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
SL -
Mike D. is playing varsity soccer this fall at John Jay. Last year, he played football.
October 11th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
Chris Daniello was actually John Jay’s first all-state soccer player in school history. I would guess Mike is pretty good too then even if it is his first year playing varsity soccer being a converted football player.
October 12th, 2009 at 9:10 am
Lax,Joe,
Thanx.
October 12th, 2009 at 9:17 am
WgLAxFan,
if Daniello is “small”, think he’s taller then Connor English! Will be interesting to see if their size holds them back. Think strength, foot speed and skills will win the day!
October 12th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
Size doesn’t seem to be an impediment for Mike’s bro Chris at Cuse. He is one of the strongest and fastest players for the Orange.
October 13th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Mike is already quite a bit taller than Chris as well! He’s still not the tallest but he’s so strong it really doesn’t matter. Plus he’s very athletic, extremely quick, him and KI will be scary for opponents of Hopkins.
October 14th, 2009 at 7:40 pm
Wells Stanwick will join Daniello and KI on the attack line at Hopkins:
http://blogs.insidelacrosse.com/2009/10/13/recruiting-roundup-no-5-junior-wells-stanwick-to-johns-hopkins/
December 19th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
Lots of drama for Daniello these last couple months. First switching from NC to Hop and now losing his coach. Will be interesting to see how he responds to all of this stuff.