Commitment Profile
Johnathan Small Picks Notre Dame
by James Hill, 13 January 2015
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Blue Chip junior Johnathan Small will travel some 135 miles on U.S. Highway 31 in Indiana from his home in Zionsville to Notre Dame to become a member of the University of Notre Dame men's tennis team.
But Small will not make the trek up the Hoosier State just yet. He gave a verbal commitment to Fighting Irish head coach Ryan Sachire just before Thanksgiving, and will join the team in 2016. Small is in the junior class of the highly respected
Laurel Springs School, a private online institution. Small will sign the National Letter of Intent next year when he becomes eligible.
Small also visited Northwestern, Ohio State, Michigan Michigan State, and Illinois, and said "they were all fantastic schools." However, Small expressed his preference for Notre Dame largely because of the demeanor of the coaching staff and players.
"The character of the team and coaches really stood out to me," Small said. "Their authenticity was something that was unique to the school, and it was something that I wanted to be a part of."
Sachire, a 2000 Notre Dame graduate, is in his second season at the Irish helm. He had served two seasons as an assistant coach and five as associate head coach. In the 2013-14 campaign, Notre Dame advanced to the NCAA Division I Sweet 16, and completed the season with a 21-10 record. The Intercollegiate Tennis Association recently ranked the Irish No. 13 in the nation.
Last November, Notre Dame announced the signing of Blue Chip recruit Alex Lebedev and five-star players Daniel Rayl and Grayson Broadus. Rayl, from Indianapolis, is coached by Bryan Smith, who also Small's mentor.
