By Andrew Drennen, ESPNRISE.com Baseball

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Recently, Chaparral (Scottsdale, Ariz) High School's James McDonald (INF) gave a verbal commitment to Arizona State University.  McDonald was an infielder on the 2009 Cincinnati Reds Area Code Team, which went 4-1 for the week, this past August. 

"I like the coaches and players and I have always been a fan of ASU baseball,” remarked McDonald. "It's a place I fit in.”

To make the decision easier, one of his older brothers recently graduated from ASU. 

Another influence on his decision was the fact that Arizona State has a chance at Omaha and the College World Series each year.  In 2009 the Sun Devils made it to Omaha and lost out to Texas in the semi-finals. 

There were other schools McDonald considered and many of them perennial baseball powers.  He talked to both Oregon schools, Virginia Tech (his oldest brother went there), Arizona, Fullerton and Baylor.

"I talked a lot to Oregon State and would have liked it there,” he said.  In the end he chose to play for the home-town Sun Devils and is delighted to be in the Pac-10. 

"I wanted to play in the Pac 10.”

For many players the recruiting process is hard.  Receiving phone calls and letters it can be overwhelming at times.  It seems, though, that the process never got to McDonald.  He enjoyed it. 

After the Area Code Games, he gained some interest from Wake Forest. 

"I enjoyed the calls from coaches and overall thought the whole process was exciting,” McDonald noted. "It's interesting to have coaches from so many schools watching and actually a lot of fun.”

Now, that the decision is made he can focus on baseball.  Chaparral is one of the top high school programs in the state and in the nation.  Last year, the Firebirds finished 19-13, but don't let the record fool you.  They made it all the way to the Division 4A State semi-finals where they fell to Cactus (Glendale, Ariz.) 5-1. 

"It's tough to play at Chaparral,” McDonald said, "It is very competitive and it takes a lot of hard work. We have the talent to be the best team, but we have to put it all together.” 

With that said, McDonald is well on his way.  With the decision made he can focus on just playing baseball.