Drury Student-Athletes Commit to College Programs
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Five Drury high school seniors Friday signed up to play college sports after graduation.
For one, that day will come very soon.
“I got a call on Aug. 31, actually, coach [Mike] Chambers called me and said, ‘Hey, both our first basemen have transferred out. What are the chances you can come now, graduate early?’ “ said Jake Gladu, one of two Blue Devils headed to New Hampshire’s Franklin Pierce University. “I was like, ‘It’s gonna be tough. But I’m going to try to do it.’
“I worked it out, and I’m graduating Jan. 16 of 2026 and reporting Jan. 22.”
Gladu was going to finish a second year at Connecticut’s Canterbury School, where he enrolled after completing his junior year at Drury. Instead, with 20 college credits in his pocket, he enrolled in a single high school class this fall to earn the diploma that allows him to join the Ravens for the 2026 season.
There, he will join 2023 Taconic High graduate Matt Lee, who appeared in 16 games on the mound last spring for Franklin Pierce, and, eventually, Gladu’s former Drury teammate Connor Hinkell, who was by his side on Wednesday morning.
Gladu and Hinkell each signed letters committing to Division II Franklin Pierce while Drury’s Carson Rylander committed to DI Marist for baseball and Megan McGrath (soccer) and Norah Wood (basketball) inked letters committing to Western New England University and American International College, respectively.
“My sister goes to AIC, and I always told myself that I would never go there because I didn’t want to follow in her footsteps,” Wood said after the ceremony. “But I really enjoyed the school, and I talked to the basketball coach. She was really, really nice and really made me feel comfortable there.”
AIC coach Kristen Hutchison has won three conference titles since taking over the program at her alma mater for the 2007-08 season and has the Yellow Jackets off to a 5-0 start this season.
Like Wood, McGrath said It is nice to be able to commit to a Springfield school that is close to home.
“I went to their clinic, and loved the atmosphere and the teammates I met that will be my teammates next year,” McGrath said of WNEU. “Their coach is amazing, and it comes along with a great education. I will be in their honors program, and I’m super excited for that.
“I just love the school and the campus and everybody that I’ve met so far.”
McGrath, who also plays high school basketball, said she plans to major in health studies with an eye toward pursuing a degree in radiology.
She will be joining an WNEU women’s soccer program that has had four double-digit win seasons in the last five years, including a trip to the second round of the DIII NCAA tournament in 2022, under 10th-year coach Kristin Hensinger.
“I looked at a few other schools, but something about the coach at Western New England and the people around there really stuck out to me,” McGrath said. “I knew right away that I saw myself there.”
Rylander, along with Hinkell, led Drury to the state semi-finals last spring. He said he had multiple offers from DI and DII schools before deciding on the Red Foxes.
“I think Marist presented the best academic, athletic and campus life,” he said. “It’s going to be the best fit for me the next four years. The coaches were awesome. The professors were awesome. It just kind of had everything for me.
“I went on my official visit two Fridays ago. It was great. They really connected well with my family. And I got to stay, watch their practice, visit the campus and it was really just a special place.”
Rylander and Hinkell have one more year on the diamond at Drury, where they were a combined 16-3 on the pitching mound last spring.
Hinkell, also a starter on the basketball court for the Blue Devils, said it was a long process that led him to Rindge, N.H.’s, Franklin Pierce, a program that counts among its alumni Drury graduate Tanner Bird, sixth on the school’s career ERA list with a mark of 2.13 compiled from 2014-17.
“It just came down to what I believed in at Franklin Pierce, and they have what I believe in,” Hinkell said. “Coach Chambers is great, and I believe in their philosophies, and I think it’s going to be a great fit.”
And it won’t hurt to have Gladu in place when he arrives.
“I knew they were looking at Jake pretty early, and he ended up committing there,” Hinkell said. “I had that opportunity on the table, and I was like: It’s going to be a great opportunity, not just for me, but for the both of us.
“Usually, in college, you don’t know many people. But it’s great to have one of my better friends on the team with me.”