Some younger siblings try to venture away from the path blazed by a successful older sibling. Taylor Makar is instead choosing to follow in his older brother’s footsteps.
Taylor Makar, the 18-year-old younger brother of UMass’ Hobey Baker winning defenseman Cale Makar, verbally committed to the Minutemen on Monday as he prepares for his second season with the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. The younger Makar scored four goals and recorded 13 assists in 43 games in his first season with Brooks, where both Cale and junior forward Oliver Chau also played their junior hockey.
“We are excited for Taylor and his opportunity with UMass,” Bandits head coach and general manager Ryan Papaioannou said in a statement. “Over the past season, his game has continued to evolve along with his stature and he is ready to take on a significant role with us this season. Last year was a valuable learning experience for Taylor both on and off the ice, setting the table for an upcoming breakout season. He proved last season to be versatile in the line up and able to provide hard minutes when needed.”
It is still undetermined if Makar will join the Minutemen in 2020 or 2021, a decision might not be made until April or May depending upon UMass’ needs after the upcoming season and Makar’s development with the Bandits.
RINGING THE BELL — UMass football coach Walt Bell had three reasons in the past four days to tweet out his gif of an explosion that has come to symbolize another commitment for the Minutemen.
Bell and his staff have continued to garner momentum in recruiting, earning three more verbal pledges for the 2020 class and bringing the total of commitments to 12. On Saturday, Bell received a double dose of good news from running back Freddie Brock (Rochester, New York) and cornerback Osei Dixon (Laurel, Maryland).
That was followed on Tuesday with the commitment from German defensive lineman Hugo Klages. Klages is the first European prospect that has worked with former Minutemen defensive lineman Brandon Collier to commit to UMass since Collier started PPI Recruits, a European-based recruiting service for international players, in 2017.
The 2020 class is the first class Bell is able to recruit on a full cycle to UMass, and he’s put an emphasis early on the trenches and defensive backfield. Already four linemen – three offensive and one defensive – have verbally committed to the Minutemen as well as four defensive backs. The early location blitzes have also paid dividends with four Massachusetts and five players from the Washington DC metro area having already chosen the Minutemen.
MORE SCHEDULE NEWS — The public learned about two more UMass non-conference basketball games on Tuesday as other schools’ have continued to unveil their schedules. Fairfield will host the Minutemen on Nov. 9, according to a release, while the Lowell Sun is reporting that UMass-Lowell will return to the Mullins Center this season.
The Minutemen and River Hawks have faced off in the season opener each of the past three seasons, including last year’s 83-75 UMass victory. And the series is likely to continue into the foreseeable future with the creation of the Kennedy Cup challenge between the two schools last year. UMass-Lowell won the competition 8-6.
MURPHY RETURNS TO UMASS — Former UMass women’s lacrosse All-American Hannah Murphy has returned to Amherst as an assistant coach for the Minutewomen after spending the previous two seasons as an assistant at Northwestern. Murphy, a 2017 graduate, replaces Zoe Ochoa, who left the program to pursue other career opportunities.
THE TOURNAMENT — Amherst College will be represented on the We Are D3 squad that will play in The Basketball Tournament, the $2 million winner-take-all event that begins later this month.
Johnny McCarthy, a 2018 graduate, has been named to the team, which begins regional play on July 26 in Syracuse against Boeheim’s Army, a team of Syracuse alums. The team will be coached by former Amherst assistant Michael Rejniak, who also coached the team last season.