Where did Palm Beach County recruits sign on national signing day?

WEST PALM BEACH — Schools around Palm Beach County rang in the month of February with every student-athlete's favorite day of the year: national signing day.

Feb. 1 is the O.G. date for players to sign their letters of intent, but the introduction of the early signing period, which began Dec. 21, gave early national signing day the reputation of being reserved for the varsity level's most elite.

Division I signings across all sports at schools including, but not limited to, American Heritage-Delray, Dwyer, Cardinal Newman and Suncoast defied the stigma. Newman seniors Vinkevus "Vinny" Pierre and Chris Presto don the lofty rankings on popular recruiting sites touted by four- and five-star guys.

Because Southern Illinois University paid attention to the players in the game and not the composite, the Salukis will add the two Palm Beach County household names to their roster come this summer.

"They [Southern Illinois] actually took a chance on me and other schools didn't — said I was too slow or too small, but that really doesn't mean nothing when you've got heart," Pierre said, 6-foot-1 and about 200 pounds of pure humility.

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Southern Illinois coaches were in attendance for a then-undefeated Newman's 54-14 gutting of Gulliver Prep in November to recruit an offer-less Presto and took notice of Pierre despite what the latter deemed a poor performance on his part: averaging nearly 10 yards per carry on offense, plus a tackle and forced fumble on defense.

Pierre shouted out SIU cornerbacks coach Terry Hawthorne for seeing "the dog," or potential, in him.

"Relationships with coaches are a big thing so if I went there, I have a better chance of playing," Pierre said. "I'm looking forward to showing my real talent. I've been doubted, overlooked, so it's time to prove myself."

After Newman's second consecutive trip just short of the Final Four, Pierre had enough offers to tease a top 5, narrowing his options to Pitt, East Carolina, Stetson and Valparaiso before deciding to join an already-committed Presto the morning of the big day.

"Today was a great day," Presto said, joining Pierre in encouraging athletes who may find themselves overlooked entering their junior and senior years to "keep your head down."

"After all this time I have a place to go and I think it's a perfect fit," Presto said.

"There was a lot of stress behind the scenes. These people tell you you have an offer but you don't really know if it's committable or if they're going to commit to you," Presto said. "I'm going to prove that I should've been playing Division I football from the start."

The 6-foot-2 wide receiver and outside linebacker struggled to find a home at the next level despite leading his rosters in receiving yards through injury since first starting as a sophomore at Palm Beach Gardens, his role clearly bigger than numbers as teammate Cole Dillon thanked Presto for giving the confidence to believe in himself ahead of signing with the University of South Florida.

Chips on their shoulders bigger than ever before, Pierre and Presto alike are already excited for the chance to face teammate and Illinois State signee Steven Curtis, who will be about four hours away from Pierre and Presto's Carbondale campus.

"We're going to lead up there and bring that South Florida football up to Illinois," Presto said with a smile.

Here's a growing list of more Palm Beach County student-athletes who put pen to paper on national signing day.

American Heritage-Delray

Dat Nguyen, Southwest Baptist University football

Atlantic

Tyler Allen, North Carolina A&T football

Mi'Kel Hendrix, Tusculum University football

Martay McClendon, Tusculum University football

Jovante Pierre-Louis, Edward Waters University football

Desmon Self, Edward Waters University football

Damauri Thompson, Edward Waters University football

Boca Raton

Collin Bender, St. Thomas University football

Boynton Beach

Riger Dorsainvil, St. Thomas University football

Ridjy Hilarie, St. Thomas University football

Edwin Jean, Graceland University football

Josh Lewis, Allen University football

Tyrone Smith, St. Thomas University football

Bobby Smith Jr., St. Thomas University football

Cardinal Newman

Cole Dillon, University of South Florida football

Maverick Gracio, University of Pittsburgh football

Katie McCabe, Wellesley College lacrosse

Vinkevus Pierre, Southern Illinois University football

Chris Presto, Southern Illinois University football

Sydney Runk, Elms College swimming

Sebastian Scott, University of Kentucky football

Dwyer

Quinn Bishop, Harvard University volleyball

Matt Davis, Florida State baseball

Corey Goldstick, Emory University baseball

Elijah Hopkins, College of the Holy Cross football

Bradley Link, University of Michigan baseball

Samantha Long, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical soccer

Riley Macvane, University of West Florida swimming

Kyle McNeal, Florida International University football

John I. Leonard

Jahmal Covington, Florida Memorial University football

Jupiter Christian

Jeremiah Augustin, Northeast Mississippi Community College football

Ethan Bonocore, Limestone College football

Nazir Cason, St. Thomas University football

Matthew James, Northeast Mississippi Community College football

Allison Moore, Calvin College volleyball

Alex Rosario, Keiser University football

Liam Schulz, Florida Southwestern baseball

A.J. Seymour, Rollins College baseball

Patrick Weisman, Limestone University baseball

King's Academy

Thomas Cornett, Fordham University football

Louis Federico, South Florida State College baseball

Patrick Law, Grove City College lacrosse

Colton Lawson, University of North Florida cross-country

Ryan Pender, Palm Beach Atlantic baseball

Sarah Starke, Southern Connecticut University volleyball

Logan Taylor, North Greenville University volleyball

Brad Wharton, Flagler College lacrosse

Jackson Worley, Troy State University football

Inlet Grove

Teremun Lott, Old Dominion University football

Kian Johnson, Lake Erie College football

Jacory Brown, Lake Erie College football

Washington Ewen, St. Thomas University football

Malik Willis, Campbell University football

Pahokee

Bijay Boldin, Georgetown University football − first Blue Devil in history to hold Ivy League scholarships (Brown, Dartmouth, Colgate)

Jacorris Foreman, Middle Tennessee State University football

DeeJay Holmes, Ole Miss football

James Jackson, Middle Tennessee State University football

Palm Beach Central

Chris Cirillo, Keiser University football

Justin Bostic, Florida A&M University football

Santaluces

Curtis Douglas, Kent State University football

Erick Erilas, Lake Erie football

Caleb Francois, St. Thomas University football

Joshua Gachelin, St. Thomas University football

Jerome Mitchell, St. Thomas University football

Seminole Ridge

Evan Jackson, Keiser University football

Somerset Canyons

Ty Robbins, Ave Maria University football

Quincy Rowe, St. Thomas University football

Spanish River

Alex Carrizzo, Mount St. Joseph University football

Samuel Herisse, Mount St. Joseph University football

Chris Pierre, Mount St. Joseph University football

West Boca Raton

Frankie Diaz, Keiser University football

Chris Kelly, Keiser University football

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Where did Palm Beach County recruits sign on national signing day 2023?