Larkins Finds A Home At Georgetown

DETROIT - The recruiting process came full circle for Dylan Larkins.

It has the University of Detroit Jesuit junior excited about a future at Georgetown.

“At the beginning of my recruiting process Georgetown was the first college I actually looked at,” Larkins related. “I visited freshman year and I loved the campus and the coaches and the academics there. But then Michigan came along.”

Interest in the university 45 minutes from his home in Detroit heated up after the 2021 Future Games and before the year was over Larkins was a Michigan commit. But when a coaching change took place at U of M after this past season, Larkins reconsidered the decision.

“I decommitted a couple of days after,” the second-ranked 2024 outfielder in Michigan reflected. “I didn’t think it would be healthy to wait, I wanted to see where I could go.”

Reenter Georgetown, which along with Missouri, Kansas and Wright State had offered Larkins prior to his commitment to Michigan.

“I always liked Georgetown before, so I was excited to talk to them again,” Larkins said. “The offer was still on the table.”

There were a handful of additional visits taken after decommitting from Michigan, including Boston College, before the 355th-ranked junior in the nation came to a conclusion about his future.

“I took multiple visits, but none made me as happy as Georgetown,” Larkins pointed out. “They have a former U of D teammate of mine, Owen Carapellotti, who was a Big East freshman All-American, and I want to follow in his footsteps.”

More stood out about the college in Washington D.C., located nine hours from home.

“I have a chance to play as a freshman,” Larkins noted. “The coaching staff is great, coach (Julius) McDougal and coach T (Edwin Thompson). I love coach McDougal. He was the first college coach I talked to. I could talk about anything to him, that’s what made it why I wanted to go to Georgetown.

“They were the Big East Coaching Staff of the Year,” Larkins added. “That’s amazing. They had struggled before. I want to be part of something big and I think I can do that at Georgetown. The coaches were at Eastern Kentucky and have been at Georgetown for two or three years. This past season showed me what they can do.”

Under Thompson, the second-year head coach of the Hoyas, Georgetown improved from 6-19 to 11-10 in the Big East and finished with a 32-24 overall record.

“I’m looking forward to playing my first season with Owen, and his last, and I’m looking forward to playing under coach T in the outfield,” the 58th-rated 2024 outfielder in the country explained. “He’s a good coach. A lot of people I’ve talked to speak highly of him with his development and his psychological teaching, the way he teaches moments in life and not just baseball.

“Another big part about attending Georgetown as a whole is it’s a prestigious college. There’s nothing better, especially getting to play with friends, two guys from Michigan (Carapellotti and Travis Ilitch).”

Georgetown saw Larkins as a perfect fit for the program, which is looking to make its first NCAA Tournament appearance.

“They really like my character a lot,” the 6-3 185-pounder said. “They like me in the outfield and they like that I’m fast. I have a tall slender build and they like that they can put some weight on me.

“I think I’m their top recruit in the junior class,” the 17-year-old continued. “They treated me really well. Everything about the coaches and how to play baseball, I really like there.”

It has the fifth-ranked 2024 in Michigan thrilled about a future at Georgetown, with family not far away in Potomac adding to the excitement.

“I’m really happy,” Larkins said. “Even with the decommitment and going to another institution, I was confident. I’d been through it before so I was more experienced with it and I’m really happy how it turned out.

“It wasn’t that stressful, really the only thing that was stressful was the process of decommitting,” added Larkins, who carries a 3.83 GPA and is planning on a major in business. “It was a little stressful making all the visits but I’m excited about where I’m going. I know Georgetown is going to set me up for the future.”