George Mason ‘Immediately Felt Right’ For Morse

Jackson Morse SS / 2B / Xaverian Brothers, MA / 2025

RAYNHAM, Ma. - There was interest from a large number of colleges, particularly in the northeast, but a visit to George Mason was all Jackson Morse needed.

“Once I stepped on campus it immediately felt right,” Morse related. “That was the best feeling in the world.”

While a commitment did not come for more than a month, the fourth-rated 2025 shortstop in Massachusetts eventually made it official with the Atlantic 10 Conference university, located in Fairfax, Va., nearly seven hours from home.

“I had the offer for five or six weeks and knew the whole time it was going to be them,” Morse explained. “It was such a relief when I called the coaches and told them I was going to be coming to George Mason. They were pumped and I was pumped. It was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had.”

The Xaverian Brothers High School junior was seen by George Mason on six occasions while playing this past summer at LakePoint, Ga., in a 17U tournament as well as the Future Games.

“They called me on Aug. 1 at 10 a.m. and I got on the phone with assistant coach (Evan) Duhon and he said he liked me and was interested in me coming on a visit,” reflected Morse, who also talked with recruiting coordinator Ryan Ricci during the process before receiving an offer later in August. “Me and my dad went on Sept. 4-5, watched practice and they showed me around the school.  

“It just felt like the right place to play there and go to school. I had tons of offers in the northeast but something about the area, I saw myself going to school there. I liked it so much and wanted to show my mom and sister so we went back the first day of October and showed them around. I ended up committing two weeks later.”

In between was a fall classic in Arizona.

“I got a little interest there but nothing appealed to me as much as George Mason,” noted Morse, whose interest during his recruitment came from the likes of NJIT, Oregon, Georgia Tech, Northeastern, Boston College, UMass Amherst, Ohio State and Maine. “For me, the biggest convincing points were first of all, the great academics. Secondly, when I stepped on campus I immediately felt a relationship with the team and the community. The coaches are guys I want to play for and can see developing me as a person.”

The 51st-ranked junior in New England also made an impression on the coaches at George Mason.

“They like my D, the way I move athletically and my speed,” Morse said. “They said I have a lot of upside. They want to see me in the middle of the infield. One thing I like is that George Mason is one of the top programs with stolen bases.”

Playing college baseball is something the 21st-rated 2025 in Massachusetts has wanted to do for some time.

“My dad played baseball and football at Tufts and played pro ball,” Morse related. “I’ve known since I was four that I wanted to go to the next level with the end goal of college baseball and, hopefully, pro ball.

“It became realistic my freshman year when I was in contact with northeast schools,” Morse added. “Then the recruiting rule came and interrupted that.”

Still, for the most part the process was fun according to the 12th-ranked junior shortstop in New England.

“PBR was huge for me, being able to go to those events,” Morse explained. “Having a profile and videos was very good for me, being able to send them out to coaches. The whole time my dad was saying enjoy your recruitment. At times it was stressful, things don’t always go your way, but in the end it’s something to enjoy. It wasn’t easy but I enjoyed every bit of it.”

An improved game proved vital in helping create interest along the way.

“Definitely a thing that changed for me in the last couple of years was the amount of work I put in outside of practice,” the 5-9 165-pounder  said. “I didn’t do that when I was young. I’ve always been a little undersized which is hard mentally. But once I got over that and started to get in the gym in eighth grade, that was big. Hitting off the tee and taking ground balls outside of practice helped me get where I am.”

GBG coach Chris Welch, Xaverian Brothers coach Gerry Lambert, his parents and sister are all credited by the 17-year-old with playing a role in becoming a Division I commit at George Mason where Morse, who carries a 3.83 GPA, plans to major in business.

“I can’t wait to see the level of competition and how fun I hear it is,” Morse concluded. “They play in a great conference and play great teams outside the conference and I’ve always wanted to play at a high level.

“Being able to go to school with the guys and the relationships outside of my hometown is definitely what I’m looking forward to.”