Sports

Long recruiting journey ends at Florida for Horace Mann’s Bader

Harrison Bader went down to Fort Myers, Fla. for fun, to play in one last showcase before beginning his college career at Maryland. He will leave the Perfect Game BCS Finals 18U tournament committed to one of the country’s elite college baseball programs.

The former Horace Mann star center fielder committed to SEC powerhouse Florida on Tuesday, plans to sign his National Letter of Intent shortly this week and visit the school next week.

“It just means the world to me to end up at a program like that,” he said. “I couldn’t say no to Florida. It’s a no-brainer.”

It’s been a head-spinning few months for the power-hitting outfielder with a cannon for a right arm. He de-committed from Pittsburgh in April, picked Maryland in May, then de-committed from the ACC school over the weekend when Florida came into the picture. Because the Terrapins didn’t have any scholarship money left and head coach Erik Bakich left to take over the baseball program at Michigan, Bader never actually signed a NLOI.

The wild turn of events began Saturday after Bader put on a hitting display at the BCS Finals homerun derby, New York Grays coach David Owens said. Owens received a call that night from Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan after Florida assistant and head recruiter Craig Bell saw Bader earlier that day. Owens immediately went over to Bader and asked if he would be interested.

“My professional response would be to say I was really excited- – what really happened was I jumped up so high I almost hit my head on the ceiling in excitement,” Bader joked. “It’s an incredible opportunity. It’s definitely a blessing.”

Owens went as far as to say Bader going to Florida is better than getting drafted. Florida, after all, has reached the College World Series the last three years, has won two of the last three SEC crowns and had nine players taken in June’s First-Year Player Draft, eight in the top nine rounds.

“If you want to go to school [to play college baseball], this is where you go,” Owens said. “There’s no kid in the country that would turn down going to Florida.”

Bell watched Bader over the weekend, pro scouts and Bakich endorsed Bader to O’Sullivan and Florida offered a scholarships. Bader is in the process of applying for admission into the school. He hopes to earn immediate playing time, though Owens sees differently. Florida lost three outfielders to graduation and had plenty of scholarship money freed up after the draft.

“They’re bringing him in to start,” Owens said.

While he said it was difficult not to go to Maryland, to continue his career alongside New York Grays teammates Jose Cuas and Kevin Martir of Grand Street Campus, Bakich’s departure and Florida’s interest made it an easy decision. When he committed to Maryland, Bader said he was committing to Bakich as much as the school.

“To see him leave, it was heartbreaking to me,” Bader said. “It was almost devastating.”

The program has named Major League baseball veteran pitcher Eric Milton as interim head coach, but it is unclear if he will get the job full time. Cuas and Martir, Owens said, will stick to their commitments as the two have signed NLOIs. Bader, meanwhile, promised this will be his last stop.

“I can safely say this is the final destination and I can’t wait to spend my next few college years there,” he said. “I ended up at an incredible place.”

zbraziller@nypost.com