After a three-state summer odyssey of unofficial college visits, Alonso baseball coach Landy Faedo advised his son Alex to narrow his choices and make five follow-up official trips.
Alex Faedo, who set a Saladino Tournament record with a 17-strikeout game in March, offered a change-up.
"He says, 'Dad, I don't want to go somewhere and end up not going to school there and feel bad spending their money and wasting their time,'" Landy Faedo recalled Tuesday.
So on Monday night, the Ravens right-hander condensed his recruitment into one five-word Tweet: I'm a Florida Gator now.
Recently named a Louisville Slugger second-team All-American, Alex Faedo also had offers from Miami, FIU, FAU, USF, FSU, the University of Tampa, Alabama and Mississippi State. He can sign a letter of intent when the NCAA's early signing period begins in November.
"They all have their pluses, all the schools," Landy Faedo said.
"He and (UF coach Kevin O'Sullivan) hit it off just like he hit it off with (pitching coach) Mike Bell at FSU and (pitching coach) Sam Militello at UT. Something just told him (Florida) is where he needed to go."
A 6-foot-5 rising senior, Faedo finished 8-2 with a 1.14 ERA in 2013, striking out 87 and walking only 10 in 55.1 innings. He set a Saladino single-game mark with 17 strikeouts in a 7-1 win against Plant City, and later tossed a five-inning no-hitter against Chamberlain.
He was a Class 8A all-state pick by the Florida Athletic Coaches Association, and was chosen by Major League scouts for the recent East Coast Pro Showcase in Syracuse, N.Y.