Regardless of your sport, if you're in the middle of your recruiting process, it can feel overwhelming. Luckily, in this interview we get to take an in depth look at the recruiting process and the overall experience of George Mason pitcher Kieran Versaw-Barnes who gave us insight that can help you in your recruiting process and help you get a better feel for what life as a college athlete is like. Let's see what he had to say.

Q: What did it feel like for you to commit to your school?

A:  When I first had that phone call with [my] coach, I was super excited. It's one of those things, you've been thinking of that moment since you were seven or eight years old. And when you finally feel like you've found a good academic spot, a good spot to play, have fun, [and] meet some good buddies. It's just pure excitement.

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Q: How did you decide on George Mason?

A: George Mason was the first spot where I thought “this is a good spot for me academically, and I feel like I can go have a plan B.” Because, you know, as an athlete, you're always thinking about how can I play at the next level? So George Mason just felt like the sport where the academics are there. I liked the area. Baseball was at a good level, I felt like I could go there compete, have fun, you know, [and] just live out [my dream]. 

Q: What do you think has been the hardest thing about being a college athlete?

A: It's definitely got to be time management. I can remember thinking back to my first first semester at Division 1. I was like, “Wow, I feel like I've no time, like I'm working so hard,” And then it's like, your classes get even a little bit harder. And it's like, you have more [of a] workload, practices are going longer, your body's fatigued, you get home, and you don't have the energy for the schoolwork. [It] really got me to find that second gear to just schedule your day out, make the most of every second year day, just to get all your work done. So definitely time management is key, finding a schedule that works for you and sticking to that schedule.

Related: 11 Ways To Perfect Your Time Management Skills as a College Athlete

Q: What would be the most rewarding thing that you've seen as a college athlete?

A: Baseball has brought me to places I probably never would have been in my life. So that's one of the things that I really reflect back on. But the most rewarding thing is definitely, definitely the friendships that you make, you know, those are brothers out there, you're doing the same thing, you're on the same schedule every day, you're going to war with them. You all have those lifts early in the morning where no one wants to get out of bed. But that person beside you is just, if they're there and you're there, you can do it. And just get so close to everything together. So definitely the friendships for sure.

Q: How would you say playing sports in college has helped you grow as a student and as an athlete?

A: First of all, as an athlete it's definitely made me realize how much extra work you have to put in. If you want to be serious about your sport, you [have to] go to practice three, four, or five hours a day, lift, [get in the] training room. But if you really care about your sport, [and you] want to keep playing and want to get better at your game, there's still more stuff you got to do [like you] got to take care of your nutrition, your health, all that, and make sure you're getting quality sleep. 

Which really comes back down to scheduling stuff out, which takes me into academics, you know, it's like, if I don't have the right schedule, and I'm not allotting my time correctly, then I don't have a chance, getting everything I need to get done, which I think is going to be great for me in the future, for work and stuff like that, when you don't have to focus. When you don't have five, six, seven hours of your day taken up by a sport, you know, you have more time to get stuff done. But if you use that time effectively, you can get a lot done during that time.

Q: How would 2aDays have helped you during the recruiting process?

A: 2aDays would have helped get a better perspective of how the program is actually run. You know–what are the main goals of the program? How are the players treated? Is injury prevention a priority? How are academic needs taken care of?  Do you have a team academic advisor? Are they working with the athletes? If I knew about 2aDays, when I was getting recruited, every school that contacted me, the first thing I would do is go right to 2aDays.

Q: What has been your favorite college baseball memory?

A:  I look back to a game last year where we're having a rough game. We're in a little bit of a dogfight with Towson and in the bottom of the 9th we're down one and one of our fifth year senior guys stepped up to the plate. And I remember he just hits a ball deep left center, it's going out. It's kind of one of those ones, it's a little bit of a wall scraper you like you don't know if it's out off the bat, [and] it's just flying. And that second it goes over the wall, walk off bomb, we all just stream out of the dugout. Nobody's worried about a thing except [that] we won the game. You know, it's just pure excitement. It's just one of the best, best reasons to play a sport in college.  

Image Credit: George Mason University Athletics

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* Originally published on October 13, 2022, by Max Brown