University of Connecticut Athletics
Incoming Freshmen Golfers Eager To Join Huskies
3/27/2020 5:38:00 PM | Men's Golf
UConn Athletic Communications
March 27, 2020
STORRS, Conn. – The UConn men's golf program is ready to welcome three new student-athletes in the fall of 2020, with hometowns stretching from Maine to Florida.
Talk about a large recruiting footprint.
The talented group, each finishing his senior year in high school, includes Caleb Manuel of Topsham, Me., Jimmy Paradise of Tampa, Fla., and Tommy Dallahan of Simsbury, Conn.
"We're are excited to add these special young men to our program," UConn coach Dave Pezzino said. "I knew from the beginning of the recruiting process that we wanted these student-athletes to help us continue the standard of excellence we've built at UConn."
Manuel, out of Mount Ararat High School, is a two-time Maine Class A state champion and a four-time All-State selection, who led Mount Ararat to two state championships. He qualified for the 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.
"I really liked the atmosphere at UConn with all the fans around all the big sports," said Manuel, who owns the Brunswick (Me.) Golf Course course record with a 60. "But Coach Pezzino was a big part of my decision. He was so inviting and he has big goals just like I do. We're chasing the same thing, trying to win championships.
"Everyone was asking me, being from Maine, why didn't I go down South, with better golf weather? But UConn travels to those places a lot and I'm looking forward to traveling with the team and the experience of college golf, and I definitely think Coach Pezzino is the guy to lead me."
Paradise plays out of Jesuit High School in Tampa, but grew up previously in Minnesota, where he played hockey on a AAA Elite Team. At Jesuit, he was a two-time AA District Champion and a AA Regional runner-up at a senior.
"When I went up there to visit, I spent time with the UConn players and Coach Pezzino and Coach (Max) Major and it was just everything I could want in a program, coaches and teammates," said Paradise, who plays out of the Pelican Golf Club (Belleair, Fla.). "The school was the perfect size for me and I love the area. I could tell the environment is very centered and the students and student-athletes. I could tell that it fit me as a person and it was something I wanted to be a part of."
The natural question that Paradise has heard many times is why a college golfer from Florida want to attend a school in the Northeast?
"Yes, I've been asked that," he said with a laugh. "For me, it was opportunity. I've only been playing competitive golf since I sophomore year, but I've put a lot of hard work into it. So, for me, it was about finding the right fit and finding someone who would be willing to take a chance on me and that I'd be willing to take a chance on them and for me, that was at UConn. Everything seemed to fall into place and I feel like it's going to give me the best chance to succeed."
Compared to his two incoming teammates, Dallahan practically stayed home. From Simsbury, Dallahan attends Avon Old Farms School and plays out of the Hartford Golf Club in West Hartford. Out of the three incoming freshmen, Dallahan is the only one who lost his final high school season due to the coronavirus health crisis. For Manuel and Paradise, golf is a fall sport.
Dallahan was captain of the Simsbury High golf team in 2018, when he was also named All-State and was a CCC All-Conference pick. At Avon Old Farms, he was the Founders League Individual Champion, an All-Founders League and All-New England pick, and part of the 2019 New England Team Champions.
"It's actually been a lifelong dream of mine to play at UConn," Dallahan said. "I grew up playing at Ellington Ridge Country Club and I used to see Coach Pezzino and the team there all the time. I always thought how cool it would be to be one of those guys because they always treated me so well and I really looked up to them. I thought to myself, if I could be like them one day, that would be really special.
"I had expressed interest to Coach Pezzino and he had expressed interest in me, then around Christmas time, we started getting serious and we got it done."
UConn, of course, had its 2019-20 spring schedule interrupted and eventually cancelled by the national pandemic. Pezzino is happy to have the three incoming freshman as part of the team in 2020-21.
"Aside from their talent on the golf course, these are high-quality young men who will be great additions to our program," Pezzino said. "They form an ideal group to help our current players chase championships. We can't wait to begin working with them."
