Nov. 12, 2014
Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings has announced the signing of Djery Baptiste, Camron Justice, Samir Sehic, and Joseph Toye to National Letters of Intent and each will be eligible to compete for the Commodores in the 2015-16 campaign.
“We’re real excited about the the four kids that we’ve signed,” said Stallings. “We feel like all of them in very different ways fulfill needs that our team had going into this recruiting season. Certainly with three graduating senior front court players, we had to get some help up front, and we feel like we did. And, we were able to secure a couple of fine perimeter players that should be able to come in and impact our team fairly quickly. We were real pleased from top to bottom with this recruiting class. All four are outstanding young men, and that will be a very welcome thing as well.”
Baptiste, a 6’11, 245 pound center who attends Prestonwood Christian School in Plano, Texas, chose the Commodores over UConn, SMU, Oregon, and USC, and is ranked the eighth-best player in the state of Texas according to ESPN. Originally from Haiti, Baptiste is one of the most physically impressive prospects in the 2015 class. He speaks four languages and hopes to one day be a diplomat in his native country.
“The main reasons why I chose to go to Vanderbilt were the opportunities I will have both academically and on the court,” said Baptiste. “I will have the opportunity to get a prestigious degree from an amazing school and hopefully contribute on the court next season.”
Justice is a 6’2 shooting guard from Hindman, Kentucky, where he plays at Knott County Central High School. Justice is known as one of the top shooters in the class of 2015 and was named a First-Team All-State selection as a junior, averaging 24.8 points while shooting 54% from the floor, 41% from three-point range, and 88% from the free throw line. He also helped lead his Knott County Central team to its third consecutive Sweet 16 appearance in the spring of 2014.
“I felt like Vanderbilt fit me as well as I fit the system,” said Justice. “On all of my visits, I just felt real comfortable and got real close with everyone on the coaching staff. I wanted to go somewhere that I was going to get better as a player and person, and from the beginning they stuck out to me.”
Sehic, 6’9 forward, comes to Vanderbilt from Cy Woods High School in Cypress, Texas, where he chose the Commodores over Davidson, Wake Forest, Iowa, Stanford, and Notre Dame. Originally from Bosnia, Sehic thrives as a bruising skilled forward who can score inside and out. As a junior last season with Cy Woods, he averaged 17.6 points, 13 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game.
“There were many reasons why i chose Vanderbilt,” said Sehic. “I chose them because of academics, but also because of the way they play. I feel like i can fit into the offense very well and I can make a big impact my freshman year.”
Toye is a 6’7 wing man from Chicago who attends Whitney Young High School, where he is regarded as one of the most explosive athletes in the 2015 class. Ranked as the sixth-best player in the state of Illinois and a four-star prospect by ESPN, Toye is also ranked as the 113th-best prospect in the nation by Rivals.com. Toye and his twin sister Elizabeth are both Division I basketball signees – Elizabeth signed with Wisconsin earlier today.
“I chose Vanderbilt because of the chemistry that I felt with the Vanderbilt coaches and players, and also because it’s a very strong academic institution,” said Toye.