Proctor Academy (Boston, Mass.) point guard Geo Baker joined the Rutgers recruiting class of 2017 on Wednesday when he offered up his verbal pledge to become a Scarlet Knight.

“I really love coaches [Brandin] Knight and [Steve] Pikiell,” said the 6-foot-1 Baker. “Coach Knight first came up to me back in April and he was watching one of my games and told me even though he had plans to be somewhere else, he stayed to watch me play another game.”

That led Pikiell to take a closer look at Baker.

“Eventually, Coach Knight told me he called Coach Pikiell after one of my games and told him he had to get down to come watch me play,” Baker said. “So apparently, Coach Pikiell drove from Rutgers early in the a.m. to come see me play at the Pittsburgh jam fest. The entire Rutgers staff just showed a lot of love from the start and they really believed in me as a player.”

Baker went on to relay the details of how he committed to Rutgers as he chose the Scarlet Knights over other finalists George Mason, George Washington, Kansas State, and Louisiana Tech.

“I called Coach Pikiell [Wednesday] to tell him that I was going to commit, he was really excited. He actually told me he couldn't stop smiling and kept saying big things are coming. Also, he kept on telling me that he's going to get some stud wings to help me out on the floor when I get there.”

The commitment comes a month after Baker’s last trip to campus.

“I visited Rutgers back in June, it was great,” he said. “I really loved touring all the campuses and getting to see the academic side of things. Also, I was able to sit in on some of the players meetings with the staff.”

Now, Baker will begin to do some recruiting of his own on Rutgers behalf.

“One recruit I'd like to get to join me is Cole Swider, a 2018 kid who Rutgers recently just offered. I played with Cole back in 8th grade and I'm texting him now about my commitment as we speak.”