Even before Marco Carrizales gave his commitment to SMU, he was completely invested in the program. Living within walking distance of the school’s Dallas campus, Carrizales found himself at every home game last season. 

So when it came time to choose a school there was no campus visit – not even the trips to his favorites, North Carolina and Wake Forest – that could tell him anymore about a school than he already knew about the Mustangs.

“I saw myself fitting into that program better than any other one,” said Carrizales, who recently gave his verbal to SMU for the 2013 season. “I’m not the biggest player (5-foot-8) so I really like to play on the ground with the ball at my feet and they have a program that plays that way.”

Carrizales, an FC Dallas standout, is great with the ball at his feet, by the way. He’s quick and also scrappy when it comes to winning possessions, and he’s played against top talent through the Development Academy and his call-ins to the U.S. Soccer program.

One of his best friends, Murphy Short, is heading to SMU this fall and Carrizales plans to pick his brain as much as possible. 

Not that Carrizales doesn’t already know what it takes. He plays on one of the top USSF Development Academy club teams in the country and regularly competes against pro players like homegrown signings Jonathan Top, Ruben Luna and Moises Hernandez. 

“The professionalism of FC Dallas has really helped me mature,” he said. “I’m looking forward to SMU, but first I’d like to win a national championship this season.”

This past week saw a few other big names make announcements, including Ben Spencer of Chivas USA and Cal Odyssey defender Carlos Grande.

Spencer is our No. 20 ranked player in the 2013 class. He’s a 6-foot-5 target striker who should make a large impact at the next level.

A recent call-in with the U.S. U18 Men’s National Team, Spencer decided to keep his talents relatively local in committing to the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. 

“My family and I thought it was best that I stayed on the West Coast,” he said. “USCB just felt right. It is an amazing school and a great program. The atmosphere of the program is as close to a pro environment as it gets.”

Grande is a tough national team player who is ranked No. 43 in the Top 100 and is college-ready. He has committed to play at Cal State Bakersfield.

Patrick Barnes (Shattuck-Saint Mary’s Academy) has signed to Winthrop for the 2012 season.  

Jesus Gonzalez (Kendall SC) has signed with Gonzaga for the 2012 season. 

Joel Salmeron (Chicago Fire) has signed to UIC for the 2012 season.

Kyle Richards (Concorde Fire SC) has verbally committed to West Virginia for the 2013 season. 

Liberty has announced three transfer arrivals for the 2012 season: Johnny Torres, arriving from Wake Forest; Sammy Dieng, of Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas, and Tanner Wilcox who will arrive from Butler.