Interest in Toye heating up

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West coast guard on the rise

Recruiting is starting to heat up for La Porte (In.) La Lumiere small forward Joseph Toye. Wing players with his size and skill level always attract the attention of college coaches, but add in the fact he does very well in the classroom and you have a prospect that gets coaches really excited.

The 6-foot-7 athletic wing is closing in on 10 offers and will probably add several more going forward.

"Recruiting is going pretty good," Toye told Rivals.com. "I have offers from UI-Chicago, Bradley, Auburn, Iowa, Missouri, Memphis, Vanderbilt, Creighton and I might be forgetting a few others. I probably talk to Vanderbilt, Iowa, Memphis and Creighton the most lately."

Under head coach Kevin Stallings, Vanderbilt has done a great job identifying quality players that are strong academically and selling them on the academic reputation of the school. Toye seems to be buying into the Commodores' recruiting pitch.

"I'm really interested in Vanderbilt," Toye admitted. "I like their coaching staff. It's a really good basketball program. They are re-building right now. They have really good assistant coaches, so I know they will be really good again. I also like how it's a great academic school."

Iowa is another school that appears to be heavily in the mix with Toye. An unofficial visit last summer helped the four-star prospect build a better relationship with the Hawkeyes coaching staff.

"I love the coaching staff there too," said Toye. "I love their style of play. They get up the court fast and get after it. I have a pretty good relationship with Coach (Andrew) Francis and Coach (Fran) McCaffery since I took my visit there. I've been talking to them a lot since then."

Creighton jumped on Toye early in the recruiting process and that means a lot to the 64th ranked prospect in the 2015 Rivals150.

"Creighton was one of my first five offers, so I'll always have a special place in my heart for them," Toye explained. "I like their coaching staff. I like the way they play. They play on ESPN a lot. They are a highly rated team right now."

At this time, Toye claims no favorites and is unsure when he will make a verbal commitment.

"I haven't really thought about a timetable yet for when I'll make a decision. I have to sit down with my family and discuss it. I have no idea when I'll do it," Toye said. "I'm definitely looking at the academics at each school and how they are in what I decide to major in. My relationship with the coaching staff and how close the team is when I take my official visits are also important to me."

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