Claudia Collins
The No. 1 prospect in the state for the class of 2023 and the No. 1 tight end in the country has finally announced his college commitment after a long wait. Pinnacle tight end Duce Robinson announced his commitment to USC via Instagram on Thursday evening.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cqb1WpdJdaB/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
In typical Duce Robinson fashion, he remained quiet about his commitment until his announcement and chose to do so on Instagram for a special cause. Duce has a reputation across Arizona that goes beyond his athletic abilities and that’s on display with the announcement to play ball at USC. He partnered with Uninterrupted, an athlete empowerment brand founded by LeBron James and Mav Carter to make his commitment video.
The primary goal of his public commitment and collaboration with Uninterrupted is to bring awareness to the perks of playing multiple sports growing up. This partnership will go beyond his commitment video, as Duce will serve as a spokesman for the brand in the future.
Good luck tryna guard Pinnacle's 5-star TE @Ducerobinson2.
Dude broke the school record for most receptions and receiving yards this season. pic.twitter.com/8ZvqsIguNh
— Zack Poff (@Zack_Poff_MP) December 14, 2022
Georgia and USC seemed to be continued front-runners throughout Duce’s recruitment but he ultimately opted to join his Pinnacle teammates Elijah Paige and Dorian Singer in Los Angeles. In his final season as a Pinnacle Pioneer football player, Duce posted 84 receptions for 1,614 yards and 14 total touchdowns that ultimately helped lead the Pioneers to the 6A state championship.
Robinson has been clear that his goal was to play both baseball and football at the next level. However, there’s another important element to this particular recruitment story. The MLB Draft.
In honor of #SuperBowl being played in Phoenix, take a look at this massive HR from Duce Robinson (‘23, AZ) at last year’s #WWBAWest. Robinson is one of the best multi-sport athletes in the country, as he is both a 5-star TE and potential ‘23 MLB Draft selection pic.twitter.com/Tqq0dkCwjv
— Perfect Game Four Corners (@PG_FourCorners) February 12, 2023
Duce may be a 5-star tight end but he’s also one of the top high school prospects in this year’s MLB draft. At 6-foot-6, 225-pounds the young slugger has a real shot of being an early (day one or two) draft pick. He’s previously participated in a Dodgers camp and has all the tools for a professional baseball career.
In an ideal world, Duce’s plans would shape out to get drafted on June 20 and forgo his amateur status. This would allow Robinson to still play football at USC while the MLB team would still have his rights. USC and every other college that was in the running agreed to this scenario.
Duce Robinson’s recruitment story does not end here. It may be just beginning.
