Thad Earle highlights ASU Baseball’s Top-25 recruiting class

TEMPE, Ariz. — Monday afternoon 10-year-old Thaddeus Earle unofficially signed his National Letter of Intent for ASU baseball. Arizona State worked with the Team Impact organization to match with and adopt Earle.

Thaddeus Earle signs NLI with ASU baseball

“This young man is very inspirational to a lot of people, specifically our team,” ASU baseball head coach Willie Bloomquist said. “This guy is the jewel of our recruiting class.”

Earle is a kid in the Team Impact organization. The organization matches children facing serious illness or disability with college teams across the country. The goal is to add to the child’s support system and allow them to experience the power of sports, have mentors around them, and feel the joy of being a kid, according to Team Impact.

Earle has neurofibromatosis, which consists of three conditions that cause tumors to develop on nerve tissue. The tumors can develop anywhere in the nervous system, commonly in the brain, spinal cord, and nerves that send signals throughout the body. Earle had his left eye removed in May of 2021, according to ASU athletics.

“Thad attacks each day with enthusiasm. He has to overcome adversity and all the things we preach to our guys,” Bloomquist said. “We feel he’s going to fit in very well with our culture and what our program is trying to build.”

Earle said he wasn’t sure if other schools were looking to recruit him. However, he knew Arizona State was the place for him after getting to know some of his cool teammates around him.

“We recruited Thad out of Team Impact, it was special to our program and special to our university. When we got a chance to meet him and his family, we knew he was going to be a great fit for us,” Bloomquist said. “From that point on, it was kind of a no-brainer for us. We’re honored to be a part of his life.”

The effect of Team Impact

Team Impact has matched more than 600 children with college universities around the country. ASU baseball is the fifth athletic program at ASU to involve themselves with Team Impact. The organization has worked with the men’s tennis team, women’s volleyball and gymnastics teams, and the coed cheerleading team.

Team Impact gives college teams across the country a chance to connect with a kid, have fun build friendships, and ultimately show the impact sports can have beyond the game on the field.

“Our guys have done a tremendous job of doing things with [Thad] throughout his life and for that I’m grateful. I’m happy to see that our guys are taking that step to do things and be bigger than just baseball,” Bloomquist said. “That’s what’s important. They’re using their platform to do things the right way and on the flip side, [Thad’s family] has been very welcoming to us to allow us to be a part of his life. So that’s been outstanding.”

What Earle adds to the team

A team’s success usually relies on team chemistry and comradery. Earle has definitely added a boost to the Sun Devils in that form, being a great addition to the clubhouse.

“We have a great time whenever Thad’s around, we’re honored to have him as a teammate officially now,” Redshirt sophomore pitcher Tyler Meyer said. “We really couldn’t be happier.”

Earle has the support of his teammates, coaches, family, and community behind him as he starts his journey as a Sun Devil. There’s plenty of excitement around what Earle can help ASU achieve.

“If Thad comes in and does what he’s expected to do, I see his name being up on that wall in left-center field at some point in time and then hopefully helps us put another banner on the right side in right-center field,” Bloomquist said. “He’s the epitome of what it means to take challenges head-on, and I think our guys can learn every bit as much from him as he does from our guys.”

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