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Meet the college baseball recruit who stormed the field at Vanderbilt, Oregon and Tennessee

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If there is a Guinness Book of World Records entry for the most consecutive field stormings in a college football season, we have our winner.

Meet Gary Morse, a Class of 2026 college baseball recruit who took official visits — on three straight weekends — to Vanderbilt (for the Alabama game), Oregon (for the Ohio State game) and Tennessee (for the Alabama game).

Three monumental wins for the home team. Three field stormings for the 17-year-old Morse, who sprinted toward the party each time while his father, Allan, watched from the stands.

“I won’t lie to you,” said Morse, one of the top right-handed pitchers in the 2026 class, “I’m living my best life.”

 

Morse, a 6-foot-8 native of Bellflower, Calif., narrowed a long list of suitors down to six schools and mapped out a schedule for official visits this fall, starting with Texas A&M on Sept. 21. He was in attendance for the Aggies game against Bowling Green but left early with A&M ahead by two scores in the fourth quarter.

Two weeks later, he traveled to Nashville, Tenn., where he figured Vanderbilt didn’t have much of a chance against No. 1 Alabama and suspected he might not stay for the entire game.

But at halftime, the Commodores had the lead.

“Third quarter ends, they’re still winning,” Morse said. “And then two minutes hit, and they’re still up.”

As the clock ticked down, Morse and his baseball buddies made their way from the student section to Vanderbilt’s pitching lab, located under the stands and on the same level as the football field. They wanted to be among the first to storm the field, and Morse whipped out his cellphone to take a video of the scene while he sprinted toward midfield.

At one point, he came across a Vanderbilt helmet and raised it into the air with the crowd.

“I’d say I loved all of (the field storms),” Morse said, “they’re all super cool experiences, but I’m gonna say the Vanderbilt one was the best just because of how that usually never happens and it being the first one. The first one’s kind of the best one.”

The next week, Morse and his dad were in Eugene, Ore., for one of the biggest games on the college football calendar — a top-five showdown between Ohio State and Oregon.

Morse heard Oregon students talking about their plans to rush the field if the Ducks won. So when the game ended, there he was again — living it up for the second consecutive week while his dad looked on.

 

“All these crowds, the kids are just super involved in what’s going on in their college,” Morse said. “I think it’s really cool to just see all these kids come together and they’re all having a good time and I think it’s just super cool.”

After the Oregon visit, Morse and his father talked about how rare it was that they were able to attend two of the most notable games of the 2024 season. He knew he’d enjoy talking with the baseball coaching staffs and taking advantage of all the great food on the official visits. But what were the odds he’d have two field stormings in two weeks … as a baseball recruit?

And then Tennessee-Alabama happened. Trifecta complete.

“I was like, ‘Dad, three weekends in a row, storming the field? Not only does that have to be a record in a row but just for a recruit in general, that has to be a record to storm the field three times,’” Morse said. “And then even more we were thinking, ‘Hold on. Has anyone stormed the field three times in their lifetime? Maybe a couple of superfans who have attended a bunch of games over the years, but even then you’d be super lucky to storm the field three times.

“I’m batting 1.000.”

Morse has two official visits left: to LSU and Texas. He’s not expecting another field storm, but the Tigers and Longhorns will have a high bar to clear, nonetheless.

As for his plans, he’s in no hurry to make a decision but would like to issue a commitment before his season begins in the spring.

Then again …

“I don’t know,” Morse said, laughing, “if I keep storming the field, I might just have to become a professional official visitor.”

(Photo of recruits Eli Herst and Gary Morse, videos courtesy of Gary Morse)





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