NORWALK, Ct. - At 5-6 and 165 pounds, Jose Vasquez sees a lot of himself in the Astros’ Jose Altuve. Vasquez, whose family is from Venezuela like Altuve, is hoping a college commitment to Rice, a school located in a city where Altuve plays, has him on a path to professional baseball.

“It will be a challenge but I’m willing to do it,” the Harvey School incoming senior said about going to college so far away from his home in Connecticut. “Baseball is what I want to do after college and I’m willing to do this.”

A fast recruiting process landed the top-ranked 2023 outfielder from Connecticut in the state of Texas at the Conference USA university located in Houston.

“I posted some video of game footage of me hitting at UConn and I added the Rice baseball page on Twitter and added the coach,” Vasquez explained. “I saw that they liked the post and the recruiting coordinator hit me up after that and said he wanted to introduce me to the program.

“My coach, Luis Lopez, has known Jose Cruz Jr (the Rice head coach) for a long time,” Vasquez continued. “Coach Lopez told him I was uncommitted and told him we had a tournament the following weekend in Rhode Island. Coach Cruz flew up to watch three games and liked what he saw. After that he said he wanted me to go to a camp in front of the whole coaching staff.”

Vasquez did not disappoint.

“I went 3-for-3 with three stolen bags and did alright on defense and after the game he called me over and said to chill, ‘we have business to talk about,’” Vasquez reflected. “He said he needed to get a yes from admissions. The next Friday morning he offered and I accepted.”

It brought an end to a recruiting process that had the fourth-rated New England 2023 in contact with Coastal Carolina and Stetson as well as Connecticut.

“People gave me tips to be patient and not get too antsy,” Vasquez noted. “They said be patient, send a lot of footage, stay in contact with schools and you’ll know where you want to go. I did four PBRs and that really helped me out. I sent footage to schools from my PBR profile.

“You just have to have an open mind,” Vasquez added. “It’s long and tough but in the end it’s worth it. The prize will come.”

The desire to play at the next level had been there forever, according to Vasquez.

“I was born with it,” the 18-year-old said. “It’s a childhood dream. Back in Venezuela they choose baseball early. Here, it’s college baseball first and then the pros.”

Being a smaller player has been instrumental in reaching the goal of playing baseball after high school.

“It really motivated me a lot,” Vasquez admitted. “I prefer being small. We’re underdogs with a chip on our shoulders. That always helps. A guy can be 6-5, but in my eyes I’m 6-7. It’s an underdog mentality.”

Vasquez is confident in what he can provide Rice, a program that has made 23 NCAA Tournament appearances, seven times making it to the College World Series including a 2003 national championship.

“I’ll bring a good leadoff approach and play center field,” the left-handed hitting Vasquez said. “I’m a team player first, I’m not selfish. And I like to win.”

There was a lot about Rice that impressed Vasquez.

“I liked the vibe at Rice,” Vasquez pointed out. “I got a tour by the head coach right before the showcase and I just felt at home there.”

Once a commitment was made, Vasquez was thrilled.

“I wasn’t expecting it to be that quick,” Vasquez said. “It felt really good knowing all the sacrifices and work I had put in had paid off. Now I just have to keep working.”

A 3.1 student, Vasquez has plans to major in sport management at Rice.

“I’m looking forward to getting there and winning,” Vasquez concluded. “I like to win, that’s a big point for me. I also want to keep developing. Those are the goals.”