Early recruits make commitments today.

Byline: BOB CLARK The Register-Guard

The Oregon and Oregon State men are expected to each sign three players in the early letter-of-intent signing period that begins today, and the UO women have two players who earlier made verbal commitments.

On a national scale, the most significant recruit to be signed by one of the area teams is Aaron Brooks, a point guard from Franklin High School in Seattle who chose the Ducks after playing on a national junior team last summer that was coached by Oregon's Ernie Kent. Oregon is also expected to sign 6-foot-10 Mitch Platt of Henderson, Nev., and 7-foot Ray Schafer of Wasilla, Alaska.

The 6-foot Brooks averaged 18.7 points and 7.5 assists as a junior, and is generally ranked as one of the top five point guards among high school seniors. He chose the Ducks over UCLA.

Platt selected the Ducks after also visiting Texas Tech and Arizona State, and was recruited by San Diego State and Utah. He averaged 12.5 points and eight rebounds for Green Valley High School, which reached the state semifinals last year.

Schafer averaged 19 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots as a high school junior. He had also visited Gonzaga, ASU and San Diego State before making his verbal commitment to the Ducks.

Oregon State's three expected signees are Kyle Jeffers, Jeffree Williams and Liam Hughes.

Jeffers, a 6-8 forward who averaged 13.6 points and 10 rebounds per game for Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa, Calif., has the most experience of the recruits. Williams of Portland's Roosevelt High School and Hughes of Modesto, Calif., each have one year of previous prep experience heading into their senior seasons.

The 6-9 Williams averaged 12 points and eight rebounds while playing for La Salle as a freshman. He elected not to play basketball the past two years, but will suit up for the Roughriders this season.

The 7-2 Hughes, who plays for Modesto Christian Academy, arrived from England as a sophomore and didn't play organized basketball until his junior year, when he averaged six points and seven rebounds.

The Oregon women's team received verbal commitments from 6-6 Jessie Shetters of Wilson High School in Portland and 5-10 Ashley Allen of Clovis West High School in Fresno, Calif.

Shetters, who also made official visits to Oregon State and Washington, averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds over her previous two seasons. She will be the first signee from the state since current senior Shaquala Williams committed to the Ducks five years ago.

Expected to play shooting guard in college, Allen averaged 17 points, six steals and two assists as a junior for a team that won its league championship and finished with a 25-3 record.

College coaches are prohibited by NCAA rules from commenting on recruits until they have signed a letter of intent. This early signing period lasts for a week. The second signing period for basketball is in April.