COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Despite playing parts of his high school career in Connecticut and Florida, Delaware native and Maryland freshman guard Eric Ayala comes from a small state but is expected to have a big impact for the Terps this season.

Ayala started his high school career at Sanford School (Wilmington, Del.) before transferring to Putnam Science Academy (Putnam, Conn.) and eventually finishing at IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.). The 6-foot-5 combo guard was a consensus four-star recruit when it was all said and done, and now he’s ready to showcase his talent in College Park while representing The First State.

“I always represent Delaware wherever I’m at,” Ayala said. “Not too much comes out of there. It’s a small state, small town. A lot of people don’t even know where Delaware is. I say I’m from Delaware and they’re like where’s that at? So it’s just a beautiful thing to be able to represent them and just to be able to come from there I appreciate it a lot.”

Maryland has some history of grooming players from Delaware, particularly under former head coach Gary Williams. The late Laron Cephas played on the Terps’ first Final Four team in 2001 and like Ayala also attended Sanford School in Wilmington. Laron Profit is another former Maryland forward from Delaware who played for the Terps from 1995-1999 and earned all-conference honors all four seasons in College Park before moving on to a pro career.

Ayala is positioned to be the next Terps hoops contributor from Maryland’s neighboring state of Delaware, and he has already impressed his coaches and teammates with his play throughout the summer and preseason as well as his ability to be versatile in the backcourt.

“I think we all have a have a lot of confidence in Eric,” Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon said. “Eric’s a little bit older coming in, he’s like Melo [Trimble] - extra year of high school. So I think that helps. Our players love playing with Eric. Anthony’s really passing at a high level but Eric’s our best passer and thinks pass-first.

“I’ll say this about all our guys we signed - we knew we signed a good class but across the board, they’re all a little bit better than I thought. Eric is probably the leader of that pack. He’s been a real pleasant surprise for us. I thought I was signing a true combo guard, I think he’s more of a point guard than he is a combo guard. Allows us to be a little more versatile with the way we’re going to play.”

Ayala’s ability to play both guard positions is something the Terps’ backcourt was missing last season with the departure of Melo Trimble and his addition to the team should help make life easier on junior guard Anthony Cowan and allow him to play on or off the ball.

“I think that’s important,” Cowan said. “I know we didn’t really have that last year. So for [Ayala] to maybe come on the ball a little bit and take me off the ball I think it’s going to mean a lot for us. I think it can take a lot of the pressure off of me for him to sometimes come to the one and also for him to go to the two sometimes as well. So I think with two point guards on the floor it makes the whole team feel better.”

Ayala and Cowan have developed a strong relationship from the jump and are working on growing their chemistry on and off the court.

“Anthony [Cowan] has been amazing,” Ayala said. “He has definitely taken that big brother role for me, always helping me. We’ve been building a relationship off the court, which I think is translating on the court for us playing together. And I really appreciate him a lot. I love playing with him. I love him even more as a big brother off the court. He cares about me and I care about him. So I feel like that off-the-court bond has translated to on the court and it has been making things easier for me and him.”

Ayala feels prepared for the stage he’s about to step onto in College Park, and much of that has to do with the year he spent at prep school in Florida. While his decision to reclassify to the Class of 2018 didn’t come easy, it’s one Ayala is glad he made and wouldn’t change at this point.

“I think everything happens for a reason,” Ayala said. “I was very heavily on trying to come in as a freshman last year but it wasn’t meant to be and I’m glad that it didn’t happen. I’m very thankful for being able to come in now and being prepared for it. I think that prep year last year really helped me out a lot to come in and be able to help the team a lot. I definitely appreciate that prep year I did and I wouldn’t change anything.”

Ayala added that his time spent away from home before college has helped him transition to the next level, but he’s still thrilled to be able to play closer to friends and family for a school where there is opportunity for him to thrive.

“A lot of people don’t get that aspect of being by themselves until they get to college,” Ayala said. “Just learning to depend on myself for confidence, depend on myself for motivation and those type of things, and not being so dependant on people for certain stuff. So just being self-determined and stuff. I think being away from home helped a lot with that. But now that I’m at Maryland, my mom and all get to see me play and that’s very exciting.”