Congrats on your new commitment! What is it about the Illinois Institute of Technology that excites you the most?

What excites me most is the culture and the ideal of family throughout the school. The coach is someone I would like to be around and the players on the team have a true dedication to the sport and love of the game. Also, the great engineering program I will be involved in, and the knowledge I will obtain when I graduate.

You have spent most of your youth and all of your high school career with Top Tier. Tell us about your experience.

The coaches were great and the culture was for the love of the game. I’ve learned to live my life by the motto “Expect Greatness” that I learned from Top Tier and always want to be the best person and player that I can, to expect more from myself. I’ve learned how important it is to work hard and have the right mindset while doing so. I’ve also learned how to be a winner through this program. The coaches are very helpful throughout the way, whether it was getting BP on a Tuesday afternoon or girlfriend problems. Top Tier is the definition of a family and I wouldn’t choose any other program if I were to do it all over again.

Talk a little bit about the recruiting process and how everything went down.

I have had some different coaches call/email me to come visit their schools. Coach Zeifert (from IIT) came to watch a few of my games and was constantly keeping in check upon how I was doing. He was also trying to get me as much financial support as possible so coming to IIT was going to be affordable. Once it got down to it and I had all of the schools I was interested in, it then came to my priorities and which family I wanted to be around, and that was IIT.

What were some of the priorities you looked at when deciding where to commit?

Yes, I wanted to be around a successful baseball program, or the need to be successful from the coaches and players. Another priority of mine was an engineering program that was going to make me the most successful as possible post-graduation.

What challenges do you see ahead of you before you get to campus?

Some challenges that I see are the difficulty of time management while entering the institution, while still trying to be the hardest working on and off the field.

What are some of the goals you have set for yourself as a college baseball player?

A goal of mine is to be the best player I can be and the hardest worker on the team. I want to be a starter as a freshman. I will start this plan by continuing to work out during the summer by playing summer ball games and getting bigger, faster, and stronger. I would like to put myself in the most successful spot that I can be on the baseball field.

Is there anybody you would like to give a shout-out or thanks to?

Yes, I would first like to give the biggest thanks to my father who has always been there for me, whether financially (especially), on the baseball field, and emotionally. I would like to give thanks to Seth Kenny, Griffin Phelps, and Matt Plante as they all helped me individually as a baseball player and being the best athlete that I can be. Jorge Garza as he was my coach for three years and progressed me as a player and as a person. Todd Fine for making this whole program come together and have a greater meaning to baseball. And the rest of the staff within Top Tier as they were always there to help and make each athlete a better person overall.