Congrats on your new commitment! What is it about Concordia St. Paul that excites you the most?
Thank you!! As soon as I stepped on the campus I knew it was home! It felt extremely close to Marmion Academy and that’s what feels best for me. I am really excited about the coaching staff. I love how they have multiple coaches, so therefore I will have different sets of eyes on me to help me with my craft. Player development is a huge focus of the coaching staff which will ultimately benefit me.
You have been training with Top Tier for a couple of years and played in a couple different tournaments with them before making the switch full time last year. Tell us what that experience has been like and what it means to wear the TT?
The experience was unreal. Being able to wear Top Tier shows that you are a part of one of the best programs in the country. Switching full time to Top Tier has been the best decision I have made. From the winter workouts, to all the college exposure tournaments, Top Tier has made a huge impact on me as a baseball player and a person.
Talk a little bit about the recruiting process and how everything went down.
The recruiting process for me was very long. Early in high school, I thought I was going to be one of the players to commit very early. As time went on, I realized I wasn’t that player, so then there was a lot of dead time. I knew that the summer going into senior year was going to be huge, and it was. Everything took off and I found my home at Concordia University St. Paul.
What were some of the priorities you looked at when deciding where you wanted to commit?
The priorities for a college are both academic and athletic. I want a good academic school because my degree can never be taken away from me and I will need it later in life. Athletically, I am looking for a school where I can make an impact on the mound right away. CSP gives me that opportunity as a freshman. I also like that CSP is big into player development.
What challenges do you see ahead of you before you get to campus?
One challenge for me is to continue to get better every day in every way possible. I need to continue to focus on pitching but also increasing my strength and mobility, and my mental game. Making a run for the a state title with my high school, Marmion Academy, is also another challenge.
What are some of the goals you have set for yourself as a college baseball player?
Some goals as a college baseball player include being the best teammate possible. I want to push everyone on the team therefore, my teammates will get better and I will too. I want to contribute to my team in the best way possible, so we can have positive attitudes and win day in and day out. A big thing I will take with me from the Marmion baseball program is building a positive culture. At CSP, I want to be a leader and help build the culture the upperclassmen have created and then instill it into the underclassmen once I become an upperclassman. As a sophomore on Varsity, we made it to the 3A State Finals. That was an amazing experience that I will never forget. My dream would be to make it to the Division II National Championship while I’m at CSP.
Is there anybody you would like to give a shout-out or thanks to?
First off, I’d like to thank God for blessing me with all these talents. I’d like to thank my parents for giving me the opportunity to play club baseball and allow me to travel to all the tournaments. I want to give a big thanks to my first travel team coaches: Coach Best, Coach Diaz, Coach Radabaugh, Coach Miller, and Coach Urwiler. Next, I’d like to thank Coach Mike, Coach Steve, and Coach Frank from ESP. From Marmion Academy, I want to thank Coach Chapman, Coach Biel, Coach Tarter, Coach Milroy, Coach Friel, Coach Bicknell, Coach Winkel, and Coach Waitkus. I’d like to thank everyone at Top Tier. A big thanks to Coach Fine, Coach Griff, Coach Plante, Coach Kenny, and Coach Colletta. Last but not least, I’d like to thank all my friends and family for all the support along the way! Go Golden Bears!!
