UCONN

The recruits who have committed to UConn this year who I am aware of have all touched at least 90mph.

oh wow.. jeez haha thanks.. but if I was able to throw up around low 80s and get up to like 84 or so 85.. you think they'd take me as a walk on?

Hi Joey T and welcome to the HSBBW.

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What is UCONN looking for ...

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but if I was able to throw up around low 80s and get up to like 84 or so 85.. you think they'd take me as a walk on?

Truth be told, the only one who can answer your question, is the coach himself. Some people could take a shot in the dark guess for you, but I dont think that would really help you much. If you want to go to the UConn, I would suggest that you contact the coaching staff.

You will never know unless you ask.

One way to learn where you might fit into the college game is go watch college games. Attend a UConn game. Watch how hard the pitchers are throwing. Check out a Trinity (D3) game. Look at the difference, yet they are a very strong D3 program (2008 national champions). I'm not sure who's D2 in CT. Go up to Boston and watch a strong ACC team play BC. You'll notice a big difference between the ACC and the Big East (UConn).

Southern Connecticut State U. would be the D2 to go see in CT.

where are you playing this fall? contact the coach. maybe he'll watch you play.

Actually I dont think I'm playing ball this fall because my town doesnt have a team and I dont even know where the closest town that does have one is. Last year a team that was about a half hour away had tryouts but I couldnt go away because all the practices were there and I had no way of getting there. I need to get a job too so I'm just throwing with the catcher after school a few times a week

I don't want to burst your bubble, but I'm not sure that UCONN is the right fit for you baseball-wise. With exception, they are probably looking for the prototypical 6-4 200lb pitcher who throws at least mid/high 80's. Without playing on a decent summer/fall team, how can they see you? They would want to see you compete against D1 type hitters, and you're not going to get that in your local fall ball league.
good luck though. There are a ton of D3 schools in your area. Call the coaches. Send them some video. Ask them if you can visit. Be proactive!!

yeah well see im gonna go 2 uconn (hopefully) for college, so I was just thinkin ehh I'll give it a shot it cant hurt

I wish you the best of luck!

Some facts about UConn pitching that can easily be found with a little web research. In 2008 they carried 19 pitchers (including two way players). Of the 19, 9 were taller than 6'1", and two were shorter than 6', given the way these numbers are generally stretched for media guides I think it's safe to say that the majority of the UConn staff is around 6' tall. Of the 19 listed pitchers 5 of them had Perfect game profiles (www.perfectgame.org) of the five that had profiles none of them threw over 89 in their showcases, Katapano threw 89, Mikalsen threw 87, Karl, Mahoney, and Musson all threw 86. UConn had a team ERA of 5.52, and went 27-28 with a conference record of 11-16. They are good, but not that great. My point is this, if you work very hard and implement a throwing program with a emphasis on increasing your velocity such as "the athletic pitcher" and have a good spring, go to a showcase and bump upper mid 80's in front of the UConn coaches, you should be able to pitch for them. btw gains of 6 mph from 80 to 86 are not impossible in six months with hard work and some mediocre coaching. Good luck to you, enjoy your senior season!

Thank you coach, I appreciate it! I just have 3 quick questions - I'm going to start doing bodyweight workouts instead of lifting weights because I heard they are more beneficial for pitchers; what's your opinion about that? I'm going to start swimming after school and was wondering if you or any1 knows a swim working I could do because in my pool which is now closed due to a broken filter, the workout was 2 minutes of freestyle, 2 min of high knees, 2 min of breast stroke then 2 min of kicks. Final question - do you know of a throwing program I could follow and when I should start throwing again while lifting. Thanks guys i appreciate it!

I'm sorry I don't know what bodyweight workouts are, all of our guys lift weights (nothing above the shoulder for throwing athletes and not much solid bar work, lots of dumbells, bands and med ball). Frankly you probably need to throw often and within some sort of regimented program, your hs coach I'm sure would love to help you with this. If not you can e-mail/call most any college pitching/strength coach and they will in most cases be happy to share their expecations for their players. I can tell you that in our area players (especially walk-ons) are weeded out with conditioning; if you plan to walk-on anywhere you should be prepared to on the first day run several timed miles coupled with what may seem to be a cruel number of sprints. The thinking is if you want to play bad enough you can do it. Not sure about swimming, I guess it can't hurt, but I know 8 minutes in a pool aint gonna make you throw 88, and that should be your goal for between now and March, along with meeting the academic requirements for gaining entrance to the school of your choice.

yeah the swimming thing was just a thing i did in my pool just to get some swimming in. Just out of curiousity, what your athletes do for working out? I'm also thinking of going to Temple, Rutgers, URI, STony Brook, Clemson, Maryland and UMASS. I have the grades to get into these schools except I need to get my SATs up a little in each category.