Rekich to continue baseball career at Gannon
Tyler Rekich’s case is an interesting one.
The Butler senior recently signed on to join Gannon University’s baseball team, forging his way onto a Division II program without playing much at the high school level.
Rekich played with the Golden Tornado through his freshman year, but opted to store away his glove in favor of another spring sport.
“I think it was a very good program that I still kind of wish I could be a part of, but I decided to do track instead,” Rekich said. “I don’t think (track) is something I’d be able to continue on (with) in college.”
Baseball, though, was something that Rekich believed he could play as a collegian. Not to mention, Rekich was nursing a back injury and his doctor advised him to narrow down what he was doing athletically.
Along with participating in a handful of track and field events, he played travel baseball as a pitcher and outfielder with DuraEdge in Youngstown Class B, an amateur league that's produced 13 MLB draftees since 2010. He also played recreationally in the summer for Butler Township.
“Youngstown was definitely much more of a challenge and it was very competitive, whereas the rec league was kind of more laid back and you could just enjoy the game,” Rekich said.
He found other ways to make a name for himself, too, namely through showcases. One held in DuBois this past summer particularly stands out.
“It was a good day for me because I got (personal records) in all my numbers,” Rekich said. “They have a little profile for you and then you can send that out to colleges with all of your numbers like pitching speed and exit velocity for hitting and stuff.”
Rekich has worked on his arm strength and pitching with Chuck Rouda for two years. The owner of Valencia’s No Offseason Baseball, Rouda is also an associate coach with the National Pitching Association, which falls under Tom House Sports.
“He’s just got an exceptional arm,” Rouda said. “He’s a hard-working kid. He’s very athletic. We’ve just been working on building him as a better, stronger pitcher.
When Rekich started training with Rouda, his pitch speed was in the upper 70s. He’s improved his velocity to 90 miles per hour.
With the high school baseball season running congruent to the next level’s schedules, Rouda doesn’t think that opting out of suiting up for an alma mater is as much a recruiting detriment as it would seem.
“Local (college) coaches can probably see them, but a lot of coaches outside of an hour radius or so have difficulty being able to see a high school player,” Rouda said. “That makes it difficult for them to scout them. So, they do get the opportunity to see them over the summertime, probably more than they would during the high school season.”
Gannon’s coach, Mars graduate DJ Cannon, was hired last August. He coached both Jack Beneigh and Cooper Baxter, also Butler seniors, in summer ball.
“It was kind of easier being able to reach out to him because I had some sort of connections,” Rekich said. “He’s a really nice guy. He’s from (the) Mars area, so he’s pretty familiar with how things work.”
