McGee officials commits to Ohio State baseball program

  • brian questel
  • November 10, 2011
  • 374
                        
111411 McGeeOSU Promo: McGee signs on dotted line to make it official: He is Ohio State bound McGee officials commits to Ohio State baseball program By Brian Questel It’s official: Luke McGee is a General Buckeye. The Wooster High senior signed a national letter of intent to make his college choice official, casting his lot with the Ohio State baseball Buckeyes. The senior lefthander, who was 8-0 in helping the Generals to the Ohio Cardinal Conference title last spring, caught the eye of college scouts during the summer. That included OSU pitching coach Mike Stafford, who invited McGee to a camp at Ohio State. Once the remainder of the staff saw the 6-foot-3, 180-pound lefthander, the push was on to sign him. It didn’t take long to convince McGee, who admitted “I never thought I would go to Ohio State and never thought I would be that good.” “It was a real eye-opener when they called (in September),” said McGee, recalling his first contact with the Buckeyes’ coaching staff and the events leading up to his signing November 9. “I was nervous. It was emotional, overwhelming, exciting – just about any happy emotion you can think of was going through my mind.” McGee is the third Wooster High athlete on scholarship at OSU, joining Kasie Kelly, a pitcher for the softball team, and swimmer Alex McCord. “I know Kasie and know Alex a little more,” said McGee. “Alex and I had a couple classes together, so I know him a little better. It will be nice to have a connection down there. Hopefully they can show me around a little and we can talk about what it takes to be a Division I athlete so I can soak it in and then do the best I can.” OSU coach Greg Beales, who is in his second season after replacing 23-year coach Bob Todd, was willing to talk on signing day. “This is a good day,” said Beales, exhibiting the enthusiasm that caught McGee’s attention. “A coach doesn’t mind days like this and this is a good group to be excited about.” “When Akron recruited me, coach Rick Rembielak mentioned (Beales) was always upbeat, always busy,” said McGee. “When I went to the camp at Ohio State, it dawned on me the kind of person he is. I love his energy and attitude. He’s a great guy and he definitely brings a lot of intensity and energy to the game.” Beales was happy to get McGee as part of this year’s recruiting class. “As a pitching staff we were not as balanced as we would like to be,” said Beales. “We needed to improve the depth and quality of our left-handed pitching. When we saw Luke we were intrigued – there were a couple of specific things we liked about him. He’s a long, lean kid and very athletic and we feel his future development has a high ceiling. The other thing that excited us about him is that he’s an athlete and not just a thrower. He’s a three-sport athlete and he hasn’t fully focused on baseball. He’s awfully good right now and once he’s a Buckeye and focuses on baseball, we feel he’ll take off. “We had heard his name but hadn’t had the opportunity to see him play. It’s hard to get out and see everyone play over the course of the summer. My pitching coach (Mike Stafford) saw him work out in Chillicothe and once Mike saw him, he encouraged Luke to come to camp to allow our staff and me to see him play. Once we all had a chance to see him, we started the recruiting process quickly. We all saw exactly what we wanted to see.” Ohio State was 26-27 overall last season and tied for fourth in the Big Ten with a 13-11 mark. Beales is looking to take the next step forward and McGee and this class will factor into that. “Luke is not a polished, final product,” said Beales. “We’re looking forward to working with him. We have two great pitching coaches and both are left-handed, both with professional training and both won Big Ten championships while at Ohio State. “We want guys with higher ceilings. Someone who plays only baseball may be better now, but he only plays baseball. Luke will go past a lot of those guys who are one-dimensional. A kid playing basketball is working on his lateral skills and jumping, while a kid playing football is learning how to handle his body and learning the execution of football. “The biggest thing with me, I want a kid who can compete. On Friday nights, he’s competing and not in the stands. To me that says something not just about his athleticism but his competitive nature. When you get to a higher level, you’re not going to be the biggest, fastest and strongest player all the time. If you don’t have competitive toughness and a willingness to grind it out, it will be tough.” Given the controversies swirling around the OSU football program and other Division I programs across the country, Beales and his staff are looking to avoid issues such as that. “With Luke included, we have very good kids and they come from great families,” said Beales. “It’s a group of young men who understand right and wrong and will represent Ohio State University as it should be, first and foremost. I do believe we have addressed the needs of this program with this recruiting class. We’ve improved the overall depth and quality of the athletes coming in next year. Left-handed pitching was one of those things and the infield as well. We have to make sure we’re prepared for the future. “And, one of the things that is important to me is they are athletes. Four of the eight are 3-sport athletes and only two are baseball players only. With this class coming in we have some depth now and we’re not in need for guys to come in and carry the load. With that being said, the talent has the ability to win some playing time and make major contributions to the team. “Luke is in as good a position as anybody because diversity of the pitching staff.”


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