SOUTHINGTON, Ct. - While Joey Tonnotti is enjoying the warm weather in the south after changing schools from St. Paul Catholic in Connecticut to IMG in Florida, his future is back up in the northeast after making a college commitment to UConn.

“Going to IMG now, I wanted to be close to my family,” the 471st-ranked 2024 in the nation explained. “I texted (pitching) coach (Joshua) MacDonald in early October and called him the next day. I told him they have everything I was looking for in a baseball program. After that phone call I scheduled another call. I called two or three days later and they laid everything out to me. It was an offer other schools couldn’t meet. They had all my best interests in mind. I’m really happy with the decision. There’s not another school I’d feel at home at more. UConn really cares about me.”

Indiana and Notre Dame helped form the final three choices for Tonnotti, who has been in contact with Connecticut for a couple of years.

“We’ve been talking heavily for a while from back when I was still going to school in Connecticut playing at St. Paul,” the third-rated junior right-handed pitcher in New England reflected. “We’ve been talking one-and-a-half to two years, the interest was definitely there. But when this past summer came we lost contact and I started talking to other schools. In September I got interest from Indiana, Notre Dame and Cincinnati.

“In talking to my parents, one of the things I wanted was to go down south but I lost that with the process, so I was talking to cold-weather schools. That’s when I decided I wanted to talk to UConn again.”

After all, there is a lot to like about the University of Connecticut.

“It’s a top 25 program that’s been absolutely tearing it up the past couple of years,” Tonnotti pointed out. “They have the type of coaches I’m looking for that will teach you about life. No others showed as much interest in me as they did.”

In following the 6-2 180-pounder for some time, UConn has a good idea of what Tonnotti can provide the Big East program.

“They’ve been looking at me forever so they’ve seen me progress,” the 155th-ranked 2024 right-handed pitcher in the country noted. “They’re all Connecticut guys and they love the fact I’m a Connecticut guy. Pretty much all the best players in Connecticut are going to UConn and that’s special that they want me to be part of that. They do a great job of building a family atmosphere.”

The idea of playing at the next level began “early, probably when I was 11 or 12 when I started playing more travel ball and growing my name,” Tonnotti related. “My dad helped me realize that my talent can take me bigger than I expected.”

But it made for a long recruiting process.

“It started the middle of my eighth-grade year, so it’s been just about four years now,” Tonnotti explained. “I started getting myself out there with PBR showcases and travel ball. Those helped put my numbers out there. When I started playing with national travel teams is when I started getting looks.”

There were teams in New York that Tonnotti was a part of before playing for Team USA out of Carey, N.C. this past summer.

“That helped my recruitment speed up a lot,” the 12th-ranked junior in New England said. “When I did well at that it got some attention.”

Tonnotti credited Real Ballers coach Jason Ferber with playing a big part in helping him get where he is today.

“I’ve really cleaned up my mechanics and I’m moving better,” the 17-year-old noted. “The past couple of months that I’ve been a PO my arm health has gone up. It’s been a lot easier focusing on just one thing rather than being a two-way and being in the outfield.”

Tonnotti, who carries a 3.5 GPA and is looking at a major in business or real estate, believes he can be a big contributor at UConn.

“I’ll bring my competitiveness,” Tonnotti said. “I want to go in and make a name for myself and try to play my freshman year. Most importantly, I want to be a good teammate. I think (head) coach (Jim) Penders and his staff know they’re getting a good kid and also a dog that will go to war for them.”

To finally make a college decision, admittedly, brought relief.

“A big weight has been lifted off my shoulders,” Tonnotti related. “It’s not easy going through the recruiting process for almost four years. When I finally made the call I took a deep breath. It’s a good feeling as an athlete to get that process over with and it means a lot to be committed to a program and school like that.”

Tonnotti has high expectations when it comes to being a student-athlete at UConn.

“Going there will set me up for life,” Tonnotti concluded. “If baseball doesn’t work out I have a backup plan. With baseball, they do a good job of building a family. Hopefully, when I get there we can win the conference and get to Omaha. I’m also hoping this will help me be able to get to the Cape for summer league to build up my name.”