WORCESTER, Ma. - Two years ago, David Pedanou stayed in Ohio while helping his sister move into college at the University of Michigan. Soon, the Doherty Memorial senior will be making a home in the Buckeye state after a recent commitment to the University of Dayton.

“I like coach (Jayson) King and the way their coaches are similar to the guy that coaches me now,” Pedanou explained. “I like their attitude and what they’re trying to do with the baseball program.”

The 12-hour distance from home to Dayton is no problem in the eyes of the 104th-rated 2021 in New England.

“Honestly, it’s not bad,” Pedanou said. “It’s not a problem for me.”

Maine and Dayton were the two final schools being considered by Pedanou, who was also in conversations with UMass, Bucknell, Fairfield, Northeastern and Siena, with Rhode Island and Bryant also briefly in talks with the 28th-ranked senior shortstop in the six-state area of the northeast.

“From an academic standpoint it’s a good fit for me,” noted Pedanou, a 4.3 student planning to major in operations technology engineering at the Atlantic 10 school. “I like the area, the facilities and what they’re trying to accomplish over there.”

Discussion with UD began a few months back.

“They saw me streamed at a tournament in Lancaster in summer ball,” Pedanou said of Dayton. “One of the coaches I’m playing for this fall knows the head coach and we emailed, had a few phone calls and he told me about the school and the campus. I really liked what he said about the program, the community and what they’re trying to do at Dayton. A couple days later I was offered.”

The 6-1 170-pounder looks to fit in well in the program after becoming the fourth 2021 Dayton commit from the New England area.

“They like my hitting … my bat, my swing,” Pedanou said. “I’m pretty sure they plan on me staying at third base.”

Recent improvement has been vital in becoming a Division I college commit.

“I’ve gotten better at staying consistent,” Pedanou explained. “I’ve been working every day trying to get better, paying attention to little details and trying to sharpen everything … all the little things within the game.”

The work to improve never ends.

“Sharpening up my defense and making sure everything is smooth is something I need to keep doing,” Pedanou noted. “Being confident at the plate is another. I know I can compete, it’s just about trusting myself to do my best.”

College baseball became a priority around the age of 12.

:”I always wanted to play college baseball but I never knew If I could play at this level,” Pedanou related. “People always told me I could. I knew I had the work ethic and ability, but wasn’t sure I could go this far. It was crazy when Division I schools wanted to talk to me.”

That began in August of this year.

“It started to hit me then that I’d be going to college and moving on to the next level,” Pedanou said.

It helped ease the worries of being uncommitted as senior year of high school approached.

“It wasn’t easy with the whole covid situation,” Pedanou admitted. “Honestly, I was just trying to stay focused. My coaches said to stay focused, trust the process and keep doing what I do.”

The advice proved right for Pedanou, who has benefitted from others along the way.

“My dad helped a lot my whole career,” Pedanou said. “He fixed my swing when I was younger and there were a lot of different coaches that helped as well. I also worked by myself watching videos.”

Eventually, it all paid off.

“I really had no solid interest, just schools lingering around until this summer,” Pedanou explained. “That’s when it all started to pick up. I didn’t have much exposure, but once I got video out there it started to pick up.

“To finally be committed brings a sigh of relief. I finally feel that a lot of the work I’ve been doing and keeping my head up while the recruiting process was going on finally paid off.”

Now Pedanou looks forward to helping out the Dayton program.

“On the field I can bring someone to be a general out there,” Pedanou said. “I’m able to lead and bring confidence while being clean on defense. Off the field I can be a good person for the university and represent the team well.”