EAST HARWICH, Ma. - Kurtis Thomas had his mind all set to be a college pitcher. But then came an opportunity to be a two-way player at the next level.

“I had a great offer to a junior college in Texas just to pitch and that was what I was planning on doing,” Thomas reflected. “It was a huge weight off my shoulders with everything going on. I wanted to play at the highest level of baseball that was in front of me and junior college was that.”

Enter Central Connecticut State.

“It all happened really fast,” the Nauset Regional High School senior explained. “Over the summer I was pitcher-only, but I have a cage in my backyard and I love to hit. This fall I played at a local level as a two-way. My coach played with (CCSU head) coach (Charlie) Hickey and he got a hold of him. There’s also an assistant coach who knows coach (Rob) Bono and we set things up.

“We talked about doing both, going in as a two-way,” Thomas continued. “The coaches said they have three on the roster there now. Obviously, it’s a lot of work and it’s going to be tough as a two-way player in college.”

The 88th-rated 2021 in New England made it official after checking out the Northeast Conference university, located three hours from home.

“I went to the campus and loved everything about it,” Thomas related. “I didn’t think it would be as big as it was. It felt like a great fit.”

Especially when it meant the chance to both hit and pitch.

“I love to hit and play the field,” Thomas noted. “You’re more engaged in the game. I love to compete in the batter’s box.”

But there was more that stood out to Thomas when it came to Central Connecticut State.

“They have a really good program,” Thomas said. “Coach Hickey has been very successful there. My dream has been to go play at the Division I level, but I also want to win. They went to the regionals in 2019. Plus, they have a turf field which in New England is big.”

Still, the 26th-ranked senior right-handed pitcher in the six-state area understands the difficulty being a two-way player can bring.

“It’s going to be tough,” the 17-year-old admitted. “It’s definitely going to be a challenge managing school work with baseball. You really have to be on top of your schedule, that’s going to be the toughest thing for me.”

Continued improvement is a must in the eyes of Thomas.

“I’ve worked a lot on my swing, five to six days a week even when I wasn’t hitting this summer,” Thomas noted. “I had an ankle injury and after that I made some mechanical adjustments which really helped my pitching. My velo is up to 87.”

Central Connecticut State hopes Thomas can play a big role in a program that has made six NCAA Tournament appearances since 2002.

“They like my hitting and think I can make an impact right now,” Thomas said. “They haven’t seen me pitch in person, but think I can make an impact at that, too. They saw a lot of video of me this fall and in the summer.”

If an impact is going to be made, the 6-1 185-pounder knows what is needed.

“I lost a lot of weight and I want to put on 10 points this winter,” Thomas pointed out. “I need to get stronger and get more velocity if I’m going to make an impact hitting and pitching.”

A 3.0 student considering criminal justice as a potential major, Thomas admits the recruiting process was not what he had envisioned.

“At the beginning of Covid I had talks with several D-I schools in Florida and New England, but they made the decision no more 2021s with the dead period which was kind of frustrating,” Thomas said. “Junior college was the best decision before Central.”

The thought of playing baseball in college came to Thomas in eighth grade.

“I got big into travel baseball, that was really the first experience I had playing against some of the better kids in the country,” Thomas said. “Halfway through that summer is when I thought it was something I wanted to do and that I could play at this level.”

Thomas believes he can make big contributions to the CCSU program.

“I can bring leadership as a player and in the locker room,” Thomas noted. “I’m a hard-nosed baseball player. My mentality is to go after everything, I’m kind of a bulldog. And I love to win, that’s the most important thing to me.”

Thomas, who played on Team Massachusetts at the 2019 Future Games, is happy the recruiting process has come to an end.

“The Future Games was my best experience ever playing baseball,” Thomas said. “Several schools that were in contact with me before Covid were because of the Future Games. But after that it was tough, discouraging almost. I’m talking with schools and then they stopped answering calls and I didn’t know what to do.

“My biggest thing was to find the right fit, I didn’t want to go to school and not enjoy it,” added Thomas, the 15th-rated uncommitted 2021 in New England prior to deciding on Central Connecticut State. “Now that I’m committed, I’m super excited for me and my family. We’ve wanted this since freshman year of high school. I’ve been waiting so long, which made it even more exciting with all the ups and downs. I’m so glad I found a really good fit.”