Donovan, A Lifelong Michigan State Fan, Will Be A Spartan

COMMERCE - A Michigan State flag flies at the Donovan household. After all, both of Aidan Donovan’s parents are MSU grads.

“We’re all huge Michigan State fans,” Donovan revealed. “I’ve had season tickets for seven years, we have a flag at home, the wall in my bedroom has a big Michigan State neon sign on it and my basement is full of Fatheads of Michigan State.”

The love for the Green-and-White now looks to grow even more after the Orchard Lake St. Mary’s junior committed to the Big 10 school.

“Interest from Michigan State started a couple of years ago, in February of 2021, when my pitching coach contacted them and said good things about me,” the second-rated 2024 right-handed pitcher in Michigan reflected. “From there we had a phone call and we’ve kept in contact.”

Eventually, the recruiting process turned serious.

“This year I went to Fort Myers and hit good numbers,” Donovan said. “They were at the Future Game Trial when I hit 88 and they called me and said they wanted to come watch me the next week at Novi. They came and they gave me an offer. Then I went to the Future Games and generated a buzz there. But I liked that Michigan State was loyal the whole time and I decided to commit.”

There was more that attracted the 16-year-old to MSU.

“I went to a Michigan State camp in October of last year and really liked the coaches, they have a ton of knowledge,” Donovan explained. “It’s a beautiful campus and I’ve been a Michigan State fan my whole life. I’ve been going to football games since 2015 with season tickets. It’s just the perfect fit for me.”

Notre Dame and Butler were other schools talking with Donovan, while Duke and Xavier also made some contact.

“In the end, Michigan State showed the most interest and it was the school I decided on,” Donovan said.

Pitchability, size and projectability are three things the 6-4 200-pounder pointed to that MSU liked about him.

“The first thing they said they liked was my changeup,” Donovan noted. “They said it could be a third pitch of mine in college. Another thing they said they liked was that I get batters out.”

The desire to play beyond high school has been a long-time goal.

“Very early on I wanted to play college baseball,” Donovan said. “I’ve always been a huge college baseball fan and we bought Big 10-Plus so I could watch games. I started seriously wanting to play college baseball four or five years ago and my big dream ever since has been to play at the next level.”

To have it happen at MSU, in the Big 10, makes it even more exhilarating.

“This means everything,” the 12th-ranked junior in the state said. “Coming from a family with parents that went to Michigan State, it has always been a big deal in my home. To play in the Big 10 means everything.”

Donovan pointed to PBR with aiding in his recruitment.

“The recruiting process was fun, but also has been stressful,” Donovan admitted. “PBR really helped with the Future Games. What I think the Future Games does best is it prepares you to be able to perform in front of coaches. PBR puts you in front of them and you learn to perform in front of them. You see guys put up radars and that can be intimidating, but what PBR is doing helps get you prepared to be successful when you’re in college and in life.”

For Donovan, making a commitment to Michigan State when the time was right was certainly a memorable experience.

“We were in Florida for vacation and I was with my family on the phone with coach,” Donovan reflected. “We were talking with (assistant) coach (Graham) Sikes for an hour. He’s awesome. When I committed everyone was excited. There was a little celebrating going on. What a great night.”

While things could change according to Donovan, the hope at the moment is to major in accounting to go along with a minor in sport management for the 3.7 student at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s.

“The thing I’m looking forward to the most when it comes to college is the whole campus life,” Donovan concluded. “It’s a great school and I’m excited, not just to play baseball but being a student and going to all the football and basketball games. They have a lot of great fans and it will be exciting to immerse myself in the student culture.”