MIDDLEBRUY, Ct. - A comparison to a University of Connecticut assistant coach helped Thomas Galusha draw interest and eventually receive an offer from the Big East Conference school.

“When coach Hourigan saw me pitch he said I reminded him a lot of coach MacDonald,” Galusha related, in reference to the analogy given by associate head coach Jeff Hourigan about fellow UConn assistant Joshua MacDonald. “That’s definitely a good thing.”

The eighth-rated 2023 right-handed pitcher in New England will have an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of the former Connecticut pitcher, now the pitching coach for the Huskies, after a recent commitment. 

“One of the things they like about me is the way I compete on the mound,” Galusha explained. “I bend but I don’t break. I pitch with an attitude and with a lot of tempo. That’s something they enjoy, too.”

Just a year ago, the 6-4 230-pounder was not on the radar of his home state college.

“They saw me play a little last year when they were watching my teammate Ryan Daniels, a UConn commit, but they weren’t interested in me as a 2022,” Galusha reflected. “However, with Covid and all I made a decision to reclass and after that my coach let them know how I’ve developed.”

UConn was there watching at the Future Games when Galusha pitched for Team Connecticut.

“I didn’t have my best stuff but I learned from it,” noted the 18th-ranked 2023 in New England, who a year prior took the mound for Team Massachusetts at the PBR event. “When you get to high-level baseball you’re not going to get away with as many mistakes, you’ve got to be sharper. At the higher level it’s harder to shut things down. You just don’t get away with as much.”

Conversations with Maryland took place after the Future Games before Galusha decided UConn was the right choice to make.

“I got up on campus to check out the school, which is a huge portion of this,” noted Galusha, who also had interest from Northeastern, Columbia and Penn.

With another year to develop, the 4.0 student, who will finish high school at Salisbury after three years at Holy Cross, sees a big future at Connecticut.

“I have an extra year to get in the gym and work on my mechanics,” pointed out Galusha, who plans to major in kinesiology. “A large part of the work is the mental game and I feel two more years to develop will help me become a high-level player, not only physically but mentally.”

Family definitely likes the idea of Galusha going to UConn, which is located a little more than an hour from home.

“I lived in Connecticut until I was nine, then moved to North Carolina,” Galusha related. “But I moved back to Connecticut for family reasons. My grandparents have lived in Connecticut the whole time and they’re the biggest UConn fans there are.”

The top-rated 2023 New England commit to date by the Big East Conference program looks forward to making a statement for his home state.

“Playing for Connecticut at the Futures, I really wanted to represent the state,” Galusha said. “Now that I’m going to UConn, I want to help them be more recognized across the country rather than just in the northeast.

“I’m going to bring a very hard worker to the program,” Galusha continued. “The next two years at Salisbury will be like I’m at college and really be beneficial for me. I’ll be very prepared for when I get to UConn and when I get there I’ll be able to help others in trying to bring home a championship.”