Archer 'Kept The Faith' And BG Is Future Home

LAGRANGE - When Bowling Green eliminated its baseball program back in May there were more players that had an interest in what was going on than just those on the team.

One of those was Nathan Archer, who was considering making BG a future home.

“I was bummed out,” admitted the 41st-rated player in Ohio’s 2021 class. “I didn’t know if I would get a chance to be seen by them. I just kept the faith they might get it back  .. but it was tough.”

Fortunately for so many, thanks to an alumni group, the program was resurrected.

And Archer?

The Keystone incoming senior is pleased to be part of the Bowling Green baseball future after making a commitment to the Mid-American Conference school.

“The big thing there is the new head coach,” Archer said in reference to Kyle Hallock, the first-year mentor who joined the BGSU staff as pitching coach in September of 2018. “They’re heading into a new direction.”

Archer is excited to be a part of it.

“I’ve always wanted to be in a D-I program and it seems like the right fit for me,” the left-handed hitting outfielder noted. “I want to go in and make an impact right away.”

Division II schools in Pennsylvania such as Seton Hill, along with Malone and Tiffin in Ohio and Charleston in West Virginia were others with an interest in the 17-year-old southpaw, who instead elected to make Bowling Green his college choice.

“I went to a camp there last summer to get me on their radar a little bit,” Archer reflected. “Going into this summer I hadn’t had much contact with them but one of the directors of the Warhawks sent them a text about me and we’ve been talking the last two months.”

A 6.89 time in the 60 at the Lake Erie Warhawks PBR Scout Day in February along with an outfield velo of 87 and exit velo of 86 were part of what attracted Archer to Bowling Green.

“They like my athleticism,” Archer pointed out. “They like my ability to make plays defensively and offensively and help the team when needed. My knowledge of the game and my IQ also stand out.”

There are also the improvements that have been made in his game.

“I’ve hit the weight room and gained a lot of size,” said the 6-0 170-pounder, who is up 20 pounds from a year ago. “My velo is up, I can run faster and I can steal more bags.”

The need to continue getting better remains.

“I still have to improve my size, I’m undersized for a D-I player,” Archer said. “I also want to develop more power so I’ve got to keep hitting the weights before I get there.”

Playing college baseball has been a long-time goal of the third-ranked 2021 outfielder in the state.

“I’ve always dreamed of playing at the highest level I possibly can,” Archer related. “Going into my freshman year of high school is when I realized I could do this. I kind of stood out a bit. There was a difference in my play that I didn’t see in others.”

Help along the way was vital in getting to this point in his baseball journey.

“My family is one of the biggest parts of this, helping me get to places and paying for things,” Archer noted. “The Warhawks’ organization was great in getting me exposure and my teammates as well were always pushing me to get better.”

A 3.7 student, Archer admits it’s been an interesting recruiting process, especially with COVID-19 entering the picture.

“It sucked not having a high school season, I just kept working as hard as I could to stay on top of my game,” Archer said. “But recruitment was very different because of the virus. It was almost all videos, nothing in person. Most of the recruiting process was on line so it was different than I expected.”

Now that a commitment has been made, Archer looks forward to the future.

“I’m a very competitive person that will try to be the best I can be, and try to win as much as possible,” Archer said about what he plans to bring to the BG program. “I’ll work as hard as I can and bring others to work hard with me.”

It all comes with a sense of relief.

“This is a big weight off my shoulders,” Archer said. “It’s a nice feeling to know I’m heading to a good program and nice to know the decision is over with and you can focus on just baseball now.”