'Cool And Calm' Shinada Excited To Make Indiana Home

Owen Shinada RHP / 2B / Twinsburg, OH / 2025

TWINSBURG - “I’m cool and calm, I let my pitching do the talking.”

That was all the talk Owen Shinada needed in making an impression on Indiana.

“At a time when he was looking at kids, I apparently caught his eyes,” Shinada said in reference to IU pitching coach Dustin Glant. “It was right when you weren’t able to talk in person. But my coach with T3, Ryan Rua, kept pushing me and I went to a camp there. I got my offer and decided to take it.

“They gave me a tour of the facilities and campus and all are in close range to each other. The campus was amazing. It was a very peaceful, fun and exciting experience.”

Interest from Indiana in the second-rated 2025 right-handed pitcher in Ohio came in late summer at Grand Park.

“My summer team’s season had ended so I played with another team and the pitching coach saw me there,” the Twinsburg High School junior reflected. “He liked my mechanics and my breaking ball.”

There was also a fastball that drew notice.

“I was sitting 85-86, topping at 88, but now with a pitching program and lifting I’m topping at 92,” Shinada pointed out. “I just need to keep working on my mechanics, lifting and keeping my body right.”

The seventh-ranked 2025 in Ohio had interest from Kent State and Cincinnati but Indiana proved to be the right choice in his eyes.

“Once Indiana gave me an offer I chose to go with them,” explained Shinada, who had never been to Bloomington, Ind., prior to the camp. “It’s a great program and the pitching coach and I had a great connection.”

There are numerous individuals that helped the cause in Shinada making a commitment to the next level, including pitching coach Lou Kolasky; Twinsburg varsity coaches Jeff Luca, Ron Fruscella and Coach Q (Jon Quartieri); Chris Hojdar, Bob Lemuiex, Mike Olsen and Douglas Elias with the Twinsburg Tigers; Jeff Klominek and Greg Gurnak with the Ohio Sidewinders; and Len Kolencik and Carl Rinebach with team WolfPack, the team Shinada played with when Indiana saw him pitch.

“Freshman year is the time I started to think about looking for colleges,” Shinada noted. “I was always too scared to go to showcases, but it worked out in the end.”

The 6-0 150-pounder points to “room to grow” as a big part of his projectability.

“I see myself gaining weight and maybe taking my game to another level,” pointed out Shinada, who turned 17 on Sept. 8. “I’d like to see where that process takes me.”

The hard-throwing right-hander sees a bright future, no matter his size.

“I’ve never been a screamer, I’ve always been cool and calm and that’s helped me become the person I am on the mound,” Shinada explained. “If I let my emotions take over it’s a problem over and over again. Being cool and calm helps my game.”

However, it was anything but cool and calm when making a commitment.

“That was exhilarating and exciting,” Shinada related. “I’m the cool and calm type, but that was very exciting to commit to Indiana. Everyone was excited for me and I’m very appreciative of it.”

Sports medicine and physical therapy are potential majors for Shinada, a 3.4 student ready to continue making strides in his game.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the progression of my pitching, my improvement in the weight room and my mental focus,” Shinada concluded. “I’m still a little weak there with tons of room to grow mentally. I’m also really excited to see all that competition on the field.”