PENINSULA - The potential to play in his first year at Youngstown State proved too much to pass up for Alejandro Covas, and the Walsh Jesuit senior has found a college home.

“When they said I had the possibility of playing my freshman year, that kind of got me,” Covas admitted. “YSU will not have any returning outfielders when I come in, so if I work hard I might be able to play my freshman year. I just want to be a starting player.”

It was last December when Walsh Jesuit head coach Chris Kaczmar told the eighth-rated 2023 outfielder in Ohio to reach out to Youngstown State.

“I visited last winter,” Covas reflected. “I went there and they offered. They said they didn’t need to see me. I train at PPA and while doing an evaluation thing they saw me there.”

The offer stayed on the table through spring and summer ball when YSU coaches checked out the prospect for the program.

“I was extremely lucky for that offer but I didn’t think I was ready and wanted to wait to see what came my way,” Covas explained. “I kept in touch with (assistant) coach (Shane) Davis and told him I wasn’t ready and that I wanted to wait until after my summer season.

“I knew I was leaning toward YSU,” added Covas, who is being looked at as a center fielder at the next level. “In midseason I was talking to a few other D-I schools but I didn’t want to focus my attention on that. I visited YSU again and decided I wanted to commit. With the chance to play freshman season, it was the best fit for me.”

It ended a long recruiting process for the 6-1 190-pounder, who had early interest from Kent State the summer of his freshman year along with Cincinnati and San Francisco, with talks also taking place with Akron and Marshall along the way.

“A bunch of my friends have been committed for a while and I thought I was good enough my freshman year,” Covas said. “It’s always been my goal. All my friends play baseball and I love to work hard, so I made that a goal and I achieved it.”

The 48th-ranked senior in the state pointed to his father, his summer coaches and his high school coach along with trainer Tyler Mitchell with helping his baseball journey live on.

“My dad was definitely number one for sure,” Covas noted. “He was always pushing me even when I didn’t want to do something. Coach Kaczmar, coach Erdmann and coach Rosinski put me in a good position and I did well playing against good competition.

“I went to the PBR Procase and that also helped. One thing that I was upset about was I got invited to the Future Games after my sophomore spring season to play for Team Ohio but I got injured. That could have really helped. But I stayed calm. I talked to friends and they said it will come to me, just try to stay focused and play my game and it will come and it did.”

Youngstown State was enamored with the prospects of what Covas can provide.

“They really like my speed,” Covas pointed out. “I’m also a physical guy but speed is one of my best attributes. They said they also really like my hitting skills.”

The 18-year-old is confident about what he can bring to the Horizon League program.

“I have really good leadership skills,” Covas said. “I love to work hard, that’s my favorite thing. I have a lot of energy, so that will be good for the team. Outside of baseball, I love to get good grades and I’m on top of everything.”

Covas, who carries a 3.5 GPA at Walsh Jesuit, plans to major in business at Youngstown State.

“I’ve been waiting for this for a while,” Covas said of making a commitment. “People were always asking when are you going to commit. I just felt relieved when it was over and my parents were really excited for me. It’s what I’ve been working for. My friends were happy for me and texting me congratulations. They knew how bad I wanted it.”

With one year of high school left, the attention will then turn toward college.

“I think it’s going to be a lot different living on my own,” Covas assessed about what lies ahead. “I think I’m going to have a lot of fun, but I need to stay on top of things with stuff like school with my parents not there. But I think I’m going to have a lot of fun and can’t wait to play baseball there.”