Growth spurt leads to D-1 commit for Blubaugh

AJ Blubaugh RHP / C / Clear Fork, OH / 2019

BELLVILLE - When first entering high school, AJ Blubaugh estimated he was barely five-feet tall and “was like 90 pounds.”

It was not exactly the makeup of a college baseball player.

Now three years later, the Clear Fork senior stands 6-2, weighs 155 pounds and is a Division I commit to Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

“It was the middle to late summer and I wasn’t getting anything,” the 62nd-rated 2019 in Ohio said about his recruitment that just recently came to an end. “Almost all at once I started texting with multiple colleges. It was overwhelming. There was so much stress. But once I got the top colleges to sit down with my parents and coaches I was able to get a feel for it.”

The first offer came from Lake Erie. Walsh, Toledo, Ohio Dominican and Heidelberg also showed interest in the right-handed hurler that plays catcher on his high school team.

But then Wisconsin-Milwaukee came into the picture.

“They said they saw me at a PBR event at Prasco when they started tracking me,” Blubaugh said in reference to the Top Prospect Games. “Then (summer coach) Ben Simon (Brownlee Lookouts) had them come to a workout/showcase to see me pitch. It was my best performance.

“I took a visit the weekend after the workout. He (Milwaukee assistant head coach Cory Bigler) said they were going to make an offer but I had no idea it would be 40 percent. They had my major - early childhood education. Everything about it I liked.”