Prep Baseball Report

Idea Of Playing In College Came Late For Purdue Commit Whitman


Bruce Hefflinger
PBR Ohio Senior Writer

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Idea Of Playing In College Came Late For Purdue Commit Whitman

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Joseph Whitman LHP / OF / Hudson, OH / 2020

HUDSON - When the calendar turned to 2019, Joe Whitman had no thoughts about playing college baseball. But that soon changed.

Not only is the Hudson senior going to play baseball at the next level, Whitman will be competing in a Power 5 conference after making a commitment to Purdue.

“A year ago, I didn’t really plan on playing college baseball,” Whitman admitted. “I just didn’t think I could play in college, so I was just going to apply and go where I fit best. But my high school coach said I should look into playing baseball in college.”

So the 6-3 180-pound left-handed pitcher decided to heed the advice of his coach, Buddy Dice.

“I did a Driveline program and that helped me get a lot stronger,” explained Whitman, who in a year’s time went from throwing 81-82 to 85-87.

Akron took an interest during the high school season and more colleges became intrigued after the Northern Ohio Prospect Games in which Whitman was listed among the Most Projectable Arms, Best Fastball and Best Breaking Ball.

Youngstown State and George Washington were among those in contact with Whitman before the 34th-rated 2020 in Ohio went to a camp at Purdue in mid-July.

“They hadn’t seen me before,” Whitman noted. “They have a new coaching staff and a few weeks after the camp they reached out. They said they like my slider and that I had a tall and projectable frame.”

An offer and commitment followed.

“It’s pretty wild,” Whitman admitted about the opportunity to pitch in the Big 10. “I didn’t know if I could do it, not a lot of people get the chance.”

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