James First From Danville To Earn A D1 Baseball Scholarship

Dylan James SS / RHP / Danville, OH / 2019

DANVILLE - Danville High School has never had a Division I college baseball player.

Until now.

Dylan James is the first after making a commitment to play at the University of Akron when the program makes a return in 2020.

“To accomplish that is big, I’m proud of it,” the Danville senior said about being the first from his school to earn a D-I baseball scholarship. “I had the mindset that I always believed I could do this. There are always going to be some that don’t want to see you succeed, but I shielded myself from that and kept working. I have the motivation to keep plugging along and that helped me.”

The reasons for choosing Akron are many for the third-ranked unsigned senior in the state at the time of his commitment.

“It’s a great opportunity to start anew,” James explained as to why Akron was his choice. “It’s also close to home and a chance to play Division I baseball. All the coaches were great, it just felt like home.”

Although a senior, James had no concerns not knowing where he was going to go to college until now.

“I wasn’t nervous,” the 96th-ranked 2019 in Ohio said. “I had two junior college offers and was debating and considering those hard. I was tempted to sign but I didn’t feel it was where I was meant to be so I kept waiting and then this popped up. Akron just felt right for me.”

Communication with the Mid-American Conference school picked up in January.

“The recruiting coordinator Jordan Banfield was going through people and contacted the Ohio Elite coaches,” James reflected. “They offered me a roster spot. I went to a camp there in February and it worked up to an athletic scholarship.”

The 6-0 153-pound switch-hitter had been in contact with numerous colleges up to that point in time. Visits to Indiana State, Wabash Valley and Lincoln Trail had been made with interest also coming from Marshall, UNC Charlotte and Wright State.

“They saw a lot of potential in me,” James said of Akron. “They saw a lot of skills they could work with. They liked my movements and just saw a lot of potential.”