MIDDLEFIELD - There was a lot to learn when the recruiting process began for Jacob Bean.

“When recruitment first starts every kid expects people to come to them,” the Cardinal High School junior explained. “I realized you have to put yourself out there. PBR was huge with that.”

Back in February, the NEO Scout Day connected the ninth-rated 2023 right-handed pitcher in Ohio with Kent State.

“PBR posted a video of me there and coach Barrett (Serrato) saw it and responded,” Bean said in reference to the Kent State recruiting coordinator. “He’s related to my aunt through marriage and he asked my aunt about me at a family dinner a week after the PBR Scout Day.

“After that he saw me throw in the summer and (head) coach (Jeff) Duncan also came to watch. I talked to coach Barrett all summer and he invited me to their prospect camel one-and-a-half months ago. I toured the locker room and they offered a couple days later. I committed a couple days after that.”

Bean considered holding out for other offers, but decided Kent State was right for him.

“I was going to wait after the offer but the more I talked to them the more I loved it,” Bean explained. “It was a good offer, it’s close to home, the staff is amazing, the field is amazing and it’s a good program. It was too much to pass up.”

Kent State liked what the 6-2 170-pounder had to offer.

“They said I move athletically on the mound and have a projectable frame,” Bean noted. “I play basketball, too, and they like two-sport athletes. When coach Duncan watched, I hit and pitched that day and he liked how competitive I am.”

That is something Bean believes he can provide at the next level.

“I’ll bring that competitive nature,” the 29th-ranked junior in the state said. “I want to win and will do whatever it takes to get there. I’ve always considered myself a huge team player. I’ll do whatever my coach asks of me. I’m also a hard worker. This past summer I’ve worked harder than ever. It’s taken a lot of sacrifice.”

Specifically, Bean pointed to the Mike Grady Pitching School as being beneficial.

“Almost a year ago I started going there,” Bean related. “I was sitting 78-80 and had decent mechanics. That’s when my pitching started taking off. He’s the biggest factor in my pitching development over the last year. I was going two days a week. It was the most important thing I did this offseason.”

The end result was a commitment to Kent State.

“Since I started playing, like every kid, college baseball is what I wanted to do,” Bean explained. “After going to the pitching school I really wanted to do it.”

Jeff Segal is another that assisted Bean.

“He helped me a lot with recruiting,” Bean said of his travel coach. “He got me on the phone with coach Barrett. A lot of my coaches with NEO were a huge factor in my recruiting.”

Exposure to coaches showed the hard-throwing 16-year-old, who’s now throwing in the upper-80s, was college material.

“I went to the Top Prospect Games in late June, that was big for me, too,” Bean noted. “Unless you get yourself out there they won’t see you. That’s the way to get seen by college coaches. There were tons of coaches at the Top Prospect Games. The whole bleachers were filled up with scouts.”

Jordan Chiero, PBR Ohio Director of Scouting, came away impressed.

“He showed some of the top uncoachable traits we saw at the two-day event,” Chiero said on the PBR website in late June. “You’re looking at a 6-foot-2 dude with long levers that could easily support added weight. When you also consider the athleticism, mobility and looseness in the arm he checks off a ton of boxes for a guy who’s going to throw harder down the road. As attractive as the ceiling is, the present product is also impressive with an above-average breaking ball.”

By summer’s end, Bean was a college commit to play in the Mid-American Conference.

“I was surprised how quick it went at the end,” Bean admitted. “Boom I’m recruited and boom I’m done.”

Economics or business will be the major for Bean, who carries a 3.6 GPA.

“Once I committed to Kent it was a surreal feeling,” Bean concluded. “It hit me a couple days later … I’m committed to play baseball the next four years. It’s an amazing feeling knowing I’m going to such a great program with awesome players and coaches.”