Prep Baseball Report

Kusner Has Sights Set On College Baseball


Bruce Hefflinger
PBR Ohio Senior Writer

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Kusner Has Sights Set On College Baseball

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Nate Kusner RHP / 2B / Solon, OH / 2020

SOLON - Nate Kusner has it figured out.

“I just want to go somewhere they love baseball, they love playing the game and they want to win,” the Solon junior said about his blueprint for finding the right college.

The 45th-rated 2020 player in Ohio made his first school visit in December, a trip to George Washington, which opened his eyes.

“I wasn’t familiar at all with it,” Kusner admitted about college recruitment. “Before I talked to the George Washington coach I had no clue what was involved in the process. After that, I realized it’s just talking to another person. It’s less complicated than I thought. Now I’m really enjoying talking to coaches.”

Local Mid-American Conference schools as well as Wright State have shown an interest in the right-handed pitcher who was listed in three categories at a recent Release Scout Day PBR showcase - Most Projectable Arm, Best Breaking Ball and Best 3-Pitch Mix.

“I spot my fastball well for strikes and my curve has gotten a lot better in the offseason,” Kusner explained. “I had trouble throwing it for strikes last year but now I’m more spot on. My change is the number one thing I need to get better.”

Recent improvement has helped with the interest at the next level.

“The biggest thing is I’ve been working out,” noted Kusner, who hit 81 at the Release Scout Day a year ago but topped out at 86 this year. “I’ve also been working with a coach on a lot of explosiveness stuff. Mechanics are the biggest reason why I’m throwing hard. It’s little things in my delivery and getting stronger.”

The desire to play college baseball came after his freshman year of high school.

“That’s when I joined Release,” Kusner pointed out. “I’d been playing since I was nine but up until then it was I just loved playing. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to play college baseball, but once it started getting serious I began to realize it was something that I wanted to do.”

Jordan Chiero, PBR Ohio scouting director, has high praise for Kusner.

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