Recruitment Came Late And Quick For Akron Commit Atkins

Spencer Atkins RHP / OF / Sylvania Northview, OH / 2020

TOLEDO - The recruitment of most high school seniors has long been completed. But there are a select few able to find a college home at this point in time.

That was the case for Spencer Atkins, a Northview senior who recently committed to Akron.

“They were going to be done,” the 91st-ranked senior in Ohio explained about the Mid-American Conference school’s recruitment of the 2020 class. “But I went to a camp in late October and pitched 85-87, up to 88 and they became interested in me. They have an assistant coach that’s friends with my summer ball coach and he talked to him. They looked at my stats and were still interested. I texted with the assistant coach and went on a visit. I really enjoyed it and they ended up offering me a spot on the team.”

The 6-1 175-pound right-handed pitcher did not take long to decide.

“I felt at home there,” Atkins said. “I feel it’s the right place for me and a good opportunity.”

It was not always that way, however.

“A year ago I wasn’t thinking about playing college baseball,” Atkins admitted. “But a volunteer assistant coach, Tom Runnells, said ‘I think you can do it. You have a big upside and if you want to do it, go for it.’”

Atkins understood the task at hand.

“Going into senior year, I knew I was kind of behind the eight-ball,” Atkins pointed out. “It was about finding the right place that really wanted me. I knew I was not going to get a lot of offers being a senior.”

Lower level college schools showed the most interest. 

“I wasn’t throwing as hard until the early fall when I had a big velo jump,” Atkins explained. “I was 80-83 over the summer and now I’m 85-88. It all came from the amount of throwing I did. You’ve got to throw hard and you’ve got to throw a lot. I’m a three-sport athlete, so I really hadn’t thrown a lot.”

The improvement changed his outlook on the future.