AMELIA - The first proved to be the best in the eyes of Nathan Taylor. It has the West Clermont junior staying close to home after a commitment to Cincinnati.

“UC was the first school that called me after the dead period,” reflected the 15th-rated 2023 right-handed pitcher in Ohio. “That’s important to me, they reached out first.

“It’s also one of my dream schools and it’s close to home,” Taylor added. “They had me come on a visit with Trevor Zeigler, who also committed there. After that there was a lot of texting and talking.”

Taylor is excited to be joining his high school classmate from West Clermont at the university near where he lives.

“My parents have always wanted me to stay near home, they’ve always wanted to come watch me play,” Taylor noted. “It’s only 20 minutes to campus. To have them come to the games will mean a lot to me.”

There was more that influenced the 45th-ranked junior in the state in making Cincinnati his college of choice.

“They’re in the Big 12, so that’s a big change made,” Taylor related. “It’s a very nice complex and I have a good relationship with the coaches, that’s probably the main thing.”

The UC staff likes what they have seen in the 6-5 210-pounder.

“They saw how much I project out,” Taylor explained. “They like that I throw strikes and that I’m athletic for being big. But the biggest thing for them was that I project out a lot.”

Interest in the 16-year-old took off at the start of last summer.

“I didn’t really think I’d do what I am now, but once I went to the Top Prospect Games for PBR and a few schools reached out I realized that I might have a chance down the road,” Taylor admitted. “I had a good changeup and good spin rate at the Top Prospect Games. That’s mostly what started it all for me.”

Undecided on a college major, Taylor, who carries a 3.1 GPA at West Clermont, has high aspirations about heading to play baseball at Cincinnati.

“I don’t want to go there and just wear a shirt, I want to make an impact there early on,” Taylor said. “I want to win Pitcher of the Year in the conference. I want to help us win and compete for the title in the Big 12.”

A close connection with the pitching coach brings additional excitement to the hard-throwing right-hander.

“I really like JD Heilman,” Taylor said about the pitching coach of the Bearcats. “They have a good tradition there and it’s on the rise. It is only getting better.”

After being shut down, Taylor is now back throwing as he strives to continue to make improvements on the mound.

“I had two bullpens when I came back and I was 89,” Taylor related. “Then I had another one and hit 90. My pitching coach Greg Williams, along with Jon Kessling, do a good job of working you into it slowly. Strengthening my arm in the offseason has been a big part of it for me.”

Strides with his offspeed only add to what Taylor believes can be a bright future.

“I changed my curve into more of a slider and I’ve been working on that to make it a hard slider instead of a looping curveball,” Taylor noted. “I’d also like to get my velocity up to 91 by the first game of school ball.”