UNIONTOWN - It was freshman year during fall workouts that Nick Vardavas began thinking about baseball at the next level as part of his future.

“I saw that some of the seniors were going on to play college baseball,” the North Canton Hoover senior reflected. “I’d always liked the game and wanted to play college baseball. At that point I started to focus on training and I got a pitching coach. I’d throw five or six times a week and I began to put the work in.”

The drive to play after high school has now been realized with a college commitment to Miami of Ohio.

“It became realistic at the start of summer this year,” the 21st-rated 2022 left-handed pitcher in the state said. “I was getting calls from coaches and began to realize this was going to happen.”

Ohio University, Ball State and Walsh were among the schools under consideration by Vardavas, who visited Holy Cross after drawing interest from the Patriot League school in Massachusetts while playing in Georgia at the PBR National Championships during the summer.

“I talked to a lot of schools after the visit, but nothing serious until Miami,” Vardavas noted. “In late September my coach told me they were interested and I ended up going there to a camp during fall ball and I pitched well. I hit my spots and they said my curve was one of the better they had seen. They called the next day and said we’d talk once a week. A week after, they called and offered me a spot.”

The 90th-ranked senior in Ohio was thrilled to have an opportunity to play baseball in his future.

“I knew I was going to play somewhere, but it was more of my dream to go to a D-I school,” Vardavas related. “I was ecstatic for that to happen.”

Especially, at the Mid-American Conference school in Oxford, four hours from home.

“The last few years I’ve played there many times,” Vardavas explained. “The field there and the campus felt like a place I wanted to be at. After meeting the coaches, everything felt right.”

Recent improvement proved vital in making the dream a reality.

“My sophomore year I was sitting 76-78 and now I’m at 86-87, so I’ve improved with that,” the 5-11 180-pounder pointed out. “I’ve lifted and trained with a pitching coach and improved in all aspects. I’ve gained 30 pounds and I’ve focused on getting better with my accuracy.”

Miami came away impressed with what Vardavas had to offer.

“They like my command and see a potential increase in my velocity,” noted Vardavas, who turned 18 on Nov. 17. “They also said they like my offspeed potential with a lot of strikeouts.”

Vardavas pointed to Ben Simon with helping his pitching development and Corde Thielmeyer with the Cincinnati Flames and Adrian Abrahamowicz of the Warhawks with playing important roles in his recruitment.

“I’m so excited to be doing this, the feeling is crazy,” Vardavas said. “I’ve been looking forward to this my whole life and can’t wait to get down there and start practicing with them.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how good I can become and how the coaches can help me,” Vardavas added. “I want to see how many games we can win and how far we can go. Everything about it I’m excited to experience.”

The southpaw with an impressive 2431 spin rate on his 88 mile-an-hour fastball believes he can be a big asset to the MAC program.

“I’m a really good teammate that likes to pitch in tough spots,” Vardavas said. “I’m a ground ball pitcher that can bring different looks. I’m someone who’s also going to push everyone to be the best they can be.”

Biology is the planned major for Vardavas, a 4.31 student who is now focusing on improved strength, flexibility and mobility while celebrating a college commitment.

“It feels surreal to see what I’ve been working for finally pay off,” Vardavas concluded. “At first I couldn’t believe it was happening. It’s the best feeling in the world.”