SANDUSKY - When Luke Walton was younger he “always wanted to be better than big brother.”

According to the Perkins junior, that inspiration played a major role in his baseball development and the 17-year-old is now a University of Toledo commit.

“It’s like a dream come true to play college baseball,” Walton explained. “My oldest brother sent me a text after I committed to say that he was proud of me. That was his dream … to play college baseball. It’s a dream come true for me.”

Interest from the Mid-American Conference school began during fall ball.

“Coach (Adrian) Abrahamowicz told them about me,” the 73rd-ranked 2022 in Ohio related about his travel coach with the Lake Erie Warhawks. “They liked my swing and coach (Nick) McIntyre kept in touch with me. He’d checked to see how I’m doing and tell me how he liked my swing and say I do things that good hitters do.”

A coaching father has been a huge part of why that is the case in the eyes of Walton.

“He’s been my coach my whole life,” Walton noted about his dad, Chris Walton, who most recently was the head varsity coach at Perkins until stepping down this year. “This will be the first year he’s not my coach. It’s tough having a dad as your coach but it’s helped me so much. He finds life lessons in the game. Along the way he taught me to keep cool and that baseball is a game of failure.”

The understanding that a strong work ethic is needed to succeed has not escaped the 5-11 175-pounder.

“I’ve been working out a lot, and doing a lot of speed stuff,” pointed out Walton, an outfielder in recruitment who is also a left-handed pitcher at Perkins. “A year ago I had a problem with arm action but I fixed that and my velo jumped instantly. I’ve always hit pretty well, but for me getting stronger has been very beneficial. It has really helped my  power.” 

Ability with the bat stood out in the recruitment of Walton, who also had an offer from Bowling Green as well and some interest from Ohio U.

“Toledo likes that I’m long through the zone,” the left-handed hitting Walton explained. “They say I have a nice bat angle with a good path through it. They like that I find the barrel a lot.”

Walton also came away impressed with what Toledo had to offer.

“I really like coach McIntyre,” Walton said of the UT hitting coach and recruiting coordinator. “We formed a good relationship. I did virtual tours there and it’s nice.”

The second ranked player from Ohio’s 2022 class to commit to Toledo, Walton believes he can be an asset to the MAC program.

“I can bring leadership qualities,” Walton said. “I can help them win and accomplish their goals.”

There was one additional plus for Walton in choosing Toledo.

“They have what I want academic-wise,” noted Walton, who carries a 4.0 GPA at Perkins.

Early childhood education is the planned major for Walton, whose father is a teacher. It is just another example of the importance of family and the inspiration Walton has had growing up.

“Since I was really young I remember that my older brother had dreamed about college baseball but he ended up getting a ROTC full-ride at BG,” Walton said about his older sibling Thane Walton. “I’ve been around baseball my whole life with my dad and brothers and freshman year realized I can make it happen. I played varsity as a freshman and was first-team all-conference. It was then I realized I could do it, but it was up to me.”

Even the coronavirus taking away his sophomore season did not stop Walton.

“I just kept doing what I’m doing,” Walton said of working through all the problems created in the recruiting process. “I know about roster sizes and how much harder it is now, I just had to keep doing what I was doing. I felt I’d eventually get my offer and commit somewhere.”

Mission accomplished in that regard.