What A Year It Has Been For Wright State Commit Roder

Ty Roder RHP / OF / Anthony Wayne, OH / 2021

WATERVILLE - Sophomore season in high school began on the junior varsity team for Ty Roder.

By the end of the year, the 6-2 170-pounder was pitching for the varsity in the district finals. Now early into his junior year of school at Anthony Wayne, Roder is a college commit to Wright State.

“Freshman year I went to a camp there when (Jeff) Mercer was head coach,” reflected Roder in reference to the former coach who is now at Indiana. “Things were at a standstill after he left, but then in December of last year we started talking again. After my success sophomore year they made me an offer.”

Numerous other schools also showed interest in the 19th-ranked 2021 in Ohio. Arkansas, Missouri, Akron, Toledo, Bowling Green, Gardner Webb, Winthrop, Xavier, Eastern Michigan and Kent State all communicated with the Anthony Wayne right-hander, most after the Future Games.

“That’s when a lot of it started,” noted Roder, who did have an offer from Ohio University prior to the PBR event in August. “It was nerve-wracking throwing in front of 200 D-I scouts, but once I was out there I got comfortable.”

While the fastball has been clocked at 89, there is more that Wright State saw in Roder.

“They like my demeanor and how composed I am,” Roder noted. “That’s one of my biggest assets.”

The rise to varsity ranks came quickly last high-school season.

“I started on JVs and was sitting 80-83,” Roder explained. “All of a sudden I got my velo higher and became one of the top guys. The district finals was probably my best game. I knew then I could get a ton of interest if I could keep it up.”

So where did the increased velocity on the mound come from for Roder?