ATTLEBORO, Ma. - College baseball drew the attention of Jared Munoz at an early age.

“When I started playing AAU as an eight-year-old I saw the College World Series on TV and told my dad I wanted to play that one day,” Munoz reflected.

The Bishop Hendricken junior has taken the next step with a Division I commitment to UMass-Amherst.

“They started talking to me at the end of summer right after the PBR Futures,” noted Munoz, who was a member of Team Connecticut at the Future Games in August. “Playing with and against the top uncommitted players in the country was a cool experience. It wasn’t your average high school baseball.

“After that we created a relationship in the fall,” Munoz continued about UMass-Amherst. “They trusted the word of my coach. They saw me through a lot of video and they liked that.”

The seventh-rated 2022 outfielder in New England brings a lot to the table on the ballfield.

“I hit the ball, that’s what they’ve been lacking in lately,” Munoz said of what stood out about him to UMass-Amherst. “They want someone who can hit for power. They need more bats and the power I have is something they’re looking for.”

Improvement in another area of the game has helped Munoz become a better all-around player.

“As a sophomore my coach was always telling me I’ve got to get faster,” Munoz related. “You have the ability to play outfield correctly but you need that extra speed. Since then I’ve brought down my 60 time by almost one second. With that, my body grew and I’m stronger.”

Ivy League schools such as Columbia and Dartmouth took a liking to the 5-11 195-pounder, with UConn, Rhode Island and Army others being considered before Munoz decided on the Atlantic 10 school located an hour and 45 minutes from his Attleboro home.

“The offer came in early October over a zoom call with my family,” Munoz said. “After that I visited the school. In talking it over, with the academics and being close to home, I decided to commit 10 days after the offer.

“I did my homework,” Munoz added. “I checked out the campus with my mom and dad and they have an honors college that’s close to the baseball field. It’s a very prestigious program you have to get into every year. I checked out their business school and they also have one of the biggest libraries.”

Munoz, who carries a 3.97 GPA at Bishop Hendricken prep school in Rhode Island and is likely going to major in business or engineering, passed credit around when it came to those that have helped the cause in his baseball life.

“My dad was the first one to introduce baseball to me,” Munoz said. “He was instrumental in deciding what college to go to.”

Hendricken coaches Ed Holloway and Chris Sheehan, hitting instructor Dana Levensaler and L&M travel coaches Idris Liasu and Bill Geddes have also been a big part of the process along with Mike Roose and Dr. Peter Kriz with strength and conditioning.

“I’ve had a lot of people help me learn the game the right way,” Munoz noted.

The understanding that more improvement is needed comes with the territory.

“I want to focus on driving the ball to right field more so I can use that speed I just added on,” Munoz explained. “Instead of doubles, I want to create triples. I also need to hit the weight room to get stronger and also want to be more of an aggressive base runner.”

Admittedly, the recruiting process was not what Munoz envisioned.

“A lot of coaches were going to watch me play in high school but covid changed that,” Munoz noted. “That made it much harder for coaches to see me. Coach (Sean) O’Brian at URI only saw me because he was coaching my team and some of them said they needed to see me playing in person.

“But coach (Nate) Cole didn’t need that,” Munoz added about the UMass-Amherst assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. “I liked that he believed in me.”

A commitment to play at UMass-Amherst was an easy decision after that.

“What a relief to not have that weight on top of you anymore,” Munoz said. “It’s nice to know you’re able to go to college near home and play the game you love.”