Former Spikes Player, Colin Ames has lots of Options
Even during this trying time of COVID-19, Colin Ames has gotten attention from a large number of colleges.
Dayton and Wright State have both offered the Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy junior while Purdue, Georgetown, Central Florida, Akron, Nebraska and Ohio State have shown interest.
“Wright State saw me playing for the Spikes and I went to an Ohio State camp,” Ames said about where schools have seen him. “Purdue heard about me and saw me throw in the fall as well as Georgetown, and UCF saw me in Georgia with the Spikes. After the Future Games I talked with Purdue and Dayton and then Wright State offered two weeks after the Future Games.”
But it has been far from easy according to the 12th-ranked 2022 right-handed pitcher in Ohio.
“With covid, everything changed,” Ames pointed out. “You can’t get yourself out there as easy as it was when coaches could see you play. I’ve tried to reach out to as many as I can, but the biggest thing is not being able to go to camps and show yourself off.”
In that regard, the 6-2 225-pounder believes schools are not seeing the full picture.
“With my frame you can tell I’m big and weigh a lot, but for my body size I’m very athletic,” explained Ames, a quarterback on the CHCA football team. “I can do more than sit there and throw.”
However, the 32nd-rated junior in the state certainly can bring the heat on the mound when it comes down to it as evident by his performance at the Future Games where Ames hit 88 on the radar.
“He’s a classic power arm,” noted Jordan Chiero, PBR Ohio Director of Scouting. “He comes right at hitters with the fastball that will work downhill in the upper-80s. He also has shown the ability to drop in a playable breaking ball.”
The 17-year-old is working hard to be even better as his recruitment nears the midway point of his junior year of high school.
“My pulldown last night was 94,” Ames said last week. “It’s not the number I wanted but it’s two miles an hour better than last year. I didn’t throw as much as I wanted with football going on but now that it’s over, I’m focused on being stronger and getting more mobility. I want to throw harder and become a better athlete which will really help me.”
The second-ranked uncommitted pitcher in Ohio’s 2022 class believes he has been helped out from who he played with this year.
“One thing that has been a huge benefit is getting to play with guys who are now in college and learning from them on the Spikes this summer,” Ames related.
There has been additional assistance as well.
“Since about 9U when I started playing select travel baseball I’ve put in a lot of work to be the baseball player I am today,” Ames explained. “I had a lot of coaches like Ben Duvall, Ritchie Moody and Greg Williams push me and make me work hard to help get me where I am. Coaches I have now, like my high school coach Tony Schulz, are doing the same thing to make me the best player I can be.”
Ames sees whatever program he ends up being part of will be happy with what they receive.
“For any colleges looking at me, I’m going to be a leader,” pointed out Ames, who carries a 3.5 GPA. “I will outwork everybody on the team and push others around me. Coaches that have been recruiting me like that I have shown I’m a hard worker and a respectful person.”
While working to improve, Ames has also done his best to check out the colleges that have shown an interest.
“With covid, schools I’ve talked to I’ve visited and looked at the facilities,” Ames noted. “I’ve tried to stay in touch with them, find out about their academics and all their baseball accolades.”
But the CHCA junior is in no hurry to make a decision.
“The rest of the winter I’m working out and focusing on getting better,” explained Ames, who has received an invite to participate in the PBR 2021 Ohio Procase in February. “When the dead period opens back up I’ll try to get to some camps. But right now I’m focused on cleaning up my mechanics and gaining velocity.
“If the opportunity comes I’ll consider it, but I don’t have a time period for my recruitment. I just want to try and make a decision by the end of next summer.”