Becoming a Bearcat

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Both coach and player agree it's taken a lot of work outside of practice.

Wyatt Geesaman has put in that work.

The Bearcats rewarded him.

Geesaman, a Jay County High School senior, signed his national letter of intent Wednesday to play baseball for University of Cincinnati.

“It's a dream come true,” said Geesaman, who is the first JCHS baseball player to earn an NCAA Division I scholarship since 2009 graduate Billy Wellman went to Ball State.

“It's a goal I've had for a long time, since I was a little kid,” Geesaman continued. “It's just the beginning of a new chapter in my baseball career and I'm looking forward to it.”

While Geesaman has had his ups and downs on the mound for the Patriots – he didn't pitch as a sophomore in an attempt to prevent his right throwing arm from getting injured – JCHS coach Lea Selvey touted his desire to get better that led to the scholarship.

“Very pleased for him,” Selvey said. “He's worked extremely hard. At times it's been frustrating for him. Other times it is just like he would totally dominate a game.

“The tools are there for him to go a little bit further, I think. We don't know how good he's going to be. Obviously, Cincinnati sees the same thing we do, that there's potential to be a pretty good baseball player for us.

Geesaman threw 42 innings for Jay County, amassing a 6-2 record as the Patriots finished 21-6 and won the program's third regional title, its first such crown in 25 years. The 6-foot, 5-inch hurler whose fastball has topped out at 92 miles per hour, finished with a 3.00 ERA with a team-best 53 strikeouts. He also walked 14 batters. Geesaman has a curveball that sits about 77 MPH, and a 74-MPH changeup to complement his fastball.

As a freshman, Geesaman threw 23.2 innings, was 4-2 with one save, struck out 23 to only seven walks and had a 3.55 ERA.

“It was long,” he said of the recruiting process. “It was definitely a hard decision. It was a lot of sleepless nights thinking. I'm very happy with my decision of choosing the University of Cincinnati.

He had seven scholarship offers, and narrowed his decision to four; follow the pipeline Wellman created with Ball State, go west to Indiana State, pitch in the Big Ten for Michigan or join the Bearcats in the American Athletic Conference.

Cincinnati was 28-28 this past season, including a 12-12 mark in conference play. Notable Bearcat alumni include Major League Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Sandy Koufax and Kevin Youkilis.

Geesaman said it was the campus and the coaching staff – led by coach Scott Googins and pitching coach J. Heilmann – that put Cincinnati ahead of ISU, BSU and U of M. He committed in July.

“For me it's gratifying because I know the hours he's put in just up and beyond practice,” Selvey said. “The workouts and everything he has (done) just to get to where he is

“He is untapped yet.”

And with one more year to play for the Patriots, Geesaman is just looking to enjoy his time with his teammates.

“There's no pressure,” he said. “I'm just going to go out and have fun this year, do my thing.”