Baseball star Hudson White is aiming for the majors. But first: the NCAA | CBC News

A 17-year-old pitcher from St. John’s is headed stateside next fall to continue his path to the big leagues. 

Hudson White has committed to studying and playing ball on a full athletic-academic scholarship for the Illinois State University Redbirds in the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division 1 — the top, and most competitive, division in collegiate sports in North America. 

“It kind of took a lot from myself to actually understand how big of an opportunity this is,” said White, a southpaw who stands six feet four inches tall and has a toolbox of pitches that include a near 90 miles per hour fastball that demands respect at the dish. For reference, that’s just over 144 km/h. 

“I didn’t really get it, myself, until I first got exposure to the U.S., but everything down there is wrapped around college baseball.”

And while others from the province have also committed to play baseball at universities and colleges across Canada and United States this season and next — including some at the D1 level — White’s journey is special.

According to coach Ryan Sweeney, who owns and operates the baseball program Premier Sports Academy in Paradise, White is the first homegrown talent who didn’t have to move away at a young age to get noticed by college scouts to make the leap to the big time.

He’s currently finishing up Grade 12 at Holy Heart of Mary in the heart of St. John’s. He plans to study kinesiology at Illinois State.

WATCH | This young pitcher is taking his game to the next level, south of the border: 

From St. John’s to Illinois, this young pitcher is taking the next step to play ball

Featured VideoHudson White, a 17-year-old pitcher from St. John’s, has committed to studying and playing baseball at Illinois State University, an NCAA Division 1 school, on a full athletic-academic scholarship next season. The CBC’s Mike Moore caught up with White on his home field.

White said leaving his high school to visit his new club earlier this year was helpful in making his decision — the campus and its facilities are beautiful, well laid out, and the school takes great care of its student athletes, he said.

“They have one block of the campus where it’s basically all academics and then the right side of the campus is all athletics. So you’re in a community with everybody that you’re playing alongside of and wearing the jersey with,” said White.

“The coaching staff treated me really well and the team was really good with me as well. Before I was about to leave they took me out and showed me around a little bit just [to see] how they live.”

Eye on the ball

With the bright lights of Duffy Bass Field on the horizon, White keeps his academic career first and foremost in his mind.

He said he plans to use his eventual kinesiology degree to plot a career path after school but the notion of playing pro ball isn’t out of the conversation.

“That’s definitely playing on the back of my mind. But I made the decision to go to this school, so I’m definitely going to put that as my priority first,” he said.

“But they do a good job of making sure that’s balanced so that you can achieve your goals, like athletics as well as staying good and firm in the classroom. But that’s definitely in the back of my mind. They draw in a lot of exposure and throughout their winter and fall practices they’ll always have MLB scouts in attendance.”

For now, he said he’s keep a low profile at school while trucking through his final year.

His closest friends, also baseball players, know what’s coming down the pike. The rest of the school, White said, doesn’t really know. 

Over the cold Newfoundland winter he’ll keep training in the gym at Premier Sports Academy, with a focus on weightlifting to give his arm a rest. 

“Your arm is a ticking time bomb. There’s only a certain amount of throws in it, and you’ve just got to keep that healthy,” he said, with the aplomb of an aging veteran rather than a budding star.

“Once the spring hits again, you’re about to get into competition, that’s when you start firing the arm back up.”

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