From the Philippines to Cincinnati, Poturnak takes the path less traveled
February 3, 2022 Matt Betts Feature Writer, PBR Canada
From the philippines to cincinnati, poturnak takes the path less traveled
Jakob Poturnak isn’t the most famous person in his family, not yet anyway.
That honour goes to his mother, Filipino actress Ina Raymundo. But if the young ball player's career continues on its current upward trajectory, he may soon steal some of that spotlight.
“It’s hard to imagine what my life would be like if my mother wasn’t famous,” Poturnak said.
“She’s had to work very hard to achieve the success she has today. That work ethic and dedication has taught me to train hard.”
While Poturnak has grown up in the public eye, his baseball journey has been anything but straightforward and glamourous.
Born in Manila, Philippines, his mother Ina and Canadian father Brian signed him up for Little League at the age of five. Little did they know it would be a moment that would change the course of their lives.
“From the very beginning, I enjoyed playing and took the sport very seriously,” he said. “Almost every day after school, my dad would take me to the field to practice for hours. If it was raining or the field was unplayable, we would go to badminton courts near my house to practice. Rain or shine I was practicing.”
Practicing was something that he became accustomed to growing up because competitive games were few and far between in the Philippines. Oftentimes up to ninety percent of his reps came via practice. As he grew older he would have to make the trip to North America with his father to play travel baseball.
But practice makes perfect, as they say.
And all that hard work was set to pay off in early 2020.
“I had sent a lot of emails to prospective D1 coaches,” he said. “Many showed interest and said they were intending to watch me play in the summer.”
Then, we all know what happened. COVID-19 spread like wildfire resulting in a myriad of restrictions and lockdowns. Showcases and tournaments were cancelled, travel ball seasons were in jeopardy, and the NCAA extended their dead period.
Fortunately, the team he was set to play for in the U.S. that year, led by Steve Fish, moved their schedule to Wyoming and Idaho where games were still allowed to be played. That provided Poturnak the opportunity to compile more game footage to send to coaches via email.
Fast forward to March 2021 for the next twist in this baseball tale. While playing in Las Vegas for 10 days he learned that the Philippines had gone into another restrictive lockdown. It made getting home after the trip impossible.
“My dad and I were basically stuck in the U.S. until the situation improved,” he said. “So I went and played for a club team, Performance Baseball Academy, out of California for a couple months.”
Looking to continue to hone his craft in North America after his stint in California, his journey took him north of the border to his father’s homeland to train with the North Shore Twins in British Columbia. It was there that he met former minor leaguer and Canadian Olympian Brooks McNiven.
“The first time I saw Jakob hit was at that first Twins practice,” McNiven said. “He was in one of the first hitting groups and the coach was running a front toss station on the field. The kids were using over load and under load bats during their rounds. I will never forget Jakob’s first round with the under load bat. He hit 2 or 3 balls into the trees beyond the left field fence. I had never seen anyone hit a ball out during front toss.”
Poturnak enjoyed his time with the Twins so much that he stuck around for the remainder of the summer, eventually earning an invitation to join the Canadian Junior National Team in Dunedin last October.
The work ethic and talent was undeniable, garnering the attention of Xavier University head coach, Billy O’Conner.
“Xavier was one of the first colleges to show an interest in my game,” he recalls of the Cincinnati-based school. “After messaging their head coach,it was evident that he was very impressed with the way I played.”
O’Connor was impressed indeed, offering Poturnak a scholarship based on the videos he’d received.
“The videos he sent made it pretty clear how talented he was, and his bat is the tool that really stood out both in training and in game videos,” O’Connor said. “And then just as importantly, once we connected on the phone, I was very impressed with Jakob as a person and definitely felt a connection with him. I could immediately tell how driven he was to be successful.
“I think Jakob can help to elevate and grow our program to where we want to go,” O’Connor said. “I think he’ll be able to come in and contribute offensively early in his career. There haven’t been many positives to COVID, but for Jakob it enabled him to come over to Canada and U.S. from his native Philippines and play against some really high level competition, especially while he was playing with the Canadian Junior National Team.”
While making an immediate impact for the Musketeers is one of his main goals, Poturnak knows there’s plenty he needs to do before getting to campus.
“My short-term goals right now are to gauge my improvement months at a time before competing with the Canadian Junior National Team,” he said. “I’m also working out hard to reach 205 pounds.”
From the Philippines, to Wyoming and Idaho, to California, to British Columbia, and soon Cincinnati, with the support of his family Poturnak is willing to go to any length necessary to achieve his baseball dreams.
“I feel like most teams I play on in the U.S. or Canada have little idea of what the baseball community is like in the Philippines,” he said. “To them I may seem like a local, gifted player but growing up in the Philippines I’ve had many battles and obstacles to improving as a player and getting to where I am today.”
With clear goals in mind and a drive to make them a reality, the Poturnak family may have their next big star in the making.
That honour goes to his mother, Filipino actress Ina Raymundo. But if the young ball player's career continues on its current upward trajectory, he may soon steal some of that spotlight.
“It’s hard to imagine what my life would be like if my mother wasn’t famous,” Poturnak said.
“She’s had to work very hard to achieve the success she has today. That work ethic and dedication has taught me to train hard.”
While Poturnak has grown up in the public eye, his baseball journey has been anything but straightforward and glamourous.
Born in Manila, Philippines, his mother Ina and Canadian father Brian signed him up for Little League at the age of five. Little did they know it would be a moment that would change the course of their lives.
“From the very beginning, I enjoyed playing and took the sport very seriously,” he said. “Almost every day after school, my dad would take me to the field to practice for hours. If it was raining or the field was unplayable, we would go to badminton courts near my house to practice. Rain or shine I was practicing.”
Practicing was something that he became accustomed to growing up because competitive games were few and far between in the Philippines. Oftentimes up to ninety percent of his reps came via practice. As he grew older he would have to make the trip to North America with his father to play travel baseball.
But practice makes perfect, as they say.
And all that hard work was set to pay off in early 2020.
“I had sent a lot of emails to prospective D1 coaches,” he said. “Many showed interest and said they were intending to watch me play in the summer.”
Then, we all know what happened. COVID-19 spread like wildfire resulting in a myriad of restrictions and lockdowns. Showcases and tournaments were cancelled, travel ball seasons were in jeopardy, and the NCAA extended their dead period.
Fast forward to March 2021 for the next twist in this baseball tale. While playing in Las Vegas for 10 days he learned that the Philippines had gone into another restrictive lockdown. It made getting home after the trip impossible.
“My dad and I were basically stuck in the U.S. until the situation improved,” he said. “So I went and played for a club team, Performance Baseball Academy, out of California for a couple months.”
Looking to continue to hone his craft in North America after his stint in California, his journey took him north of the border to his father’s homeland to train with the North Shore Twins in British Columbia. It was there that he met former minor leaguer and Canadian Olympian Brooks McNiven.
“The first time I saw Jakob hit was at that first Twins practice,” McNiven said. “He was in one of the first hitting groups and the coach was running a front toss station on the field. The kids were using over load and under load bats during their rounds. I will never forget Jakob’s first round with the under load bat. He hit 2 or 3 balls into the trees beyond the left field fence. I had never seen anyone hit a ball out during front toss.”
Poturnak enjoyed his time with the Twins so much that he stuck around for the remainder of the summer, eventually earning an invitation to join the Canadian Junior National Team in Dunedin last October.
The work ethic and talent was undeniable, garnering the attention of Xavier University head coach, Billy O’Conner.
“Xavier was one of the first colleges to show an interest in my game,” he recalls of the Cincinnati-based school. “After messaging their head coach,it was evident that he was very impressed with the way I played.”
O’Connor was impressed indeed, offering Poturnak a scholarship based on the videos he’d received.
“The videos he sent made it pretty clear how talented he was, and his bat is the tool that really stood out both in training and in game videos,” O’Connor said. “And then just as importantly, once we connected on the phone, I was very impressed with Jakob as a person and definitely felt a connection with him. I could immediately tell how driven he was to be successful.
“I think Jakob can help to elevate and grow our program to where we want to go,” O’Connor said. “I think he’ll be able to come in and contribute offensively early in his career. There haven’t been many positives to COVID, but for Jakob it enabled him to come over to Canada and U.S. from his native Philippines and play against some really high level competition, especially while he was playing with the Canadian Junior National Team.”
While making an immediate impact for the Musketeers is one of his main goals, Poturnak knows there’s plenty he needs to do before getting to campus.
“My short-term goals right now are to gauge my improvement months at a time before competing with the Canadian Junior National Team,” he said. “I’m also working out hard to reach 205 pounds.”
From the Philippines, to Wyoming and Idaho, to California, to British Columbia, and soon Cincinnati, with the support of his family Poturnak is willing to go to any length necessary to achieve his baseball dreams.
“I feel like most teams I play on in the U.S. or Canada have little idea of what the baseball community is like in the Philippines,” he said. “To them I may seem like a local, gifted player but growing up in the Philippines I’ve had many battles and obstacles to improving as a player and getting to where I am today.”
With clear goals in mind and a drive to make them a reality, the Poturnak family may have their next big star in the making.