Q&A with Cornell Commit Matt Collins

September 28, 2015

By Matt Huck
Area Scout

2016 SS Matt Collins of Carmel recently committed to Cornell University. Collins is currently ranked No. 98 in the Illinois Class of 2016. This summer Collins stood out with his glove at the Top Prospect Showcase. Here is his scouting report from the event.

Matt Collins 6/18/15 - 6-foot-1, 175-pound, right-handed hitting shortstop with an athletic frame. Currently ranked No. 99 in the Illinois Class of 2016. Defensively has a short, loose arm action from a high ¾ arm slot. Accurate throws with carry. Soft hands with a quick, clean exchange. Easy, fluid actions. Athletic fielder who plays thru the ball. Took one of the best defensive rounds of the event. Threw 84 mph across the infield. At the plate hits from a balanced, slightly open stance with a short stride. Up the middle approach with fluid rhythm. Lind drive hitter with a level swing path and extension. Showed strength thru contact with 91 mph exit velocity from a tee. Ran the 60 at 7.22.

PBR: What were your expectations about the recruiting process? Was it as expected? Easy/Difficult?

Collins: I expected that college coaches would come flocking if I was a good player which is not the case. I soon found out that I needed to put myself out there and make an effort to be seen by schools multiple times. Once they gain interest in you, that is when you can start to ease up on contacting them. It was more difficult than expected because you don't realize how many guys are trying to get to the same place you are from all across the country. Until I started seeing the talent at various showcases and tournaments, I didn't expect the odds I’d have to beat.

PBR: What were you looking for out of a college program to continue your baseball career at?

Collins: Specifically focusing on the baseball program and not the school as a whole, there were a multitude of things that I was looking for. First, I needed to like the coaching staff. These four or five guys are the people I will be spending an enormous amount of time around for the next four years, so it is essential that I have a good relationship with them. Next, the program needed to have good facilities. A well-kept field, large weight room, and nice batting cages as well as indoor areas to improve were all must haves. Most importantly, I was looking for a program that would give me a chance to play and allow me to make an impact as soon as possible. There is no sense in going to a school where you would sit on the bench.

PBR: Did location or distance from home play a factor in your decision?

Collins: Location did not factor into my decision. My parents were very supportive and allowed me to go wherever baseball and academics could take me at the next level.

PBR: When did the recruiting process really start to heat up for you? Was there a particular game or event that you feel turned the corner for you?

Collins: The recruiting process really started to heat up in the summer before my junior year. I went out to Long Island, NY, to a showcase called Headfirst. As an academic showcase, it had over one hundred top academic schools at the event. With it being one of my first events, I was naturally nervous. I had a terrible week offensively, going 1-9 with a triple. Even with my struggles, I showed the tools to become a college level player and gained interest from schools across all levels.

PBR: Where did the college you chose first see you? How did your relationship develop with them?

Collins: Cornell first saw me at the Chicagoland Classic at UIC this past summer. I was playing for the ESCC conference and they happened to be there. After the event, one of the assistants, Coach Ford, contacted me expressing his interest in me as a player and wanted the rest of the staff to see me. We kept in touch on the phone and through emails and eventually, I made a visit. Even though they really liked me there was still one problem, Cornell had not yet hired a new head coach and no moves could be made until he was hired. Eventually, Coach Pepicelli was hired from Clemson. I heard the news and I made the decision to go out to their camp over labor day weekend to play in front of him and get a chance to meet him. The weekend went very well and we bonded quickly. By the end of camp, Coach Pep was calling me "Matty" and that's when I knew that Cornell is where I wanted to continue my baseball career.

PBR: What do you like most about the college you committed to and what were the key factors in making your decision?

Collins: First, Cornell has an awesome campus. The buildings are spectacular and the layout is beautiful. This was very important to me because it will be my temporary home for the next chapter in my life and I certainly did not want to spend it somewhere I felt uncomfortable. Additionally, the academic opportunities that Cornell provides are second to none. There are an enormous amount of majors and focuses that it is near impossible to not find something that interests you. Lastly, I love the facilities and the field. It is an all turf field located right on campus with the weight room and clubhouse all nearby. This allows me to do all baseball related activities in one specific area so that I’m not running all over the place.

PBR: What other schools were on your short list before you made your final decision?

Collins: The other schools that were on my shortlist before I made the decision were Dartmouth, Columbia, and Bucknell.

PBR: Who is the best player you have faced in your state, and why?

Collins: The best player I have faced in my state is Drake Fellows. He is a tall lanky guy with a hard fastball and good off-speed. Getting at bats against guys like Drake can only make you better, which is why I look forward to facing him again this year.

PBR: At what point in your career did you realize you were a college caliber player and became serious about taking your game to the next level?

Collins: At the end of my sophomore high school season, I had made great progress in the weight room and my game had gotten a lot better. After a couple showcases, colleges began to show interest in me and saw the potential I had. At this time, I began to gain confidence in my abilities and my recruiting took off from there.

PBR: What advice would you give to young baseball players striving to get where you are?

Collins: One piece of advice I’d give to young baseball players is that if you want to be in a position similar to mine, you need to put in hard work and have confidence in yourself. When you're younger, a lot of guys get by on talent alone. As you start to get older and baseball becomes more serious, the guys who work hard will beat out those with talent who don't work hard. You need to have the mentality that someone out there is always working harder than you. That alone should drive you to get better every single day on the field, in the weight room, and in the classroom. Also, don't let other people set limits on what you can achieve. Along the way, people will tell you that you don't have what it takes. You need to ignore that and have total confidence in yourself. For example, my freshman year I made the 'B' team for the summer team I tried out for. The next year, they basically told me I wasn't good enough and didn't want me to try out for the 'A' team. At the time, I was lacking confidence and that organization made me believe I was average. In the long run, that moment was the best thing that could have happened to me. The fact that I was told I wasn't good enough burned like a fire inside me and motivated me to get better. I worked harder than I ever have before and I proved a lot of people wrong. In all, you need to believe in yourself and work hard to get where you want to be because there are no shortcuts to success.

PBR: What is the most memorable moment in your baseball career to this point?

Collins: The most memorable moment so far in my baseball career is when I hit a walk off home run to send my team to the championship in a tournament when I was 10. No one my age had ever hit one over that fence before and I became a tournament legend for years to come. I remember I had been playing catcher the previous inning and I got trucked trying to tag a runner out at home. The rage I had from that play carried over into my at bat and I hit one over. It would have been a lot cooler if I touched first base on the first time around, but I came back to tag it

PBR: Preview your high school season for us. How do you feel your team will be? What are your expectations and goals?

Collins: I believe that we will have a very good group of guys for the 2015 season at Carmel Catholic. We are returning almost all of our starters due to a junior dominated team last year. Most of the guys have played together before so we will have a lot of chemistry. Joe Santoro and myself have been named captains for the upcoming season and we also have a new head coach, Bill Taylor, who has been in the program a very long time. All the guys have a good feeling that he will take this program in the right direction. The leadership and chemistry is there, we will just need certain guys to step up, especially in our pitching rotation. Our expectations and goals are to win and be dominant. Carmel baseball has a history of doing both of those things and we expect nothing less for this season.

Q&A with Cornell Commit Matt Collins

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