'Little Things' At Bucknell Stood Out For Pavone

HOPKINTON, Ma. - “The whole goal was to use baseball to get the best academic school.”

Dante Pavone is confident that the perfect baseball-education combination has been attained with a commitment to Bucknell.

“It all got serious after my first visit to the campus in mid-September,” the Dexter Southfield junior related. “They wanted to see if I was serious about it and I really loved the campus when I was there. I went again three weeks later and they called when I was there and offered. I committed on campus.”

Division I interest heated up in the summer after a strong performance pitching at a showcase,

“I made a video and sent it to different colleges and texted with (pitching) coach (Jason) Neitz,” the 52nd-ranked 2023 right-handed pitcher in New England noted. “He saw the video and liked what he saw and we built a great relationship.

“They really like my mechanics,” Pavone added about what brought strong interest from the coaches at Bucknell. “When I was on campus they liked me as a person and just the little things about me, who I was as a person, that I was good in the classroom and, of course, the baseball aspect.”

Northeastern, Boston College, Connecticut, Lafayette and Lehigh were among the schools showing interest in the 6-4 190-pounder.

“It was definitely stressful, but fortunately I have good parents and teammates,” Pavone said in assessing the recruiting process. “You don’t know what’s going to happen, you only hope for the best. Fortunately, I fell in love with Buckness and they really liked me.”

The road to a commitment began just a few short years ago.

“Freshman year after my first PBR event is when I got my first college call,” Pavone reflected. “That’s when my initial thought that I could play in college began. The following year we got Covid and I wasn’t so sure, but this year I found a good group of coaches and it all clicked.”

Eating right, working in the gym and improving mechanics helped out the cause according to the 23rd-ranked junior right-handed pitcher in Massachusetts, who credited high school coach Dan Donato and Nokona coach Dan Sullivan with helping make it all happen along with coaches at Winning Pitchers in Framingham.

“Both coach Sullivan and Donato said Bucknell was perfect for me,” Pavone noted. “My parents were also big in all of this, pushing me every day to keep my grades up and to keep working on my game.”

Business will be the major for Pavone, a 4.1 student confident about what he can bring to the program at Bucknell, a Patriot League school located 51/2 hours from Pavone’s home in Hopkinton.

“I’m a huge competitor, I hate to lose and love to win,” the 18-year-old pointed out. “I’m ready to go in day in and day out, work hard and contribute to the team and do whatever it takes to help them win.

“I’m also looking forward to the little things like meeting new kids from around the country. It’s going to be fun playing D-I level competition and just competing.”

Pavone and family were ecstatic cnce a commitment was made to the university located in Lewisburg, Pa.

“Personally, when I stepped on campus on my visit I was in awe,” Pavone concluded. “The same with my parents. All the little things just made us feel at home. That was the game-changer. The little things there and my connection with the coaches.”