White Stays Humble While Enjoying Baseball And Life

Thomas White LHP / OF / Phillips Academy Andover , MA / 2023

ROWLEY, Ma. - As the top-ranked 2023 baseball player in the nation, it would seem being a little arrogant or egotistical might be justified, at least to a degree. However, that is far from the case with Thomas White, the Phillips Academy Andover junior who recently made a college decision to attend Vanderbilt.

“He’s super humble,” Andover head coach Kevin Graber said of the hard-throwing left-handed pitcher whose fastball has been clocked at 98 miles an hour. “You never hear him talk about himself. He’s not about instant gratification that we see in our lives today. He’s really about the team. You never see him draw attention that he’s better than others. He’s just a supportive teammate.”

A great teammate, yes, but also recognized as the best in the country and now committed to play at the next level in one of the top programs in the sport of college baseball.

THE RECRUITING PROCESS

“They were one of the first schools I talked to,” White reflected about Vanderbilt. “It was the summer of my freshman year going into sophomore year. I continued calls with (head) coach (Tim) Corbin and (Scott) Brown (the pitching coach) and built relationships. Then I finally got to go there in person. There’s no place like Vandy.”

It was one of three official visits taken by White.

“There were more schools early on, then I kind of whittled it down to the final three or four,” White said of the process.

Recruitment actually started in the middle of eight grade.

“I was super intimidated, I didn’t know what to say,” White admitted about his first talk with a college coach. “It wasn’t a super long call. I was overwhelmed. I couldn’t think of what to say. I remember I felt bad when I got off the phone.”

His parents, Tim and Joanna White, had been through recruitment with their daughter Caitlin, who is now on the golf team at Merrimack but it was a bit different with their oldest son.

“We talked about the same things with him as our daughter,” noted Joanna, who also has a 15-year-old son Adam, a freshman at Triton Regional High School. “Size of the school, closeness to home, things like that. It was just that the scale was so much bigger with him, naturally. We learned early on we won’t be able to go see all of the schools that were interested and narrowed it down at the outset.”

Last summer the list was five and by winter it was down to four.

“He really wanted to go to the schools and meet the person he was going to be playing for,” Joanna explained. “But travel was difficult with the pandemic. Once he got on campus he felt he could decide. As a parent, I like that at one school we watched an intersquad game and at another we watched a game. Seeing coaches interact helped us.”

It was a learning process for all.

“We tried to keep our opinions out of it as best we could do,” Joanna noted. “Ultimately, he had to own the decision. I didn’t want him to pick what I wanted.”

His father did his best to help guide his son.

“I told him to write down the pros and cons with each,” Tim said. “The campus, atmosphere, city or rural, how far from home, the weather.”

THE DECISION

While the process was a long one, the decision in the end was not difficult.

“I had no expectations going in,” White said of his recruitment. “I just wanted to see where it goes and Vanderbilt reached out. When that happens you’re going to talk to them. Once I got down there I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was better than I ever imagined.”

A commitment followed.

“It was the combination of really good academics and one main piece,” White explained. “Vanderbilt is the best baseball program in the country. There’s no better place to develop as a person, player and human being.”

The visit to the school in Nashville, less than a three-hour flight from home, was memorable.

“It was awesome,” White noted. “They were really classy the whole time. I literally met the entire team. It was surreal. I was sitting in coach Corbin’s office and I went on the field. It was insane.”

So what did Corbin like about White?

“Me as a player and person,” White explained. “I’m what coach Corbin looks for, someone who puts his head down to do what he can to get the team a win. I fit into that mold.”

Both parents were ecstatic with the decision their son made.

“What a great experience, we had a great weekend there,” Tim said of the visit to Vanderbilt. “We met all the players in a Saturday morning meeting room where they had an analysis of a scrimmage the night before. It was awesome to see that and get a feel of what it would be like to be on the team.”

The school itself also stood out in addition to the baseball program, with Tim repeating a statement he heard calling Vanderbilt “the Harvard of the south” which his wife approves of highly.

“It’s a great academic school,” Joanna pointed out. “You don’t send a kid to Andover without marrying baseball using cutting-age technology to go with academics.”

BEING NUMBER ONE

Every day across the country student-athletes are making college decisions. It’s just a little more  noteworthy when it involves a player rated number one in the nation.

“I didn’t expect it,” White said of being the top-rated player in North America in the 2023 class. “When I first saw it I thought it was fake. I didn’t know what to think. I thought, there’s no way I’m the best. Staying humble can be difficult, but I never talk about the ranking. I’m not a big talker.”

Still, the idea that as a freshman Prep Baseball Report ranked White the best in his class was exhilarating.

“It’s awesome to have all the hard work recognized,” White said. “It’s one of the best things to have happened, but you just have to stay humble and surround yourself with others like you. I don’t talk about it much. I don’t feel I need to. I’m just normal to people that I surround myself with.”

It was eye-opening for his parents.

“When he was younger he always threw harder and was taller and bigger than his peers,” Tim related. “I knew he was talented, but not to this level.”

But it did not change how Tim and Joanne advise their oldest son.

“One thing we’ve always done with our kids is tell them to do their talking on the field,” Tim said. “Take care of business on the field. If you want to be the best, you’ve got to outwork the best. Work when nobody is watching, whatever your passion is. I think if you do that, you’ll be successful in life.”

Added Joanne: “Enjoy your friendships made. We want to be perceived as good parents and teammates. The same with our kids. We want our kids to realize that team is really really important.”

THE EARLY DAYS

Being bigger and more talented in younger days also brings decisions.

“As parents we always were having conversations about how do we keep challenging him,” explained Joanna. “Then when he was eight he had the opportunity to play in kid’s pitch. He could throw strikes better than most kids do around here.

“Then we said let’s try travel and maybe he won’t be as dominating. We were thinking that’s when he might reach the ceiling. But he just kept expanding it. He hasn’t reached his ceiling yet.”

White remembers well his early days in the game of baseball.

“I always threw hard for my age,” reflected White. “A lot of the townball parents thought I should play up one or two levels. Once I started playing with Legends I stopped playing townball.”

That was in 2015 when Club Baseball started for White, who had just turned 10.

“That’s when I started to fall in love with baseball,” White related. “Playing every weekend with my best friends was so much fun. I loved playing and was pretty good at it. I didn’t know college or pro ball was possible at that time. That didn’t happen until my freshman year.”

DESIRE TO IMPROVE

With his love for the game growing along with the number one ranking in the country came the desire to continue improving.

“It’s competitiveness,” White explained. “Once I got the ranking I didn’t want to lose it. That’s who I am. I’m not going to be stagnant. I’m always doing something, usually with baseball which is what I love. I’m very much a perfectionist. If I just accepted the ranking I’d not be able to live with myself. I always want to be the best.”

Hard work is nothing new according to his mother.

“When he was young he was a very intense kid,” Joanne said. “He was always striving and wanting to work hard which as a parent is great. He played football, basketball and baseball all through junior high and played basketball as a freshman. But there were no winter sports with Covid when he was a sophomore.”

By then, White was a standout on the diamond, something his head coach in high school appreciates.

“I’m 52 years old and have been in a baseball uniform since I was six,” Graber said. “I remember saying to myself I wonder if I’m ever going to be around a generational talent.”

That happened with White.

“He’s everything you dreamed of in terms of ability and personal qualities,” Graber said.

HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL

The chance to get back to normalcy has finally happened this spring when it comes to playing high school ball.

“There was no season his freshman year and then last year they only played 14 or 15 games over four weekends,” Joanna said. “He’s finally having a high school season.”

In his first outing for Andover this spring White threw 63 pitches in four innings, allowing no hits and no runs while striking out eight. In his next game he struck out eight of nine batters faced and is now 2-0 on the season with a 0.00 ERA, permitting no hits and two walks with 16 Ks in seven innings of work.

“I figured out a few mechanical things which caused inconsistent accuracy with my fastball,” White said about how he’s improved. “This year I’ve been all around the zone. With my offspeed I figured out a change at the end of summer and it’s been great. So has my curve. My accuracy with all three pitches has been good.

“I watched a lot of video and in talking with my pitching coach and my high school coach, it’s going to be a good year.”

Graber is more than pleased to have a player like White wearing the Andover uniform.

“When your best player and most talented player is also your hardest worker you can’t help but love it,” Graber said. “But that’s Thomas. It’s a dream come true. He runs on the field, he’s always the first to rake the mound or tamp it. He’s always congratulating and helping his teammates. That’s just how he is. 

“Everyone has heard a lot of things about him as far as talent, but combine that with being an outstanding student and the first to pick up the equipment and all the little things … that’s what makes him super special.”

HELP IN THE PROCESS

Getting to this point in life and baseball has been a memorable experience for White, whose other fields of interest include cars, all sports, working out, going to the gym and hanging out with friends and family.

He credited his parents for helping make his baseball journey what it is today.

“My parents have been the biggest piece of all of this,” explained White, who also gave much credit to pitching coach Rusty Tucker and hitting coach Steve Santucci along with Graber. “My parents have meant everything in this. I usually just wing it, but they pushed me to have a plan with what I’m going to do when talking to coaches. They’ve always been there to help me make the best decision for me.

“This whole thing took a long time. They probably know me better than I do and I couldn’t have done this without them.”

His parents are thrilled to be a part of it all.

“He’s been able to use baseball to get an incredible education,” his mother said. “We’re so proud of him.”

THE FUTURE

Vanderbilt is happy to have White on board and his family is ecstatic about it.

“I think he’s found the perfect spot,” Joanne said about the Southeastern Conference school. “Going to a boarding school now is a baby step, so I’m more comfortable with him going so far away. It’s just a short flight from home.”
Tim, who played football at Merrimack and tried out with the Raiders and Patriots in the NFL in 1993 as a punter, put it simply: “It’s an amazing school and program. What an amazing opportunity.”

While his father played a major role in White’s development to make it to the next level, there admittedly has not been much catching his son these days.

“I coached him until the last few years,” Tim said. “The last time I caught him was 2019 or 2020. I kind of bailed after that. Now that I’m over 50 my eyesight isn’t what it was. Once he got over 90, I was pretty much done.”

Now there are bigger dreams ahead.

“As a mom, I’m hoping he achieves all the goals he sets for himself,” Joanne said. “He wants to be a pro baseball player and has avoided the typical teenage stuff to achieve those goals. He’s a super hard worker and amazingly dedicated. I look forward to seeing him grow and develop as a baseball player and man. I can't wait to see what the future holds and we’re looking forward to being a part of it.”

As for White, his thoughts about Vanderbilt are point blank.

“I can’t wait to get on campus, meet the guys and a trip to the College World Series would be nice,” White said.

As for baseball beyond college, the 17-year-old can only fantasize about it right now.

“It’s my dream to be a Major League Baseball pitcher,” White said. “You never know what’s going to happen in your future, you’ve just gotta put your head down and do what you need to do. Right now I’m just going to finish out my high school career and whatever happens after that happens.”