Central Michigan Will Be Home For Bouscher

Dominic Bouscher OF / SS / Toronto, OH / 2024

CALCUTTA - “A place I was meant to be.”

That was the quest of Dominic Bouscher after the Toronto High School senior reopened his recruiting process following changes in the baseball program at Northwestern.

“It happened right before my last tournament of summer ball,” Bouscher reflected. “It was right before I was going to go to LakePoint. My family thought there would be a lot of coaches there and would be best for me to decommit. It was tough … a little chaotic, but I knew I’d find a place I was meant to be.”

By the end of August, the eighth-rated 2024 outfielder in Ohio had found just that at Central Michigan.

“A couple weeks after LakePoint I started talking with coach Hilt who went to Edison and knows my head coach,” Bouscher said in reference to the new Central assistant who had served as recruiting coordinator and pitching coach at Eastern Michigan last season. “I went on a visit in the middle of August and it felt like home. They treated me like family before I was even committed.”

Bouscher had talks with Illinois and Marshall along with participating in a camp at Purdue but believes Central Michigan is the right choice for him.

“They want to win and I want to be part of that,” Bouscher said. “I’m super excited for it.”

The feeling is mutual.

“They like my speed, that’s one of my biggest traits,” Bouscher noted. “I cover a lot of ground in the outfield, I steal bases and play aggressively.”

It is a style of play the recently-turned 18-year-old looks forward to bringing to the Mid-American Conference program.

“I try to get on base and create havoc for the other team,” Bouscher explained.

One recent change has the 6-1 165-pounder moving to center field.

“I always played corner outfield,” Bouscher pointed out. “It’s a different read on the ball so I’m working on that.”

Admittedly, round two of the recruiting process was not easy.

“I learned a lot from the first one,” Bouscher related. “Good and bad can happen, you just have to see what’s best for you. PBR did a great job helping me out and Bo Jackson did an amazing job getting my name out there.”

It has Bouscher reaching a long-time goal.

“It’s always been a dream to play college baseball,” Bouscher said. “My recruitment was a roller coaster of emotions, but I loved it. All those coaches at LakePoint watching the PBR National Championship were amazing. It was unbelievable down there.”

There was additional help along the way in a baseball journey that will continue in Mount Pleasant, 51/2 hours north of home.

“My head coach Brian Perkins, I can’t thank him enough for all those he reached out to and Cory Valentine and Woody Wallace with Bo Jackson for getting my name out to contacts,” Bouscher related. “I can’t be thankful enough.”

The 49th-ranked 2024 in Ohio is glad he can now look ahead.

“I was a little worried at the end of summer but it all worked out like I knew it would,” concluded Bouscher, a 4.0 student at Toronto planning on a major in business at Central Michigan. “It’s definitely a big relief now and I’m ready for the experiences at college. I go to a small high school so it’s going to be different at college. I’m looking forward to experiencing college baseball and continuing to play the game I love.”