Cerha And Ohio University Connected Quickly

CHAGRIN FALLS - Rarely does a process move so quickly. But that was the case for Jimmy Cerha, who talked with Ohio University on a Wednesday and four days later was committed to the Mid-American Conference school.

“My summer coach Jeremy Young got me in touch with (assistant) coach (Justin) Sumner and that opened the door,” explained Cerha, who began playing travel ball for Ohio Elite this year. “He set me up with the pitching coach (Tim Brown) and we really connected. We talked on a Wednesday and he invited me to two camps, one that Sunday and one in January. I decided to go to the one on Sunday.

“After that he reached out to all my coaches and he really liked what he heard. I went on an unofficial visit on Saturday and really liked the campus, I liked the facilities and the downtown area. I threw well at the camp on Sunday and they offered. Two hours later I decided. It checked all the boxes for me and I said I think that’s where I want to be.

“It all happened so fast,” Cerha added. “I talked to the coach on Wednesday and committed on Sunday. Saturday was awesome. Not only do they have a good baseball program but they have good sport management and business programs.”

It brought an end to a recruiting process that picked up immensely in the fall.

“My coach reached out to college coaches and then I reached out after that,” the Kenston junior related. “Once I hit 90 on the radar the second week of November I started getting a lot more responses back and talking to more coaches. There was Lake Erie and Kent State before, then others after that. Akron, Ohio State, Xavier and Toledo.”

But it was Ohio U that proved to be right for the 19th-ranked 2024 right-handed pitcher in the state, a 3.75 high school student with aspirations to major in sport management in college.

“They really like my attitude and that I’m a very hard worker and a very coachable player,” Cerha said. “They really like my curveball and the way I attack hitters with my fastball.”

The ability to throw heat helped the cause for the 6-3 200-pounder, who this year transferred back to Kenston where he attended school through sixth grade.

“I was lifting really hard this offseason but I started losing velo so I worked on running more, getting faster, using med balls and doing more stretching to be a more mobile and faster athlete,” Cerha noted. “I worked on that in the fall and went from 84 during the high school season to 90 in November.”

In addition to coach Young, Cerha gave credit to his high school coach Joseph Hritz, who “shared some kind words with coach Brown and said I was hard working and would be willing to do what they taught me.” Mike Grady is another that played a major role “making me really strive to become the best player I can be.”

Even the quick process with OU was a surprise to his pitching coach.

“In talking to Mike Grady, he said I’d probably not get offered on Sunday but that they’d tell me they’d keep an eye on me,” Cerha reflected. “I went there and threw nice and easy and (head) coach (Craig) Moore said he wanted me and gave me an offer after that. I was surprised but very excited. I said I wanted to think about it, but in talking to my family in the car on the way home it checked the boxes so I told the coaches I want to be with them for the next four years.”

The idea of playing at the next level began early.

“In fourth grade I started taking pitching lessons,” the 51st-rated 2024 in Ohio said. “I worked with (Kent State pitching coach Mike) Birkbeck’s son when I was 10-years-old. I wasn’t getting really good yet, that came with maturity, but I really started to want to play college baseball in the sixth grade. When I was 14 I was a strike thrower throwing 78 miles an hour. In the fall of my freshman year I was up to 80 and that’s when I started taking it seriously and working hard to be the best player I can be.”

Exposure played a role at that point in time.

“PBR definitely helped get me out there,” Cerha related. “At the State Games I topped at 87. I struck out five of seven hitters and gave up no runs. College coaches definitely saw me there.

“In August/September I started emailing and texting coaches but wasn’t getting a lot of responses back and that was very stressful. So at the time I narrowed it down to a five-hour radius, I decided I wanted to stay close to my family. My coach and I started reaching out to schools in October and we talked to the recruiting coordinator at Ohio State and the same thing with Akron. But then Ohio came into the picture.”

Cerha is confident about what he can provide the program in Athens, which is three hours and 15 minutes from his home in Chagrin Falls.

“I’ll bring my winning attitude,” Cerha noted. “I want the team to win a MAC championship. There’s an empty shelf in the locker room and coach says that’s for the next championship. I want to bring my pitching and help the team the best I can. He expects me to pitch as a freshman. He expects that out of everyone that comes in. I want to do that and continue working hard and developing.”

It has the 17-year-old excited about a future once his days at Kenston come to an end.

“My focus right now is to win a state championship with my high school team this year, that was one of the reasons I came back,” Cerha concluded. “At Ohio I’m looking forward to winning a championship and bonding with teammates, walking around with my teammates in the downtown area and hanging out with them as much as I can. I’m also looking forward to going to church with coach Moore on Sunday’s and going to the coach’s house for cookouts.”