French Staying Close To Home At Cincinnati

WEST CHESTER - The chance to “stay local was a no-brainer” according to Carson French.

The University of Cincinnati is where the Lakota East junior will call home after a recent commitment by the seventh-rated 2023 right-handed pitcher in Ohio.

“First off, I like the location,” French reasoned about the decision to attend school a half hour away from where he lives in West Chester. “I kind of wanted to stay close to home and my parents love that idea. There’s also the facilities, the campus and the coaches. Everything is spot on with what I want in a college. I just knew it was home.”

It was last fall when the 6-1 195-pounder first drew interest from UC.

“I was 84-85 before I threw a bullpen and got to 88.4,” French reflected. “That day I sent it out on twitter and (assistant coach) JD (Heilmann) saw it. We’ve been talking since then about a year now.”

More recent pitching performances helped solidify it all.

“He saw me pitch at the Reds RBI Baseball Complex a month ago and I pitched a gem,” French said. “They offered after that.”

There were other considerations to make, however, with Xavier, Virginia Commonwealth, Northern Kentucky, Ohio State, Campbell and Central Florida also in the picture.

“I wanted to get through the fall and maybe visit more campuses,” related French, who had also checked out Xavier in addition to Cincinnati. “But I was in LakePoint and threw a no-hitter the day they switched to the Big 12 and I called JD and committed. He was as excited as I was. There was a lot of emotion. I got to stay close to home.”

After all, his father Tim has been the biggest influence on his baseball journey.

“My dad taught me everything he knows and now I’m here,” French said about his father who was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of Northern Kentucky University in 1990 and advanced to Class-AAA during his playing days. “He coached me from the age of eight until I was 13-years-old.I played catch with him for as long as I can remember. He’s always been my motivation, pushing me to be the best of my ability.” 

The lessons learned along the way helped shape the pitcher the 16-year-old is today.

“JD really likes my pitchability and that I’m able to throw a breaking pitch whenever I want,” explained French, who realized at the age of 14 he wanted to be a pitcher-only. “He also likes that I have good command of my fastball.”

Improvement over the past year has continued during the quest to reach the highest level possible in the sport.

“My sophomore year I was playing for the Spikes and had just an okay summer,” French pointed out. “I topped at 83-85, not the summer I wanted. I walked a lot of people and didn’t have confidence in my slider at all.

“I was much better this summer,” French added. “I just hit 90 with my velo and have more command with my slider and my other breaking balls.”

French credited Elite strength and conditioning coach Josh Elleman along with Spikes’ pitching coach Jon Keesling with making a big difference in his development, making the dream of playing at the next level a reality.

“Since I was a kid I’ve wanted to play pro baseball,” French noted. “College baseball is just a step to go there. I knew I’d play college baseball, I just wasn’t sure what level. I was hoping D-I. Now I want to make it big.”

The second-rated uncommitted 2023 in the state prior to his decision to attend Cincinnati is confident in what he can bring to the program, which is moving from the American Athletic Conference to the Big 12.

“I think I can play as a freshman,” French admitted. “I’m really looking forward to being part of the program and conference. I’ve got that competitive nature and would like to be a hometown hero.”

A 3.6 student with plans to major in sports medicine in hopes of becoming a chiropractor, French is ecstatic to know where his future is in baseball.

“Right when I committed I was so relieved,” French said. “The whole recruiting process was stressful. There was a lot to take in. To finally make a decision, my family was so relieved.”