From State Title To OSU Commitment For Gehring

Jacob Gehring RHP / 3B / South Range, OH / 2021

CANFIELD - While Jacob Gehring was helping South Range to a state baseball title last June, his middle school principal was thinking about the pitcher’s future.

Dan Szolek was texting with Ohio State baseball coach Greg Beals about the 16th-ranked player in the state’s 2021 class. After all, the two were roommates while students at Kent State.

Gehring found out about the conversation later on.

“He asked if I was interested in Ohio State and I said absolutely,” Gehring said about Szolek. “He said they had be talking via text at state.”

The 6-2 205-pound right-hander, who threw a six-hit shutout while driving in three runs in a 7-0 win over Madeira in the Division III state semifinals, eventually went to a camp at OSU on Sept. 30.

“As soon as I was there I remember thinking this is a place I could potentially want to be,” Gehring related. “The coaches were personable, and I’m a personable guy. It was football season, but I liked what I saw.”

An offer from Ohio State came a few weeks later.

“I kept thinking about the offer, weighing the options, the pros and cons,” Gehring explained. “I knew I wanted to go to school there, so why wait any longer?”

A commitment to Ohio State came next.

“My whole family is Ohio State fans,” Gehring said. “But it’s never been a school I thought of going to, one I thought I’d play at. But when the opportunity presented itself, I wasn’t going to pass it up.”

The fourth-ranked unsigned sophomore in Ohio at the time of his commitment, Gehring admits to being impressed with the OSU coaching staff.