From Torn Rotator Cuff To College Commitment For Barni

TWINSBURG - It was not the junior year of high school baseball that Tyler Barni envisioned.

While Walsh Jesuit made a long tournament run, the hard-throwing right-hander was sidelined with a torn rotator cuff. It not only prevented Barni from helping out his teammates on the field, but his college recruitment was minimized.

“It slowed down the recruiting process for me for three months,” Barni reflected. “It was really hard to have to take three months off, especially with recruitment and with us ending up in the Final Four. I just tried my best to be a good teammate. Even though I wasn’t out on the field, I tried to keep a good attitude while looking forward to getting back out there.”

That time came at the start of summer and the Walsh Jesuit 2022 made the most of it.

“I was really proud of myself,” Barni said. “I had great command throughout the summer.”

Youngstown State took notice right away.

“The first game I was back was at Grand Park and they were there and watched me throw,” Barni related. “They saw me two times after that and we were talking on the phone a good amount. They asked me to come on a visit and ended up offering.”

Barni liked everything about the Horizon League school.

“You could tell the coaches really cared about me as a player and as a person,” Barni noted. “It has a beautiful campus and it’s close to home so my family can come watch. They’ve also done a great job with the baseball program developing their pitchers. Their top pitcher came in throwing 80-82 and is now 92-96.”

A commitment to the university 45 minutes away from his Twinsburg home followed.

“They have no concern with my injury and think I’m very projectable,” explained the 6-6 235-pounder. “They like my frame. At 6-6, college coaches like that. The pitching coach also said that I have a swagger on the mound which he liked, and they also like me as a person.”

A 3.7 student considering a major in sports medicine or business, Barni is confident about making an impression once he dons the Youngstown State uniform.

“I hope to make an impact right away,” Barni said. “Freshman year we open at Baylor, so we play a really good schedule. If I can get the ball, I think I can make a big impact from the start.”

The 17-year-old is, admittedly, anxious about playing at the next level.

“I look forward to facing that kind of competition,” Barni noted. “It’s a whole different level of competition, every team you play will be D-I guys. It’s something I’ve always liked and look forward to doing.”

To finally be committed after time away from the game this past spring brings a lot of comfort to Barni.

“One thing that helped me over the whole recruiting process was I was able to talk to a lot of schools and coaches,” Barni said. “You learn what you like and what you don’t like. With Youngstown State, I really had a lot of trust and liked them a lot.”

An official commitment before senior year of high school began brought joy to all those involved.

“My parents were really proud of me, but more than anything I was proud of myself,” Barni concluded. “A torn rotator cuff is a serious injury and I had to take three months off. I was worrying if I would even be able to perform when I came back. I did the best I could to stay confident and trust myself. When I started throwing bullpens I felt a lot better. There was relief and a lot of happiness when I made the decision.”