Hoagland Impressed With The Culture At East Carolina

Charlie Hoagland LHP / OF / Chaminade Julienne, OH / 2025

VANDALIA - It only took a brief look for East Carolina to have an interest in Charlie Hoagland. The feeling became mutual following an official visit to the university in Greenville, N.C.

“I really got to know the coaches well and the program,” the Chaminade Julienne junior related. “The schools I talked to, there were a lot of great programs, but I just loved the level of character of the players there at East Carolina and having that culture. They’re trying to make great men, not just baseball players.”

It was at the Future Games when Hoagland was seen by ECU, regular-season champions in the American Athletic Conference the past four seasons played.

“They were watching a kid on a different field and glanced over at me and liked what they saw,” the fifth-rated 2025 left-handed pitcher in Ohio reflected. “They came over and watched and on Aug. 1 called me.

“They said they like my arm motion and that I have a projectable frame,” the 6-1 178-pounder continued. “I pitched two innings the first day (for Team Ohio). I didn’t have the best first inning but bounced back in the second inning and they like that. They liked my command.”

It was the lone live outing East Carolina saw the southpaw until late August.

“We talked on Aug. 1, but they’d only seen me that one time,” noted Hoagland. “They had watched some film, but they wanted me to come down to see me throw again. I went to an Elite 100 camp there and threw well. A couple days after that they gave me a great offer. It was the end of August and they stayed in contact. What stood out to me was they kept asking how I was doing. Near the end of September they got me on a visit.”

The rest is history for the 18th-ranked junior LHP in Ohio, who had made visits to Mid-American Conference schools and also had interest from some colleges in the Big East Conference and Big 10.

“I enjoyed getting to know them all,” Hoagland said. “But calling them when I committed was hard.”

Still, it was a fun recruiting process for Hoagland, who just turned 17 on Oct. 2.

“I talked to a couple schools before the rule change, but once the rule change happened it was nice to focus on playing and showing what you’re made of,” Hoagland explained. “Come Aug. 1 it all started on the phone. I had 20 calls that day and a week after I was on the phone a lot again. It was hard to manage your time with school and a social life, but I was very appreciative of the attention. It’s a testament to how hard I’ve worked.”

It helped his dream of playing at the next level take place.

“It’s been a goal of mine forever,” Hoagland said. “I’ve always watched the College World Series and college baseball, and I went to Dayton games. I’ve always wanted to play college baseball at the highest level I can. Freshman year it started to become realistic and then this year I knew it was going to be a reality.”

Improvement was a big part of getting the attention of college coaches.

“I’ve always been a solid pitcher but starting freshman year I made some jumps, especially working with a pitching coach,” Hoagland said in reference to Connor Graham at MVP Facilities. “He helped me work on specific mechanics, throwing drills and pitch design stuff. My velo from freshman year to now is up eight miles an hour.”

In addition to Graham, the Chaminade Julienne junior credits coaches Gregg Beemer and Terry Ables with the Dayton Classics, and coaches Todd Barhorst and Gordy Gongora with CJ for “pushing me to maximize what I can do and also help me with recruiting.”

Admittedly, the feeling of making a commitment was memorable.

“We were at the baseball facilities and started driving down the street,” Hoagland reflected. “I knew that I’d know when it was the right place and that was it. We drove back and I told them I wanted to commit. I had other visits lined up and was going to go to Jupiter where I could be seen by more schools, but I knew this was the place. I think my little brother was the most excited.”

Engineering, physical therapy and business are all being considered as a college major by Hoagland, a 4.4 student at CJ who is looking forward to going to college 101/2 hours from home.

“I’m excited at being part of the brotherhood at EC,” Hoagland concluded. “It seems like family there. I’ve even had recruits reach out to me since I committed. It’s going to be fun playing baseball at such a high level and, hopefully, going to Omaha one day.

“I’m also looking forward to being the best person I can be. Coach (Cliff) Godwin does a great job with that, it’s why I went to East Carolina.”