Kaczmar Feels Right At Home As A Buckeye

AKRON - A familiar look is back in the Kaczmar household.

A commitment to Ohio State has followed a decommitment to Michigan and with it is the return of scarlet-and-gray in the home of Henry Kaczmar.

“My mom dug out a couple Ohio State T-shirts and the Michigan stuff will soon be out of the house,” noted the Walsh Jesuit 2022 graduate.

Becoming a Buckeye is huge in a family of long-time Ohio State fans.

“My uncle Scott Kaczmar and my uncle Alex Eckelman are both Hall of Fame Buckeyes,” noted the third-rated 2022 shortstop in Ohio. “They hold a lot of records there. To carry that legacy on is undescribable. I’m just thrilled to be able to say that I’m a Buckeye.”

The reversal happened after Michigan head coach Erik Bakich and assistant Nick Schnabel decided to move on from the school up north and take an offer to coach at Clemson.

“When I selected Michigan awhile back, the main reason was how much I fell in love with the coaches,” Kaczmar explained. “As soon as I started to build a relationship with them I knew they were great people. When they left it was like … wow … What do I do now?

“I talked to them a little at Clemson and they said they’d do anything they could for me. It was at that point I said I don’t want to go here if I’m not playing for coach Bakich and coach Schnabel. I decommitted and that’s when Ohio State changed coaches. When they saw the Michigan coaches left they got right on me.”

It did not take long for Kaczmar to connect with new Buckeye head coach Bill Mosiello, an assistant coach at TCU since 2013.

“I did my research on them,” Kaczmar related. “Coach Mosiello is big on keeping players in the state. I’ve always been a big Ohio State fan and it was hard when I committed to Michigan. This just feels right. I’m excited about the future.”

In the 5-10 180-pounder, OSU is getting a left-handed hitting shortstop that started for four years for his father Chris Kaczmar at Walsh Jesuit.

“Right when the Michigan coaches left they were looking to talk to me since they knew I had doubts about what was next,” Kaczmar explained. “They contacted me a week or two after about what I’m doing. I was still up in the air and at that point coach (Gregg) Wallis (who has since become the head coach at Grand Canyon) drove from Arizona to watch me play at Baldwin-Wallace. He said he likes my style of play and loves my swing and my arm. 

“From there it was what’s the next step because I’d fallen in love with Ohio State. I went for a visit and saw everywhere I was going to be and fell in love with it.”

Admittedly, it was tough to make a change at this point in time.

“It was weird,” the 19-year-old said. “I’d been committed for over four years and then a couple of weeks before college I don’t know where I’m going. I was a little anxious but I knew I’d be where I should be. That was the mindset I told myself.”

It all worked out in the end for Kaczmar and his family.

“To get an offer from Ohio State is something I dreamed about,” the 13th-ranked 2022 in the state said. “It just feels right. It feels like home.”

A Walsh Jesuit grad with a 3.5 GPA, Kaczmar is thrilled about what lies ahead at college with plans to major in kinesiology.

“I’m definitely looking forward to being with a lot of my friends,” pointed out Kaczmar, who lives an hour and 50 minutes from Ohio State. “I have a lot of buddies that I played with in the past that are there, and to be on a collegiate team with them will be awesome.

“You’re supposed to have fun with this and to be with friends from the past will be cool. Being on campus at such a prestigious university and going to football games will be awesome.”