Onate Excited With Opportunity To Play At Tulane

POWELL - Even the recent hurricane that battered Louisiana did not deter Mason Onate from his college baseball dream.

“All I know is that it’s warm down there and that’s kind of what I’ve been looking for,” the Olentangy Liberty sophomore said about his decision to make a commitment with Tulane. “You can have tornadoes here and hurricanes in Florida, so while it’s always going to be in the back of my mind, it’s not a big concern.”

Finding the right fit is what the fourth-ranked 2023 shortstop in the state has been driven to do once college recruitment began.

“My thought process with my dad was the south has the weather,” Onate explained. “I wanted to bring the northern toughness to the south, that’s always been a goal I’ve wanted to do. Another big factor was I wanted to get out of my comfort zone - like going to Ohio State. I’ve never wanted to be normal. I don’t know anybody going to Tulane.”

Admittedly, Onate knew nothing about Tulane just a short time ago.

“Honestly, I didn’t even know it was in Louisiana the first time I called them,” Onate said about the college located in New Orleans. “But after I talked to them once I looked up the coaches' biographies and learned about the school to see if I wanted to have a career there.”

The 19th-rated sophomore in Ohio found what he was looking for at the American Athletic Conference university.

“Coach (Jay) Uhlman went on a bike ride through campus starting at the baseball field and ending at the park down there,” Onate said of a virtual tour he took in July with the Tulane assistant coach. ”After that I wanted to get down there to check it out.”

Onate was first seen by Tulane at Lake Point on a live video in late April.

“We talked for a couple months and they offered on July 21,” Onate reflected. “I decided to take my time with it and wanted to go down there. But they upped the offer and decided to take it on Aug. 17. I felt comfortable with it and my parents felt comfortable.”

Building a strong relationship with the staff was vital according to the left-handed hitting Onate, who plays outfield in addition to short.

“The coaches were like step-fathers to me,” Onate explained. “They were so open, I had such a good connection with them. Everything felt so right, I thought it was the best decision for me and my family.”

There is a lot that the Tulane coaches believe Onate can provide a program that has twice placed fifth in the College World Series, 2001 and 2005.

“They like my leadership,” Onate noted. “They also love my glove and how connected I can be with other players I don’t even know yet. They saw even then, I can still be a leader. They also like how they feel I can develop my bat.”

Improvement has been vital in becoming a Division I commit for Onate, a 140-pounder a year ago who weighed 145 during quarantine but is now at 160 on a 5-10 frame.

“I’ve been a good infielder that had the skills to play in college, but not start,” Onate explained. “But now that I’ve developed consistency on regular plays and on harder plays, now I think I can start and play at Tulane.

“Hitting-wise, I’ve gained a lot more power over quarantine,” Onate continued about his improved game. “I gained 10 pounds, so that’s 20 since last year. I’ve been lifting and that’s helped me develop power, so I’ve gained a lot at both hitting and fielding in a year’s time.”

The hard work has just begun, however, for a player who has long thought about moving on to the next level.

“People have always said I was going to go to college to play baseball but I was such a small kid,” Onate related. “I think lifting has been so big for me.”

It is part of what Onate is focusing on now.

“I’m not going to be the tallest kid on the team, but I’d like to get to 200,” Onate said. “I hope I get to 6-1, too, but if not I’ll be fine, I just need to gain more strength.”

Playing against those more advanced is another avenue taken by Onate at this point in time.

“I’ve been hitting and fielding with people that are already in college or in the pros,” Onate said, mentioning Ryan Clark (Angels’ organization), Tommy Parsons (Cardinals’ organization), Andrew Magno (Tigers’ organization) and Seth Lonsway (Ohio State). “The difference with them is the movement of the ball. It isn’t the speed, but the movement.”

From his parents to PBR to coaches along the way like Paul Melvin, Ty Brenning and Kurt Hutter, Onate has had plenty of help in his baseball journey.

“It all came so fast,” pointed out the 3.2 student looking at a major in the medical field. “My first offer was from Miami of Ohio in early July and then I’m like ... if I don’t go here I’ll wait until next year. But then Tulane came in and I decided it’s time. Last year there was no way I thought I’d be committed right now but once you start talking to coaches and get to the first offer it speeds up so much.

“Now it’s about getting my grades up, getting good ACT scores and keep developing,” Onate concluded. “I want to bring the best I can to that program. But I can’t put too much pressure on, it ruins all the fun in baseball.”