Pece Excited To Be 'Part Of A Great School Like Miami'

Sam Pece LHP / OF / Walsh Jesuit, OH / 2024

SOLON - The “brotherhood” at Walsh Jesuit is what Sam Pece believes he has found at Miami of Ohio. It is a big reason the fourth-rated 2024 left-handed pitcher in the state made a commitment to be a part of the Mid-American Conference program.

“We love each other, we’re friends with each other,” Pece said about his Walsh Jesuit teammates. “That’s exactly what (head) coach (Brian) Smiley wants to do at Miami, create a team first and that leads to success.”

Miami saw Pece pitching during the summer and before August rolled around the 6-2 190-pound southpaw had found his college destination.

“I’m not sure which outing they saw me at, but I started talking with coach (Larry) Scully,” Pece reflected about his first encounter with the Miami pitching coach. “I went to Miami for a visit on July 26-27 and loved it there. It felt like home … the campus and the baseball facilities. I loved coach Smiley and his mindset and coach Scully and his mindset and what they want to do for the program and how they develop pitchers. Coach Scully has had a great career developing pitchers.

“They offered me on the visit,” Pece continued. “We talked about it on my way home and I committed a few hours later on the phone. I had one other offer, but Miami is where I felt I wanted to make a home for the next three or four years.”

Miami found the 27th-ranked incoming senior in Ohio to have the right ingredients to be a successful pitcher at the next level.

“They like my mechanics and how loose I throw,” Pece noted.

There was one more plus that the 18-year-old found at Miami.

“The pitching coach at Walsh, Riley Feltner, just graduated from Kent and he took a job with development of pitchers at Miami,” Pece pointed out. “He told them about my character.”

The decision to call the university in Oxford a future home brought an end to a recruiting process that began a year ago.

“It all started at the beginning of my junior year when schools started reaching out,” Pece explained. “It took off after I threw at the Release Scout Day and topped at 88. I threw in a PBR Tournament and also threw against Jackson which was posted by PBR. It all took off from there. It was stressful at times, but everything fell into place.”

Pece credited Tyler Mitchell, Ben Simon, Matt Rosinski and Felter with being influential in helping reach a goal that began at a young age.

“My whole life I’ve wanted to play college baseball,” Pece said. “Around eighth or ninth grade I was really developing and getting better and it started to become realistic. This year I added velo and developed my body to the point that schools were reaching out.”

Additional velo, developing a change and being able to command every pitch are future objectives for Pece, who sees similarities in Walsh Jesuit and Miami.

“We had a team with a lot of success this year, a team that played together,” explained Pece about Walsh, which advanced to the Division I Final Four. “We had one goal, to win state. We fell short, but we had a great year. We operated almost like a college program.”

Pece believes he can bring the same type of allegiance to the MAC program at Miami.

“I’m a competitor who wants to win,” Pece said. “I’m a good teammate who wants his brothers to succeed as well.”

Pece, who carries a 3.1 GPA at Walsh and plans to major in business, is thrilled to know what lies ahead at Miami.

“It was an awesome feeling when I committed,” Pece said. “I had a lot of support from family and friends and they’re very excited for my future.

“I’m really looking forward to playing at the next level and traveling with the team,” Pece concluded. “That will be awesome, especially to be part of it at a great school like Miami.”