Bond At Youngstown State Impresses McCartney

Jacob McCartney 1B / RHP / Mentor, OH / 2025

MENTOR - Jacob McCartney believes that in Youngstown State he has found what he’s been looking for in a college.

“I heard from the Youngstown staff that the bond is great, which is what I want, along with a group of hard-working kids,” McCartney related.

Interest between the top-rated 2025 first baseman in the state and the Horizon League coaches developed this past fall.

“They invited me to a camp super early in the fall, the weekend I went to the State Games,” McCartney said in reference to the Prep Baseball event. “Assistant coach Eric Bunnell said he saw me at the State Games and wanted to see me at a camp.”

Admittedly, there was some uncertainty about making it happen.

“I’ve been to a lot of camps so I wasn’t sure I wanted to go to another, but after research I found they had what I wanted to do in college so I decided to go and I loved it,” explained the Mentor High School junior, who pointed to the indoor fieldhouse and coaches as key selling points at YSU.

“I got a call the next day and coach Bunnell asked me to come on a visit,” noted McCartney, who also had strong interest from Lake Erie along with a bit from Akron. “Two weeks after I took a visit to see the campus and I really liked it. It’s a smaller Division I school, but really has a nice campus. They showed me around and showed me what they had to offer with baseball. We sat down at the end of the visit and talked about baseball and things outside of baseball. I couldn’t pass it up when they offered. I really like what they have planned for the team and me.”

A day after the visit McCartney accepted the offer.

“I wanted to let the other coaches I’d been talking to know what I planned to do,” reasoned McCartney.

Youngstown State, which is located a little less than an hour-and-a-half from his home in Mentor, saw a lot of upside in the 6-2 250-pounder.

“They understand I will get better, they can see the potential,” the 53rd-ranked junior in Ohio explained. “They really like my bat and the raw power that comes with it. They see my fielding will get better. The speed is not bad for my size, but I’ll get better in the coming years.”

After all, McCartney is already showing progress in that aspect of the game.

“I’ve gotten a lot faster,” pointed out McCartney, who turned 17 on Dec. 22. “I went from 7.8 two years ago (in the 60) to 7.6 last year and now 7.39-7.4. It’s been a big goal of mine to keep getting faster.

Other areas are also on the rise.

“I had elbow surgery last October but now I’m getting back to where I was before, 86 across the infield,” McCartney related. “For the bat, I’ve really put a lot of work into it. Two years ago I was hitting high-90s, but I got it up to 105 in February. At the State Games I was 109, my highest ever.”

It was just a few years back that the Mentor product made baseball a top priority.

“When I was younger, at 11 or 12, I decided I only wanted to play baseball and focused on making it at the college level,” McCarney reflected. “I didn’t take it seriously when I was younger but at 14 I started to train every day to be able to move on to the next level.”

Still, it did not come easy for McCartney, who admits things were “pretty stressful” during the recruiting process.

“Knowing coaches were watching, I was trying to do too much,” McCartney said. “It affected my game in bad ways. But when I went to PBR and performed well, that helped get my name out there. My (T3 Warhawks) coach, Ryan Rua, is really good at posting everything and my high school coach, Jeff Haase, retweets whatever I put out.”

A commitment brought an end to the tension McCartney was feeling during the process.

“Honestly, it’s a big relief off the shoulders,” noted McCartney. “I no longer have to stress out trying to impress everyone. Nothing is going to make me stressed out any more. It’s all going to be more relaxing.”

A major in environmental science with a minor in criminal justice is the plan for the 3.4 high school junior, who is excited about what lies ahead at Youngstown State.

“I definitely see myself bringing a lot of integrity to the team,” McCartney concluded. “I want a good group of guys ready to bond and work together with me. I’m looking forward to traveling with my teammates and playing against other good teams.”