Projectable Sellers Reaches Division 1 Goal

Carter Sellers LHP / 1B / Little Miami, OH / 2025

MAINVILLE - A little persistence worked out for Illinois State.

Eventually, Carter Sellers decided the Missouri Valley Conference university located in Normal, Ill., was the right place for a future home.

“It all started when I went to a camp there,” reflected the Little Miami High School junior, who was pitching in a tournament at Grand Park and drew the attention of Illinois State, leading to a camp invitation. “When I was at the camp I liked how organized and informative the coaches were. Afterward they said they’d stay in contact. Two days later they gave me an offer.”

While Xavier, Cincinnati and Tulane all showed interest during the recruiting process, it was Illinois State that gave the lone offer, all the while making it known their attraction for the 6-5 205-pound left-handed pitcher.

“They were going to see me in a tournament in Florida some time after the camp but it was rained out,” Sellers noted. “But they continued to stay in touch. They always kept reaching out.”

Enough for the 10th-ranked 2025 southpaw in Ohio to make a decision.

“I like the coaches, the campus is nice and D-I is my dream,” explained Sellers, who toured the grounds of the university while at the camp and revisited it while at a basketball game at Illinois State. “I just decided to commit.”

What had ISU so enamored about the 16-year-old?

“My projectability,” Sellers said. “They like my size. They also like that my fastball has a lot of run on it.”

The velocity was part of the attraction Sellers presented to coaches.

“My curve is more of a slurve that has a good change of speed to throw off hitters,” Sellers explained. “But the main thing I kept hearing from scouts and recruiters is my projectability.”

The potential has shown since entering high school.

“I thought about college baseball while growing up but didn’t have a lot of deep thought about it,” Sellers reflected. “Then freshman year I had a big jump in velo and I thought I had a chance. In eighth grade I was topping at 77 and going into freshman year it was 84. Last year it was 87-88.”

Credit was given for making it happen.

“My dad helped a lot by taking info from pitching coaches and giving me a bunch of drills,” noted Sellers, who also pointed to former pitching coach Connor Walsh with mechanical advice while also acknowledging his travel ball coaches with benefiting his development. “Doing plyos, stretching and lifting also helped a lot.”

By last summer, playing at the next level had become realistic.

“I didn’t have a good season of school ball, so during the break before summer I focused just on pitching instead of hitting,” Sellers related. “After that everything started clicking. I was always a pretty good hitter, but once I started to just focus on pitching my velo jumped.”

The 40th-ranked junior in the state sees more improvement down the road.

“Once I eat right and put on more muscle and get up to 215-220,” Sellers said about what will prove beneficial in boosting his game. “With working on my mechanics and getting my legs stronger, I feel I can pump up my velo.”

It has the Little Miami junior confident about making an impact in the baseball program at Illinois State.

“I’ll be someone who will help out the staff, get my innings in and do my job on the mound helping win some games,” pointed out Sellers, who carries a 3.8 GPA and is considering business or sports analytics as a college major.

Admittedly, making the commitment official to the school located a little more than four hours away from home was rewarding.

“It really felt good,” Sellers said. “All that stress and having calls every day was off. I got my dream of going D-I. It showed all the hard work paid off. But I’m still not done.”

After all, there is a lot of projectability still ready to show.