Lumley A Two-Way Commit To Bowling Green

LONDON, Ontario - It was three years ago that the baseball aspirations changed for Carson Lumley.

“When I was in 13U I grew a lot and had a huge jump in my game,” reflected the Mother Teresa High School junior. “My velo and everything jumped a lot. I stood out more than I had in the past and thought my dream of playing baseball at a D-I university could really be a reality.”

There was a 12 mile-an-hour leap in pitching velocity as well as exit velo between 12U and 13U for Lumley, who also grew six inches from 5-6 to 6-0.

Attention from colleges and scouts followed.

“He looks to be one of the more projectable arms in the province from the class of 2022,” noted PBR Director of Scouting Chris Kemlo a year ago after the 15U Nationals Ray Carter Cup. ”it was easy to spot the athleticism on the mound. He has the body you like to see from a young pitcher and there’s room to add strength over the next few years without taking away the athleticism.”

Growth, both physically and on the ball field, has continued for the fourth-rated 2022 in Ontario, who is now 6-4 and 180 pounds.

“I’ve been training a lot, working on my strength,” Lumley noted. “I’ve gotten my numbers up, my velo has jumped for sure. I’m trying to get more power with pitching and hitting.”

The numbers speak highly of the top-ranked junior pitcher in Ontario, with a fastball topping out at 91, up six miles per hour from a year ago. In addition, Lumley has an exit velo of 96.

Colleges took notice including Central Michigan, Niagra, Canisius and St.John’s, but Bowling Green proved to be the fit Lumley was looking for in a school.

“A couple of months ago we started talking but he couldn’t see me because of covid,” Lumley said about BG head coach Kyle Hallock.

Recruitment relied on video and the first-year top mentor at the Mid-American Conference school took notice.

“I sent them videos and they obviously liked them,” Lumley related. “We set up zoom calls and we made a relationship. They ended up offering me and I made a commitment.

“Coach Hallock made a great connection with my family. He seems like a strong, competitive person in general.”

There was more that sold Lumley on Bowling Green.

“The MAC is a good conference and the rest of their schedule is strong,” pointed out Lumley, who took a virtual tour of the school with Hallock prior to the commitment. “The facilities are another thing that stood out to me.”

An opportunity to play in the field as well as pitcher was there from every school during the recruiting process and BG was no different.

“I’ll be swinging at the start and see how it goes from then on,” noted Lumley, an outfielder when not on the mound. “It definitely takes a lot of commitment to do both, but I’m going to be trying my best at two-way.”

A 3.3 student looking at a major in sport management, Lumley believes he can provide a spark to the baseball program at Bowling Green, which is located three-and-a-half hours from his London, Ontario home.

“I’ll bring a lot of energy,” Lumley said. “I’m a very competitive person and I’ll go out there and compete. That’s the biggest thing from me.”

More improvement is planned prior to arriving on the BG campus.

“I want to work on smoothing out my pitching mechanics so when I get there everything is good,” Lumley explained. “As a position player, I want to get my 60 time down so I can be as fast as I can be. With hitting, I want to get more power and I’m also working on my mechanics there, too.”

His father Mike has been a huge factor in his baseball journey according to Lumley.

“He’s coached me since I was little,” Lumley noted. “The main thing he’s taught me is the mental side of pitching and the mental side of the whole game as far as staying composed. He’s been the biggest influence for me in baseball and life.”

Admittedly, no physical contact during the recruiting process was difficult in the eyes of Lumley.

“A couple of showcases I was going to go to were cancelled so things were a little stressful,” Lumley said. “I tried to get as much video as possible out. That was exciting trying to figure out and look up different schools. There were definitely a bit of nerves but it all ended up good.”