Eastern Michigan A 'No-Brainer' For Topolski

SEVEN HILLS - It was during the time when Covid initially began when Jack Topolski came to a realization about college baseball.

“I was missing baseball that spring season,” the Holy Name High School senior reflected. “I’d always wanted to play in college but that’s when I realized I wanted to take the sport of baseball and play it for as long as I could.

“It brought a sense that one day this is going to be over, and would I wonder if I gave it everything I had,” Topolski continued. “After that, I wanted to put it all out and know that I gave it my best run.”

Hard work brought on improvement for the 42nd-rated 2023 right-handed pitcher in Ohio.

“Where I really have improved is I’ve continued to do sport-specific stuff, individual training for baseball, and that helped improve my velocity,” Topolski explained. “I was messing with grips and seeing what works, and that’s when it all really stuck.”

So much so that interest in the 6-0 180-pounder increased to the point of reaching the Division I level with Eastern Michigan entering the picture.

“It all started off with my pitching coach who knows some of the coaches at Eastern well,” Topolski pointed out. “He was talking to them and set up for me to go to a camp and said I’ll help make sure they see you while you’re there. I did well and talked to the coaches after that. They ended up coming to see me pitch in fall ball and then wanted me to come on a visit to campus. When I was walking around campus, that’s when I knew it was where I wanted to be.”

St. Xavier out of Chicago, Charleston, Walsh, Marietta and other schools from the Ohio Athletic Conference were on the radar of Topolski up until that point.

“Before Eastern I was leaning toward Marietta, but once Eastern came around it was a no-brainer for me,” Topolski said. “The visit was a cool experience. The campus was nice, they explained where I would stay and I walked into some classrooms. They take education seriously and they talked about what it would be like at school, not just baseball.”

More stood out to the 99th-ranked senior in Ohio.

“The campus was not super small, but it still had a sense of community,” Topolski explained. “Since (head) coach (Eric) Roof came along the program is getting better and better and I wanted to go to a program that was on the rise.”

Eastern Michigan found a lot about Topolski to admire as well.

“They like that I’m not just a baseball player, I get good grades,” noted Topolski, who carries a 3.91 GPA at Holy Name. “They like my curve, slider and change and feel I have good potential with my fastball.”

While a pitcher now, Topolski started out in baseball at another position.

“My first travel ball was 8U and I was almost strictly a catcher,” related Topolski. “One day we were out of pitching and they asked if I wanted to give pitching a shot and I said okay. I did well enough to keep getting a shot.”

Then interest in playing at the next level came into play, but the recruiting process was far from smooth.

“Freshman year with Covid I got nothing,” explained Topolski, who pointed to help along the way from high school coach Tim Carter and summer coach Trent Dalton in addition to Mike Mancuso and John Master in achieving the level of play to be a D-I commit. “Sophomore year I pitched well in high school and in the summer threw well at Toledo and went to a couple of their camps. Junior year winter I tried to be noticed, sending out emails and videos to express interest. I went to a PBR and threw from the mound and went to camps at Kent State and Toledo.

“When spring came around I had one of my best seasons,” Topolski added. “I continued going to camps and reaching out and then Eastern Michigan came along and it all worked out.”

Admittedly, a college commitment brought both relief and excitement to Topolski, who plans to major in business at EMU.

“It was a sense of an accomplishment to be able to take a deep breath and know I did it,” Topolski related. “There was so much help along the way from my parents, who were a big part of it, and with my coaches. They know they helped me and I’m grateful for it.”

The 17-year-old now looks forward to being part of the Mid-American Conference program in Ypsilanti, which is located three hours from his home in Seven Hills.

“I can’t wait to get there and go out and compete,” Topolski concluded. “I want to show all the work that I have put in and that I have what it takes to thrive at that level.”