It All Started At The PBR Future Games For Rondini

Andrew Rondini RHP / Canterbury, CT / 2024

NEW MILFORD, Ct. - It all started at the PBR Future Games. A little more than eight months later, Andrew Rondini has decided on William & Mary as a college home.

“There were definitely times it was stressful, but it was a great experience,” the Canterbury junior said of his recruiting process. “Once it’s over, it’s over, you only go through it once. I really enjoyed it. The Future Games got the ball rolling and from there everything kept on going.”

Fairfield and George Washington offered after the PBR event in late summer, with Quinnipiac, UMass Amherst, Holy Cross, Fordham and Binghamton others that gave offers before William & Mary became the college of choice for the sixth-rated 2024 right-handed pitcher in New England.

“All the coaches during my recruitment were amazing,” Rondini said. “The visits were all a lot of fun, but at the end of the day William & Mary was the best fit.”

A visit to the university in Williamsburg, Va., in mid-April capped off the recruitment of the 6-1 170-pounder.

“Everything started out at the Future Games when I received my first two offers and as the summer went on things moved on,” Rondini reflected. “After that I emailed with William & Mary and one thing led to another. When I went on my visit, it checked all the boxes. They offered on the visit and I committed on the spot.”

Admittedly, Rondini was uncertain about what the trip to William & Mary would be like.

“Going down I didn’t know what to expect,” Rondini explained. “No matter how much research you do, when you get on campus you just don’t know. The baseball program, the academics, everything there … it all worked out really well.”

William & Mary saw a lot to like about the 10th-ranked junior in Connecticut.

“I’m 16, so I’m young for my class,” Rondini said. “Halfway through the summer I was throwing mid-80s but over the winter my goal was to have a velo jump and I ended up touching 90 a few weeks ago.”

That proved helpful in reaching the dream of college baseball.

“I always wanted to play at the collegiate level,” Rondini related. “My freshman year when I was surrounded with kids going to that level is when I started to realize I really wanted to do that. My sophomore year I started to reach out to schools and then came the Future Games.”

Rondini pointed to a long list of those that helped the cause in his baseball journey.

“I want to thank my parents, sister, my whole family, for the countless hours of support they gave me on and off the field,” Rondini said. “Coaches (Pat) Vigilio and (Todd) Mathewson and Bullet (Bob Sorrentino), my pitching coach with Baseball U, without them I would not be in the position I am today. They’re the ones that made it possible.“

The third-rated 2024 RHP in Connecticut is confident he can make an impact in the program of the Colonial Athletic Association university.

“A big goal for me is to produce wins for the team,” Rondini said. “Obviously another side of it is academics. William & Mary is not only a great baseball program, but has strong academics. I’m always going to be working hard in the classroom. It will be a challenge, but something that’s maintainable. Not everything is just baseball. I’ll be busy trying to stay on top of everything.”

A 4.0 student looking to major in business, Rondini is thrilled to have his college plans mapped out.

“It’s extremely, extremely exciting, something I’ve been waiting for awhile,” Rondini admitted about making a college commitment. “It’s a relief and I’m proud of myself for all the work I’ve done to get to this point.”

It has Rondini looking forward to his days ahead at the college located more than seven hours from home.

“It will be amazing to play all over the country at such a high level,” Rondini concluded. “It’s something that I dreamed about as a kid. Now that it’s happening, it’s really exciting.”