Morris Looking To Stand Out At UMass Amherst

BEDFORD, Ma. - At 6-5 and 230 pounds, Justin Morris has no problem being noticed.

“They like that I’m a big figure with a lot of potential,” the Lawrence Academy senior said of Massachusetts Amherst after making a commitment to the Atlantic 10 Conference university. “I have a lot more in me to be a better pitcher.”

But it was the understanding that size doesn’t matter that helped get the 33rd-ranked 2023 right-handed pitcher in New England where he is today.

“I’ve always been one of the tallest kids in my schools and one of the biggest,” Morris related. “When people see a big guy like that they think he can throw it hard and has potential. But then I realized that kids half my size were throwing it 95 so I realized I have to put in the work to separate myself in order to be the best version of yourself you can be.”

That helped bring on improvement to his game.

“I’m kind of a soft guy, but working in the gym helped me move better and throw harder in the last year,” Morris noted.

Velo that had topped at 84 suddenly reached 88, thanks in part to Greg Robbins with NEB.

“I was the main closer for my high school team this past season,” Morris reflected. “Then our number one got hurt and I filled in that position and did very well. At the end of the season I threw a no-hitter to win the ISL.”

College interest was generating, including conversation with UMass Amherst recruiting coordinator Mark Royer who saw Morris pitch at a game in Milton.

“He emailed that night,” related Morris, whose initial D-I contact was an invite to a UMass-Lowell Showcase at the end of summer sophomore year. “That was my first contact with them.”

However, for a while there was also a desire to play further away from home.

 “I had wanted to go south to play but decided to stay close and started reaching out to schools,” explained Morris, who previously was considering schools like Dayton, in Ohio, and Elon, in North Carolina. “I realized on a visit to Dayton it was so far away and nobody was near. Staying near friends and family I think can help me.”

But then an injury occurred, temporarily setting back his recruiting process.

“The first day of summer I hurt my shoulder and lost some traction with schools like Northeastern,” explained Morris, who had turned down an offer from Holy Cross. “But in September I reached back out to coach Royer and I ended up going there to a camp. I visited the campus and loved the field. I had friends there, too, so it was perfect for me. They ended up offering.”

The following week Morris went on an official tour of the school and committed.

“I love the coaches,” the 86th-ranked senior in New England pointed out. “I felt a very easy connection with them. I like the large campus they have and with friends there it makes it better. There’s also great food around there.”

It brought an end to a quest to play college baseball that had been around since the age of eight.

“I’ve always wanted to play in the MLB and wanted to play at the next level,” Morris said. “When my grandpa (Gene Rader) passed away the summer going into my sophomore year that motivated me to get better. He loved  baseball and he always wanted to see me play. I did this, putting all my energy into getting stronger, in memory of him.”

Morris also pointed to Scott Patterson, Logan Gillis, Chris Margraf, Jake Willsey and Matt Kruger in addition to Robbins with helping in his journey to continue baseball after high school.

“PBR really helped me as well,” the 17th-ranked senior right-handed pitcher in Massachusetts said.  “It jump-started my recruiting process the March before high school season when I was at a PBR and hit 88. Schools reached out after that and I got more and more looking at my profile and videos.”

Admittedly, understanding recruitment was somewhat difficult.

“It was a very hard process not knowing what to do and what not to do,” Morris explained. “There was no right or wrong way to go about it.”

Morris is glad to have it in his rear view mirror.

“It’s a huge relief to have the stress of recruitment lifted off my shoulders,” Morris admitted. “Now I’m able to focus on just baseball and not worry about where I’m going to school.”

The hard-throwing Morris, who has topped out at 91, expects to make an impact at the next level.

“I’ll bring the very competitive part, pushing others to follow suit,” Morris said. “I have a big determination to win at all costs, no matter what.”

A 3.6 student in high school, Morris is planning on a major in kinesiology at UMass Amherst, which is an hour and 45 minutes from home.

“I’m looking forward to the competitiveness of D-I and how everybody is working hard,” the 18-year-old concluded. “I have to figure out how to separate myself from others to stand out.”