Rusiecki Excited To Be Headed South For Baseball

MARION, Ct. - The scouting report on Jackson Rusiecki at the PBR Scout Day in June says a lot.

“A powerful right-handed hitter, drives the baseball to all parts, exit velocity of 99 mph, major juice in his hands,” Trevor Brown, Connecticut Director of Scouting, said on the PBR website.  “Throws it well from outfield, moves well for a bigger player, a must see.”

An invitation to a camp at North Carolina helped prove the scouting report correct.

“My (D-line football) coach is a buddy of assistant coach (Jason) Howell and he texted and said can you get Jackson into a camp,” the Southington High school senior reflected. “I did pretty well and the next few days I was on the phone with them. The rest is history.

“They asked about the kind of person I am and they made me an offer,” the top-rated 2022 outfielder in New England added.

The decision was not difficult for Rusiecki, whose interest to that point in time came from Quinnipiac along with D-III schools in the northeast.

“When you have a chance to go to a camp at North Carolina, one of those down south schools, you don’t get that every day,” the 17-year-old explained. “I researched the school and they have biomedical which is what I want to major in. It’s a great school overall. All the facilities are amazing and the coaching staff is amazing.”

The 5-11 200-pounder made an impression when at the NC camp.

“They said I move well for a guy my size,” the 21st-ranked senior in New England noted. “They also said they like the swing. One question they asked stayed with me, though. What do I need to work on? I said arm strength. That’s something you can always get better at.”

That is one area of the game that Rusiecki has made a lot of strides.

“I worked a ton on my hitting and it’s really improved,” Rusiecki said. “I’ve added a lot more power and my consistency of getting on base has gone up. My arm is much better and I’ve also gotten a lot quicker.”

But until North Carolina entered the picture, extreme interest in the seventh-rated 2022 in Connecticut was minimal.

“I’ve been playing baseball my entire life and I’ve always known I was going to play baseball in college,” Rusiecki related. “But it wasn’t realistic until after I had the call. Everything started coming together  once I started going to events to get more exposure. I knew something would happen and everything worked out well in the end.”

It helped overcome a difficult 10th-grade year.

“With the Covid year, Connecticut was very strict and I lost all of my sophomore year,” Rusiecki pointed out. “That really limited my exposure.”

A three-sport athlete, playing baseball and football and wrestling until this year, Rusiecki looks forward to what he can provide the Atlantic Coast Conference program.

“I’ll bring intensity that all of my coaches up here have instilled in me,” Rusiecki said. “I’ll also bring a good attitude doing whatever I can to help the team.”

The opportunity to do it in the south only adds to the enjoyment.

“I like the heat,” Rusiecki noted. “Going south, as a kid up north, is big. But I’ve got a lot to prove. When I went on the official visit most of the players were from North Carolina and South Carolina. I have a lot to prove coming from the north.”

Rusiecki pointed to his father as playing a major role in becoming the player he is today.

“My dad was one of my coaches up until I was 15,” Rusiecki said. “He always pushed me that much harder than everyone else. Really, all my coaches, including my football coaches, have helped in getting me in the best shape I can be in.”

To have the recruiting process over is a blessing.

“I still get a loss of words thinking about it,” Rusiecki said of his commitment to North Carolina. “I’m going to play D-I baseball at such a great school like that. It’s like a dream come true.”