Skelding Finds Future As A Pitcher At Kentucky

ATWATER - There was a time that Tommy Skelding thought of himself as a hitter first. While the potential is still there to be a position player, pitching is where the future of the Marlington sophomore is now when it comes to playing at the next level following an August commitment to Kentucky.

“Back in the day I looked at myself as a hitter,” Skelding reflected. “I wasn’t serious about pitching until last year. When I saw my numbers make a jump, I knew I had a future in pitching.”

Kentucky believes the same thing after seeing the ninth-rated 2023 in the state during the PBR Central Ohio Limited Series.

“I first started talking to them the first week of the (summer) season after I played at a PBR event,” the 6-1 165-pound right-hander explained. “They saw a video of me and wanted to talk. That was the first week of June. I talked to them three times and then with the head coach. The third week in June they offered. After that it came down to deciding if it was the right place for me.”

Offers were made to Skelding from Ohio State and Kent State prior to the Future Games in August and after that PBR event came additional offers from Purdue and Xavier. But the Southeast Conference school closest to his hometown was at the top of Skelding’s list.

“Kentucky was watching me during the Future Games,” Skelding related. “They talked to me about how I did and how I could have done better.”

The Marlington product went on an unofficial visit to the Lexington campus with his parents in mid-August to help make a final decision.

“I like the culture they have there, the campus and the facilities,” noted Skelding, who lives five-and-a-half hours away from the university.

The trip south proved to be enough in making the decision that Kentucky is the right fit for the promising sophomore.

“I’ve wanted to play college baseball since I was a little kid,” Skelding said. “It’s been a dream my whole life. To finally do it is amazing.”

The goal of playing at the next level started to become realistic in 2019.

“The Future Games last year is where I saw I was one of the top players in my class for the state,” Skelding noted. “It opened up my eyes and showed me I had a real chance at this.”

Hard work followed.

“I’ve gained weight which has helped my velocity,” pointed out Skelding, who has topped out at 87 on the radar. “I started working full time with Mike Grady, who worked with me some last year. He helped with my mechanics and with the sequence of pitches, the count to throw a pitch and who to throw it to.”

A repertoire of a two-seam and four-seam fastball is aided by a slider and changeup.

“I still need to use my lower half more,” Skelding admitted. “I pull off earlier and use my arm. I need to sit on my glute longer and use more of my lower half.”

Business or engineering are potential majors for Skelding, a 3.8 student who feels the biggest influences in his baseball journey have been Grady, his parents and Jimmy Onate, his summer coach this year who has “helped develop me as a player and person.”

While there was discussion with Kentucky about trying two-way, “right now I’m just a PO,” Skedling noted.

“I feel I can bring a big arsenal of pitches,” Skelding said of what he can provide the UK program. “I’m working on more pitches now, trying to get a curveball. I think I need to throw harder when I’m there and if I do that I can make a big impact.”

For now, Skelding is happy the process has ended.

“I liked seeing how different every single school was that approached me,” Skelding assessed about his recruitment. “It really went a lot quicker than I expected.

“But it feels amazing. I’m excited to be a Wildcat and can’t wait to get there.”