Q&A With St. Cloud State Commit Trevor Cho

October 15, 2014

By Steve Nielsen
Scouting Supervisor – Wisconsin/Illinois

Trevor Cho (Homestead, 2015) recently made his commitment to St. Cloud State joining RHP Derek Van Pay (Denmark, 2015) as the second Wisconsin prospect to commit to the Huskies. Cho is a left handed hitting middle infielder who at the time of his commitment was probably the best bat available in the class. Cho has a quiet setup and repeatable swing with tremendous bat control, giving him the ability to hit near the top of any order.

We recently caught up with Cho to see how his decision came about. Trevor Cho

PBR: What were your expectations about the recruiting process? Was it as expected? Easy/Difficult?

Cho: I really didn’t know what to expect. It was a lot of fun at first but as I got further along it became really difficult to pick a school. I had four incredible opportunities and I picked the program that I felt was the best overall fit with a good chance to play a key role sooner rather than later, and win a national championship.

PBR: What were you looking for out of a college program to continue your baseball career at?

Cho: I wanted to go to a college where I was wanted. That’s exactly what I felt I was getting from St. Cloud State University and Coach Dolan. I also wanted to go to a college where the main focus was winning a national title. Academically I was looking for a school that would give me a lot of support, which SCSU will give me. So overall SCSU looked like the perfect fit for me.

PBR: Did location or distance from home play a factor in your decision?

Cho: At first, seven hours seemed like a long way to go for school. On my visit I met a few of the current freshman. A few of them are from pretty far away too and they all said the transition to college was made easy by Coach Dolan and the rest of the team being a true family.

PBR: When did the recruiting process really start to heat up for you? Was there a particular game or event that you feel turned the corner for you?

Cho: The recruiting process really started to heat up for me after I went to the PBR Top Prospect Showcase last June. My high school team played in Sectionals and at State. A lot of coaches came to watch those games too.

PBR: Where did St. Cloud State first see you? How did your relationship develop with them?

Cho: The coaches at SCSU were looking for a left handed hitting SS. They actually found me directly from PBR. About two weeks after they first contacted me I went on a visit and loved it from the start. After the visit, I really gave it a lot of thought with my family for about a week to be sure I was making the right choice.

PBR: What do you like most about St. Cloud State and what were the key factors in making your decision?

Cho: I love the fact that SCSU has a great winning tradition and they believe they’re close to winning a National Championship. I love their facilities and the great academic support they provide to athletes.

PBR: What other schools were on your short list before you made your final decision?

Cho: The final schools on the list were UW-Stevens Point, UW-La Crosse, Truman State and a walk on opportunity from UWM. It was incredibly hard to pick from the list because every one of those schools and their coaches had amazing things to offer. When I considered quality of baseball, the campus, the baseball facilities, a great opportunity to play a lot, and academic support, SCSU was by far the best overall fit.

PBR: Who is the best player you have faced in your state, and why?

Cho: I would have to say two players. Jonathan Stiever from Cedarburg is an amazing athlete and a great pitcher. We’ve had some good battles, and he always seems to get the job done against me. The other player is Connor Kimple. I’ve played against him and with him. Whenever he’s hitting, he’s the most intense hitter I’ve seen. He’s improved so much over the past year and he’ll be a force for Marquette again next summer.

PBR: At what point in your career did you realize you were a college caliber player and became serious about taking your game to the next level?

Cho: I would say after my freshman year when I was playing for the Wisconsin Wildcats summer/fall team. I was playing with guys like Connor Kimple, Jonathan Stiever, Dom Clementi, Nate Lukas, Mitch Makarewicz, Joe Kazabowski, and JT Athy. We played in the MCYSA International tournament in Crystal Lake, IL. We rolled through the first eight games and ended up finishing third overall. I led off the line up and played SS the whole tournament. It was an amazing experience playing with those guys and I knew if I could play along side them, I could play college baseball.

PBR: What advice would you give to young baseball players striving to get where you are?

Cho: Without a doubt, young players need to work hard. Nobody is going to give you anything without you deserving a spot.

PBR: What is the most memorable moment in your baseball career to this point?

Cho: I’ve had so many memorable moments so far. But the single greatest had to be winning Sectionals and qualifying for State this past summer. Being down in both games and coming back was the greatest feeling I’ve ever had playing baseball. When we got that last out against Whitefish Bay, it was the happiest I could have ever been with all my high school friends.

PBR: Preview your high school season for us. How do you feel your team will be? What are your expectations and goals?

Cho: I think Homestead should still be in pretty good shape to win a lot of games. Coach Millard always believes in his teams and I do too. We lost guys like Bryce Judues, Michael Schulz, and Eric Wade. They had tons of clutch hits for us all season and they’ll be missed. But we have a huge Junior class with some pretty good players. I’m pretty sure those guys will step up and be huge contributors for us this year.

PBR: Where do you play in the summer? And what has been your most memorable experience with them?

Cho: This past late summer and fall I played with Cody Smith’s PT Wreckers. I love Coach Smith and for the past three falls he has given me a lot of confidence and is really fun to play for. The most memorable experience was winning the University of Michigan Top Prospect Tournament. We had to win all five games and had the opportunity to play on Michigan’s field for three of the games.

Q&A With St. Cloud State Commit Trevor Cho

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