Prep Baseball Report

DeCello Finds A New Home At Charleston Southern


Bruce Hefflinger
PBR Ohio Senior Writer

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DeCello Finds A New Home At Charleston Southern

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Sergio DeCello

Class of 2021 / C

Player Information

  • Graduating Class: 2021
  • Primary Position: C
    Secondary Position: OF
  • High School: Badin
    State: OH
  • Summer Team: Cincinnati Spikes
  • Height: 5-11
    Weight: 190lbs
  • Bat/Throw: S/R

Statistics

Position
7.27
60-yard
(06/05/17)
86
INF Velo
(02/16/19)
90
Exit Velo
(02/16/19)
4.30
H-1st
(02/16/19)
Position
INF Velo
86
Exit Velo
90
H-1st
4.3
Position
60-yard
7.27
INF Velo
75
Exit Velo
82

DeCello Finds A New Home At Charleston Southern

HAMILTON - The recruiting process is not all glamour and glory as Sergio DeCello found out.

“I decommitted because the head coach said he recruited too many guys and my scholarship wasn’t there,” the senior at Badin related. “I wasn’t happy. They called super late, two weeks before I was to send in my national letter-of-intent. But I realized everything happens for a reason and I’m at a better place now.”

Charleston Southern is the new home for DeCello, who had previously committed to UNC Charlotte as a freshman in high school back in December of 2017.

“My high school coach knows a guy in Florida who knows the Charleston Southern coach,” the 39th-rated 2021 in Ohio said. “They saw some video and they like how I play the game. I was talking with the coaches for three weeks. They definitely need a catcher.”

It is a position change of sorts for the eighth-ranked senior shortstop in Ohio.

“I started catching four years ago and since then I’ve been working at it and getting better,” DeCello noted. “I’m going to play both positions there, but more so at catcher.”

The 5-10 178-pounder has made a lot of strides in his game to help make an impression on the staff at the Big South Conference school.

“I’ve hit the weight room hard and gotten a lot stronger,” DeCello pointed out. “My legs and arm have gotten a lot stronger. My arm is why I started to play back there, but now my receiving is getting better. My overall blocking has also come a long way.”

But the need to continue to improve remains.

“I’ve still got to get better receiving and blocking,” DeCello admitted. “I also want to work on the mental side of the game, play calling and pitch calling.”

Yet, there is an understanding of what will get him on the field.

“If I swing the bat I’ll get in the lineup somewhere,” DeCello said.

A switch hitter, DeCello is a natural right-handed batter.

“I started to switch hit at the age of 10 or 11,” DeCello reflected. “It was a rough start from the left side but it feels natural now.”

The 18-year-old is excited to have the opportunity to take his game to the university located in North Charleston, S.C.

“Being from Ohio, the warm weather comes and goes pretty quick,” DeCello explained. “I wanted to go somewhere it’s warm year ‘round and South Carolina is good for that. The coaches are good guys and being a Catholic, Charleston Southern is a school that I feel is a perfect fit for me.”

There was other interest from colleges between the decommitment at Charlotte and the decision to attend CSU.

“Going south was the big thing for me,” DeCello said. “I’ve also got an opportunity to go there and play right away. Knowing I can play from day one was really big. But I have to work to do that. The deciding factor, though, was that the coaches were awesome.”

There have been a number of influential people that have played a major role in helping DeCello become a Division I commit.

“John Sullivan helped me with hitting lately,” DeCello said. “Kurt Hutter gave me the opportunity to first go behind the plate four years ago and has improved me ever since. Brian Treadway has helped me become the player I am with my competitiveness and fiery energy and my swing. Chuck McKinney has worked with my swing for years every morning. Matt Marsum has helped me improve behind the plate the last four years.”

More assistance has come by way of family.

“My brother and my dad helped me get where I am today,” DeCello said about his older sibling Daunte, a baseball player at Indiana University Northeast, and his father Michael. “They have shaped me into the person I am.”

A 3.53 student planning on a major in business administration, DeCello believes he has a lot to bring to the program at Charleston Southern, which is located nine-and-a-half hours from his home in Hamilton.

“I like to think I can go and compete with anybody,” DeCello said. “I have a competitive nature to not back down from anything. I’ll bring the best to the table and push everybody to be their best and at the same time have a good time.”

To find a new home, admittedly, brings a lot of satisfaction.

“Charlotte not wanting me made the chip on my shoulders bigger,” DeCello noted. “It’s a motivating factor to prove them wrong.”