BELLEFONTAINE - Alex Caudill grew up with baseball aspirations.

“My dad used to be the high school baseball coach at Bellefontaine, so I’ve always been around the game,” Caudill related. “Seeing those guys play and watching them work, I’ve wanted to be like them. Playing college baseball has always been a dream.”

His father, Art, brought encouragement to the goal of reaching the next level.

“He played baseball but didn’t go as far as he wanted to and has regrets,” Caudill explained. “He pushed me at a young age so I didn’t have any. Even today he still catches bullpens and is always trying to help me.”

Schools have taken notice of the abilities shown by the second-ranked uncommitted 2023 right-handed pitcher in the state.

“Recently I started talking with Big 10 schools, Purdue and Penn State,” Caudill noted. “I’m waiting on Ohio State and some other Ohio schools. Most saw clips on my PBR account and when I had the opportunity to play at the Future Games.

“That was a lot different,” Caudill said of the PBR event in Georgia back in early August. “I never played super big travel ball, so that was crazy. It was a good learning experience. I didn’t show my best, but it was a learning experience as far as where I am now and where I need to be.”

Hard work has followed for the Bellefontaine junior.

“My fastball is fine but my offspeed has needed some work,” admitted Caudill, who has touched 90 on the radar. “I’m on the weights now and continuing to improve my fastball. I’ve also been changing grips with my other pitches. My change is fine, but I found some grips on the internet that I’ve been messing around with on my slider.”

Caudill pointed to one area of his game that has attracted college coaches.

“They like my demeanor on the mound,” Caudill said. “If something bad happens, I just keep going.”

But there is more that the 5-11 184-pounder wants out of pitching.

“My dream is a 93 fastball, but right now I just want two other pitches that I can throw in any count to help the team win,” Caudill noted.

The desire to get better is something the recently-turned 17-year-old believes he can bring to a college program.

“If I’m critiqued and told what I need to work on, I’ll work on that,” Caudill explained. “I’ll not only work on it, but I’ll show them I can do it even better than they think. I have a competitiveness to do anything I can to help the team win.”

The lone visit to date has been at Wright State, which is also the only offer the 14th-rated 2023 RHP in Ohio has received.

“I liked them a lot,” noted Caudill, a 3.3 student planning to major in either criminal justice or sports medicine. “I got invited to the PBR Procase on Feb. 20, so I’m planning on throwing at that and see what happens after that. I want to show that my change has developed and that my slider is a lot more effective than it was last year.

“Other schools I’m talking to also want to see me in the spring, so I don’t plan on making a decision until the spring or summer unless somebody comes along and offers me something really good. I’m just going to keep working, lifting weights and hopefully more offers and interest comes in and something happens from there.”