AURORA - The inability to be seen with no spring baseball season meant an enormous amount of work was ahead for Andrew Horvath.

“With Covid they couldn’t come see me play so I sent video to coaches so they could see me in-game,” Horvath reflected.

Akron liked what they saw in the 10th-rated 2021 catcher in Ohio.

Coach (Cory) Mee reached out and we started talking every week. After three or four weeks we set up a zoom call when they offered,” explained the Aurora senior. “I went on an admissions tour and it was awesome. I loved the campus.”

Only a half hour from home, Horvath had never been to the university prior.
“I liked how the campus was laid out,” Horvath noted. “It’s also nice being close to home.”

But there was more that brought the 76th-ranked senior in the state to make a college commitment to the Mid-American Conference school.

“I definitely liked the coaching staff,” Horvath pointed out. Coach (Connor) Faix and (head) coach (Chris) Sabo and coach Mee are all great guys. They’re really trying hard to get the  program back on track.”

Horvath believes he can help in that regard.

“I train at PPA by my house, I go there five times a week, and that’s been a big part of my improvement,” Horvath noted. “Tyler Mitchell and Ben Simon have been huge for me. With Tyler, I work on hitting consistent line drives and he’s also helped me get my power up. With Ben’s throwing program, my arm strength has improved a bunch. I’ve also been catching college guys and even pros and that’s helped my receiving.”

Two areas of the game stood out to Akron according to Horvath.

“They like my defensive play behind the plate a lot,” the 6-0 185-pounder said. “They like my potential at the plate as well.”

The 17-year-old believes he can help with both once part of the Akron program.

“I take a lot of pride in my defensive ability,” Horvath explained. “I began catching when I started travel ball but it’s a lot different now. It was easier then. Now you have to control the game and all the power arms you see. You really have to work to be great back there.

“Hitting is another aspect I’ve worked at and have definitely improved there. I look to continue to do that.”

Horvath joined the Brownlee Lookouts for 15U travel ball and the idea of playing at the next level came into the picture.

“I started getting stronger, bigger and overall just a lot better and I realized Division I baseball was a possibility I could achieve,” Horvath related. “Once I started getting phone calls and texts from college coaches it started to become a reality.”

But there was some concern with no commitment as the summer prior to senior year of high school arrived.

“I wouldn’t say I was too nervous, it's just that Covid pushed everything back,” Horvath noted. “Ben just said to wait and they’ll reach out which is what happened with Akron.”

A 3.9 student considering exercise science as a college major, Horvath is more than pleased to have the recruiting process at an end.

“For me it was pretty long,” explained Horvath, who pointed to his family’s support with helping the cause. “I started emailing coaches last year and my family would take videos and I’d send them to coaches. A lot of them wouldn’t get back with me so I had to continue to reach out.

“To be committed takes a lot of stress off my shoulders,” added Horvath, whose only other offer was from Charleston, though Eastern Michigan came into the picture late in the process. “I’m relieved and excited to know I’m going to play at the Division I level. That means everything to me.

“With Akron’s program just coming back, there’s an opportunity to play early in my career, maybe my freshman year which is awesome. But just to be able to play D-I baseball is going to be great.”