HAMILTON - Jimmy Nugent is not shy when he describes his immediate ambitions.

“I want to be the top player in Ohio, if not the country, by the time I’m a senior,” Nugent said. “It’s going to take getting up at four and working late non-stop until I get what I want.”

The drive for success comes after a recent college commitment to Penn State.

“This means a lot,” the Badin junior said. “I’m more than excited to get there and develop with all the other great players. I know I’m going to be facing the best competition in the country and that’s what I’ve wanted to do since I got into high school.”

Interest in the fourth-ranked 2022 catcher in Ohio began this past summer after the Big 10 program saw video of Nugent participating in showcases.

“The head coach and pitching coach talked to me,” Nugent reflected. “I sent video and they liked it. They got on a zoom call with my family and we talked about my ideas with baseball, what I want and what their program can offer. I loved everything about it.

“They asked for more video, it was video after video. A couple weeks passed and I had another zoom call, this with the head coach only. He sent a text a few days later and asked to schedule a call for an offer.”

A visit to the school in University Park, Pa., nearly seven hours from home, came two days after the offer.

“I loved everything I saw there,” Nugent noted. “After that I had a lot of talks with my parents and counselors. Was this right for me? At the end of the day, I committed.”

While there was a lot to like about Penn State, one thing stood out to the 53rd-rated Ohio junior.

“One of the huge things for me was we talked about overcommitting,” Nugent explained. “I wasn’t fond of going somewhere to commit that has five other guys on the roster fighting for the position. They don’t overcommit. They’re going to develop me for a starting role or to be a backup.”

There was more that intrigued Nugent.

“I love how they described their coaching style,” Nugent said.

Penn State became endeared in Nugent as well after the numerous conversations.

“Besides the athletic portion, they wanted to get to know me as a person,” Nugent explained. “They liked my catching, receiving and pop times, but they also liked how I thought about things.”

It is what the 16-year-old believes he can bring to the program.

“Leadership and a want and drive to win every single game,” Nugent said of what he provides as a player. “I don’t want to lose. I want to take the team to Omaha.”

Hard work this year has brought improvement in his game.

“I’ve improved at everything actually,” Nugent related. “Throwing, hitting .. versus last year I’m totally different. I took the quarantine seriously and decided I was going to do something with it. My pop times and everything went to another level. I’ve gotten bigger and stronger.”

Now 6-2 and 190 pounds, Nugent has always dreamed of playing baseball beyond high school.

“Since I was a young age I never thought I couldn’t do college baseball,” Nugent said. “The reality of it came when I was going into sophomore year. It was then I saw I was improving and that I could do this.”

Nugent pointed to his parents and coaches along the way with being of major assistance in helping get where he is today - a baseball commit to Penn State.

“I didn’t have many other offers,” Nugent said. “I had contact with some smaller D-I schools and some NAIA schools, but my goal was to go D-I, that’s all I really wanted to do.”

Admittedly, the recruiting process was interesting.

“I didn’t know much about recruitment,” Nugent explained. “The small D-I schools and NAIA schools shined a light on what I needed to do. Once I was in it, it was hectic and overwhelming but it was great at the same time. I loved every second of it.”

In particular, making a commitment to play in the Big 10.

“I’m extremely happy, it’s like a weight was taken off my chest,” noted Nugent, who carries a 3.6 GPA and is undecided on a college major. “When it finally happens and the coach says he wants you to come and better their team, it’s a huge honor. Now it’s just time to go play and win.”