NORTH HAVEN, Ct. - When the spring baseball season was cancelled due to COVID-19, Jack Bowery started to believe his future on the diamond was relegated to playing at a Division III college.

“When that happened ... I’m thinking how much can I get out of the summer?” Bowery related. “I’m thinking maybe go to a Division III school … and that would be good. I never thought I’d go D-I back in March.”

But there was also the consideration of what it would mean down the road.

“I always wanted to play in the Cape Cod League in the summer,” Bowery noted. “I’ve been watching it since I was a young kid. It’s all these D-I kids and possible MLB prospects playing there and I knew you had to go to a Division I school to get there.

“If I wanted to challenge myself I had to go to the best baseball school I can instead of just going D-III. I needed to go D-I and work my way up freshman year rather than go D-III and be the Sunday starter.” 

With the help of Trevor Brown, PBR Connecticut Director of Scouting, that became the path for the 17th-rated left-handed pitcher in the New England 2021 class.

“I first started talking to Marist around April,” Bowery explained. “I have some past film with Trevor I sent them and they got back to me quickly.  I started talking to their coach but he wanted to see more film. He also asked for a transcript which took awhile. I’m talking to other schools as well, Fairfield the big one.”

An offer from Fairfield eventually came, followed a day later by an offer from Marist.

“I liked it so I went up to see it,” Bowery said about the private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.. “I liked the computer science program there. I liked Fairfield, too, but felt Marist fit me well.”

Strong advice then came from his high school baseball coach, Rudy Mauritz.

“He asked me which school I liked better if coronavirus took baseball away from me in college,” Bowery said.

Two days after the visit to Marist, the Fairfield College Prep incoming senior made a commitment.

“College baseball is something I’ve always wanted to do but wasn’t sure how to do it,” the 160th-ranked New England 2021 pointed out. “Last summer playing on Ct. Edge I was playing at Sacred Heart and I talked with Sacred and UConn and I’m thinking maybe I can do this.”

But the recruiting process was not what Bowery expected.

“I thought I’d go on college campuses, go on my own and talk with the coaches and exchange phone numbers,” Bowery admitted. “But you ended up editing videos, sending them to coaches and explaining yourself. I had either a friend or Trevor filming me. It was a lot different than I expected with coronavirus affecting it.”

Luckily, Brown was there to help the eighth-ranked uncommitted 2021 left-handed pitcher in New England prior to his decision to attend Marist.

“Trevor Brown was huge in all of this,” Bowery explained. “If I didn’t play with him this summer I wouldn’t be playing D-I, I’d be playing D-III. He was huge in setting up calls and videos for me.”

Long-time coach Mike Anquillare was another major influence in his baseball journey.

“He coached me since I was seven or eight,” Bowery said. “He always had belief in me that I could do really well. It was a huge help to be with him for so many years instead of being with different coaches all the way up.”

Improvement over the past year helped the cause in making a commitment to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference school.

“At the end of last year I topped at 80,” reflected Bowery, who now sits 82-84 while reaching 85 on the radar. “Then with hockey and spring baseball getting cancelled I went straight through the virus and was able to work out with my trainer. That was huge. Strength and mobility with my legs are important to me. It really helped me improve the two months I wasn’t able to get on the field.”

The 5-11 175-pounder sees more improvement in the immediate future.

“I have a whole year to really improve my velocity,” Bowery said in reference to the time leading up to going off to college, which is located an hour and 50 minutes from home. “I want to be able to spot inside to lefties and be able to throw a slider when I’m not up or even in the count. The same thing with my changeup.”

Bowery points to attending prep school as playing a major role in helping reach his college baseball dream.

“You really work hard here,” Bowery said of Fairfield College Prep, which has become a power in the Southern Connecticut Conference over the past decade. “My sophomore year I played JVs but everyone works out with the varsity. It really helped. You get better competition playing up.”

The southpaw believes he can bring a lot to the Marist program.

“On the field freshman year I can help get batters out, closing when I need to,” Bowery said. “I think that will be my role. Off the field I can bring leadership. Coming from a prep school I’m not going to fall back in the crowd. If I see a lifting or throwing technique that’s helping me, I can show someone else to see if that helps them at all.”

The thought of going D-I is exciting for Bowery, a 3.47 student planning on computer science as a college major.

“It feels great,” Bowery related. “When you call your coach and tell him you’re going to play for them it’s such a relief. The process to play is tough. You’re constantly sending video. What a great feeling it is to say I’m going to be playing Division I baseball in a couple years.”