By ALEX SPONSELLER Cranston West junior Max Marchetti recently committed to playing college baseball for Division I Bryant University.

The southpaw hurler made his decision early in the process, stating the school’s academics and his familiarity with the coaching staff as major reasons behind the choice.

“The school itself. I want to study business and it is a great school for that. I also feel that it is a place where I can really develop as a pitcher. When I was 12, 13 (years old), I did a camp there and that’s when I got to see the facilities. It was around Christmas time that I began talking to the coaching staff pretty much every week so I have gotten very familiar with the staff,” Marchetti said.

Considering the COVID-19 pandemic that the world is still working through, this offseason has looked a bit different for Marchetti. The coronavirus has also changed the way scouts have recruited players, communicating almost exclusively by video and virtual measures.

Although it has impacted the way he has been able to train, and has also limited the amount of live play to this point in the season, Marchetti also saw some benefits to the unusual landscape.

“It’s been crazy, but it gave me a chance to talk to a lot more schools earlier since I would have been playing if there was not COVID-19 ... those schools also would have been playing … we probably would have had to wait until later in the summer. So that was good, but on the other side, they couldn’t come out to see me. Bryant was able to see me before COVID hit though. I’ve been working out in my backyard, sending videos to coaches, the recruitment has mostly been through video,” said Marchetti.

Marchetti still has two more years of high school ball left and he plans on working hard in the classroom and polishing his skills on the mound. He is excited for what his future holds with Division I baseball, and has dreams of maybe even being drafted to play professionally after that.

“School-wise, I’m going to keep working hard in the classroom. Baseball-wise, I have to stay consistent if I want to play well in Division I baseball. I’ll have to keep working hard, performing well. I love baseball, so that’s my motivation,” said Marchetti. “The coaches have told me that committing doesn’t mean anything, I still have to prove myself at the college level, I also want to get drafted after that, so that’s a huge motivation. It’s going to be more challenging, but I feel like I’m ready.”