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Mitchell High School Pitcher Gainesville-Bound

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By Eric Horchy | The Suncoast News

Published: November 26, 2008

TRINITY - When the 2009 baseball season rolls around this spring, there will be at least one fewer concern weighing on the mind of J.W. Mitchell High senior pitcher Patrick Schuster.

The lefty officially signed Nov. 12 with the University of Florida in front of numerous friends, family members and teammates and ended what can be an exciting, but also exhausting, recruiting process.

"It's definitely a load off my back," Schuster said during offseason conditioning workouts. "Now I don't have to have people calling me three times a day asking me where I'm going to college."

After going 5-2 with a 1.07 ERA in 52 1/3 innings last high school season, Schuster's busy summer of baseball, including a trip to North Carolina for the USA Baseball Tournament of Stars, perhaps solidified his standing with the Gators and UF Coach Kevin O'Sullivan.

"I think his command over the last year has really improved," the second-year coach said of Schuster. "He's always had a live arm, but with three pitches he can throw for strikes and the deception he has, it makes him really tough to hit."

Besides his abilities on the mound - Schuster is ranked No. 42 on Baseball America's list of the Top 100 High School Prospects - O'Sullivan said the senior's overall character sealed the deal for a scholarship offering.

"Once we got a chance to meet him one on one, his personality and the excitement he brings when you first meet him struck us," he said. "He's just one of those kids you'd love to have in your program and he's talented as well. He's just going to make everyone around him better."

Schuster's head coach at Mitchell, Scot Wilcox, reiterated those sentiments.

"The good thing about someone like Patrick is that he is a role model for his teammates both inside and outside of baseball," he said. "When you work hard and you're as talented as Patrick is, you're going to have a lot of good options, and I like his choice."

Adding to the allure of heading to Gainesville was O'Sullivan's dual role as UF pitching coach and that Schuster likes the direction UF is heading once he arrives on campus. His recruiting class is being ranked among the Top 5 in the country.

Schuster will also have some solid relationships already built with his new Gator teammates. Alonso High grads Alex Panteliodis and Tommy Toledo are former Class 6A-District 7 rivals, and Preston Tucker and Michael Givens - Givens is also a Class of 2009 recruit - hail from Plant High. Schuster has played with or against each.

"I went up there for my official visit and we're already hugging and shaking hands because we already knew each other," he said of running into the guys earlier this year. "We're going to have great chemistry when we all get together."

Before that can take place though, Schuster has his senior season to take care of - as well as the prospect of being selected in the Major League Baseball amateur draft. Depending on how high his stock rises in the June draft, Schuster will be confronted with a decision between staying the course and going to college, or beginning his pro career out of high school.

"School's a big deal for me, everybody in my family has gone," he said. "But I can't pass up the opportunity (to sign and go pro) if it's there."

"It's going to be the biggest decision of my life. It's already making me sick to my stomach thinking about what decision I'm going to make there."

That life-altering event will come to pass this summer, but as of right now, Schuster is a Florida Gator - something O'Connell is pleased to know.

"There's no question in my mind that if he does what he's capable of doing, he's going to be pitching for us a whole heck of a lot his first year," O'Connell said. "Anything that he accomplishes will not surprise me."

Eric Horchy can be reached at 727-815-1071 or ehorchy@suncoastnews.com.

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