Pappano Humbled, Excited About Playing In SEC

CINCINNATI - Luke Pappano admits he never expected to be thinking about college at the age of 14.

But talent changed all of that for the top-rated freshman in Ohio.

“It’s humbling and exciting,” Pappano said of not only being recruited by schools in the Southeast Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big 10, but of being offered by Kentucky.

The third-ranked 2025 left-handed pitcher in the nation began conversing with UK back in September after seeing the 6-0 165-pounder play in Florida.

“We had multiple calls and they wanted me to come to a camp,” the St. Xavier freshman reflected. “I hadn’t been to many camps and it blew me away. The coaches were nice ... everything just clicked.”

An offer came on Nov. 12 and two days later Pappano committed.

“I always wanted to play in the SEC and it felt like a perfect fit,” Pappano explained. “It was an offer I couldn’t refuse. The facilities were off the charts, the coaches, the focus on academics and the way they treat student-athletes and the nutrition program was out of this world.”

There is also the opportunity to both pitch and play outfield for the 31st-rated 2025 in the country.

“They like me as a two-way,” related the left-handed hitting southpaw. “They knew I was a good pitcher but then they saw me play outfield and thought I could compete at a top level. I also ran a 6.78 at the camp.

“It’s really important to me now since I’m young,” Pappano added about being a two-way player. “I’m not sure right now where I’ll be, but eventually the game will decide for me.”

Playing 90 minutes south of his home in Cincinnati is a blessing according to Pappano, a 3.7 student considering business as a college major.

“I’ve always wanted to play in the south where it’s warmer,” Pappano said. “The competition is going to be amazing.”

While the dream of playing college baseball and “hopefully play MLB” has been there his whole life, according to Pappano, it only became realistic a couple years ago.

“At the age of 11 I started seeing I had a chance,” Pappano reflected. “I’ve always been a big competitor at everything I did and things just took off once I went to Florida tournaments. There was a network of kids I was exposed to and I saw with my skill set I was able to compete with them and my confidence just grew.”

Jeremy Neyra, Britt Dobbs, Randy Ruiz, Daniel Torres and Alan Christenson from 5-Star and John Cooper and Cary Daniel with CBC are among those that have played roles with development and recruitment for Pappano, along with pitching help from Rick “Buster” Keeton and Eric Minshall, hitting help from Brian Conley and training with Josh Elleman. Additionally, Pappano gave credit to PBR for benefitting the cause.

“Going to a showcase I hit 87 and that’s when I got a lot of exposure and people started talking about me,” Pappano said. “It got my name outside of Ohio and I started talking with other schools. Showcases are so important in getting looks and PBR is so organized with how it represents kids which is critical.”

An improved game also helped out Pappano in his quest to play at a high-level in college.

“A year ago I started lifting and training more for baseball,” Pappano related. “I was 145 a year ago and I’ve gained 15 to 20 pounds. My trainer, Josh Elleman at Elite, really helped me get faster.”

It has Pappano excited about what he can bring to the next level.

“I can be a leader at the program,” Pappano pointed out. “I can help recruit other kids to build a great program. On the field, I’m an athlete. You can tell I want to be there and I’m good at not showing emotions when things aren’t going well.”

For Pappano, the recruiting process went very well indeed.

“It was really cool,” Pappano explained. “It’s pretty early with four years of high school left. The tough part is knowing what I want now versus four years from now, guessing what the next four years will look like and navigating through that. It got overwhelming until I got an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

But why now, at the age of 14?

“Why not?” Pappano said. “I loved everything about it. I never thought I’d commit this early but there will not be a school that offers what Kentucky did and what they do for student-athletes.”

While still four years away, Pappano can’t help but glance ahead just a little bit.

“I’m looking forward to just developing as a player, as a student and as a person,” Pappano said about what he is anticipating in regard to his time at Kentucky. “Those are the three big things. I want to play major league baseball and I think they can develop me to be able to do that.”