Big Summer Ahead For Lake Center Christian Junior

Luke Heckert OF / LHP / Lake Center Christian, OH / 2026

NORTH CANTON - Recruitment concerns are now in the past. Luke Heckert is on the path to finding a college home.

“Aug. 1 started out really slow,” Heckert reflected about the first day college coaches could reach out to players in his high school class. “I had no calls and was kind of worried. But now I’m not worried.”

Interest in the 13th-rated 2026 outfielder in Ohio has accelerated with direct communication taking place with schools like Walsh, Lake Erie, Dayton, Kent State, Charleston Southern, Ball State, Maine, Findlay and Mount Union. Additionally, recruiting coordinators from Butler, Cincinnati, Oregon, Kentucky, Wright State, Longwood, Akron and Ohio University have reached out to the Lake Center Christian junior.

“I’ve had a lot of calls, but no visits,” Heckert related. “There’s no rush to commit. I’m waiting on summer. This is going to be the biggest summer for me.”

The plan is to make a commitment in the fall once he discovers what all the schools are about.

“I want to major in criminal justice so I’d like to find a school with a good criminal justice program like Dayton has,” Heckert explained. “I’d like to go where they have a big campus. A huge part of college life is other sports and going to events so that would be a plus. Nice facilities in baseball is another thing I’m looking for in a school.”

Getting college exposure was vital in the beginning of his recruitment.

“This past summer I played on a smaller team,” Heckert said. “We played in a lot of Prep Baseball summer tournaments and I got calls from Kent along with D-II and D-III schools that saw me there. Prep Baseball really helped me there.”

The 5-11 175-pound left-handed hitting southpaw sees a big summer ahead when it comes to getting seen.

“I thought Aug. 1 would be more ramped up, but playing on a smaller team this past summer I shouldn’t have expected as much,” the 17-year-old admitted. “By playing with Legends this summer, it should be a whole different story.”

Fall ball with the Legends and Wow Factor Northeast proved beneficial in gaining interest in Ohio and Kyle Weldon, Prep Baseball Ohio Director of Scouting, sees it only improving when it comes to more schools showing intrigue in Heckert.

“Luke is a defensive weapon in the outfield,” Weldon said. “He plays at a high speed out there with natural reads. At the plate, his power is developing. He can go line to line with some pop to the pull side.”

Improvement has also been vital since the Aug. 1 deadline when college coaches could make initial contact with players in the 2026 class.

“Six months ago I was smaller, but I’ve put on weight and gotten stronger,” Heckert related. “My numbers have jumped since then. I hit and lift with (high school teammate) Nathan Bryant at his house and my exit velocity has been as high as 105, consistently at 104. I do a velo program and I’ve topped at 87.5 off a mound and 92 outfield.”

Those far exceed his previous numbers of 93 exit, 80 pitching and 85 outfield. Speed has also gotten better, with his 60 time going from 6.9 to 6.5 at the present.

“It’s not just what I can do on the field, I want to show coaches the person I am … my grades,” Heckert noted. “I want them to know what kind of person I am, someone who likes going to sporting events and is pretty good academically.”

Heckert, who carries a 3.6 GPA, is even getting some looks as a pitcher by coaches at the next level.

“It’s mostly outfield now, but with some schools it’s both,” Heckert explained. “I’m more of an outfielder, but if a team needs me to pitch I can pitch. But I want to be an outfielder in college.”

His love for the game is another aspect that comes into play.

“At first I thought I might play basketball in college, but by the end of middle school I realized I was 5-10 and going to a small school,” Heckert reasoned. “I probably wasn’t going to go anywhere with basketball and thought baseball was my best shot. I grew up watching the Indians and just loved the environment.”

The thought of being part of a baseball setting has the 12th-rated uncommitted junior outfielder in Ohio excited about the future.

“This summer with the Legends I’m going to get a ton of exposure,” Heckert concluded. “They have six kids already committed. We’re going to play in the Prep Baseball national championship and I just need to perform there and see where it takes me.”