Illinois State’s pitch lands Donnison
Matt Donnison had to wait until Tuesday to hold a signing ceremony to acknowledge his commitment to NCAA Division 1 Illinois State on a baseball scholarship.
The 12B student at Saint Paul officially signed his national letter of intent a few weeks ago but any ceremony was thwarted by the fact he was in Mexico with Team Canada.
“I committed to them in about August and didn’t sign with then until the official signing date in November. I had to do it online and my mom helped me with my electronic signature,” he said. “I emailed it, took a picture and that was it.”
The 18-year-old Niagara Falls resident, who was born in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, lived in Ireland for a year and then moved to Niagara Falls with his family in 2009, wasn’t taking anything for granted with Illinois State until his commitment was signed, sealed and delivered.
“With a verbal commitment, they can still do whatever they want. They can take it away and tell you ‘See ya’ but once you sign, everything is set in stone.”
It was a big moment for the former Southern Tier Admirals AAA hockey player when he signed on the dotted line.
“For the longest while before I committed, I had so many decisions to make and it was tough and stressful,” he said. “Now that I have signed I feel relieved and it is a huge weight off my shoulders. I can get ready for next year.”
Illinois State was the perfect choice for his post secondary diamond career.
“I talked to the coaches and some of the players and it felt like I could really fit in there,” he said. “It’s a very good conference, they have a very good team and they have a lot of potential.”
Donnison got a chance to test his mettle against his future teammates when his travel team, the Great Lakes Canadians out of London, played against Illinois State in an exhibition game in mid-August.
“They showed us how strong they could be. They have a very good hitting team with strong pitching. It made me even more excited even though we lost by 20 runs in that game.”
Donnison pitched in the game and didn’t fare too badly.
“I think I gave up six runs in five innings. It wasn’t bad but any pitch that wasn’t right where I wanted was a base hit. It was tough but a lot of fun.”
It was also plenty of motivation for his freshman season ahead.
“At that point, I realized that I still have a long way to go if I want to be one of the top guys on the team. That is my goal. I want to be the Friday night starter guy.”
He is going to work hard to make that goal a reality.
“This off-season, I am hoping to get up to 95 by next spring. My slider is my go-to pitch right now and I am still working on my sinker and changeup to get those locked in. If I can do all that, I will be ready to get right into it in the fall with Illinois.
He is planning to study accounting.
“I have talked to a lot of student-athletes and they have told me about the demands and how tough it can be but at the same time I am ready for it.”
Donnison started playing organized hockey and baseball when he moved to Canada. He began at the house league level in both sports before moving on to much high levels. He quit hockey last year to focus on baseball.
“I always liked both of them equally when I was younger but I kind of realized I was a lot better at baseball than hockey and I figured that is where my future would be.”
The 6-foot-1, right-handed pitcher previously won an Ontario Baseball Association AA championship with the Niagara Falls Falcons U15 squad in 2018.
