There may be snow on the ground, but Bishop Fenwick senior Tucker Destino has baseball on his mind.
Earlier this week, the senior captain made his commitment to play college baseball at Gordon College following graduation.
“I just loved everything about the school, to be honest,” said Destino, who would normally be playing football for Fenwick this fall. “It’s a great academic school, it’s about 15 minutes from my house and the team is a great group of guys.”
Destino actually got the opportunity to practice with the Fighting Scots a couple weeks ago, and the experience solidified his decision to play there.
“I spoke with the coach a few times, and I really got a great feeling about the team,” said Destino. “And then when I got a chance to actually practice with the guys, that really made my decision easy.”
For Fenwick baseball coach Russ Steeves, a family friend who was college baseball teammates with Destino’s father, he always saw this coming.
“Tucker is a great player and he has been since we used him as a utility guy his freshman year,” said Steeves, who coached the Crusaders to a Division 3 North title the last time they saw the field in 2019. “He contributed to our North title team when he was a sophomore and he was primed for a big year as a junior before the season was canceled. He’s a great outfielder, a great teammate and it’s been great to watch him grow over the years.”
The recruiting process was thrown for a loop during the COVID-19 pandemic, so Destino had to largely take it upon himself to get his name out to coaches, including making a recruiting video with Recruiting Edge Baseball.
“I sent a ton of emails over the summer,” Destino said. “It was obviously really difficult with no games and limited chances to play, so I focused a lot on making a recruiting video and getting in touch with coaches.”
This fall, Destino has been lucky enough to get back together with his Fenwick teammates for a full fall baseball schedule. The Crusaders have played more than 25 games over the past two months, building up team chemistry and knocking the cobwebs off their games.
“We’ve been playing a ton of baseball and it’s been great getting back together with the team,” said Destino. “This is like getting a head start on the real season in the spring.”
Destino will be a team captain alongside fellow seniors Brandon Bloom and Scott Emerson in his final season of baseball this coming spring. All three captains were chosen by a unanimous vote from their teammates.
“I think the expectation (for the baseball season) is to go just as far if not further than we did my sophomore year,” said Destino. “We have the talent and we’ve even added a couple of transfer players, so we have all the pieces in place to have a big year.”