8/13/2020 baseball Edit

Indiana baseball lands commitment from 2021 Ohio catcher

Paul Gable • TheHoosier

Staff Writer

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For Brock Tibbitts, baseball truly has been a way of life. The New Albany (OH) High School catcher's father played college baseball and put a ball and glove into his son's hands at a very young age.

Now, he will continue to follow in his father's footsteps as he committed to the Indiana University baseball team and head coach Jeff Mercer on Wednesday.

"My dad was the one who got me into baseball. He played in college, and his love for the game transferred to me, and the game of baseball has always been my passion," Tibbitts told TheHoosier.com.

Tibbitts, who also plays for Ohio Elite, garnered offers from both Marshall University and the University of Charleston, but he admits there was something special about the Hoosiers.

"Indiana just felt like home to me. From the first phone calls I had with Coach (Derek) Simmons and Coach Mercer, I knew it was a place I wanted to be and a program I wanted to be a part of," Tibbitts said.

Tibbitts will enter Indiana University as a catcher and comes with a strong scouting report. A report from January's 2020 Under Armour All-America Pre-Season Tournament said the following.

"Brock raised arm velocity to 88 MPH, exit velocity to 90 MPH, and showed a powerful stick at the UA Pre-Season. He is an athletic catcher with quick feet, clean actions, and a soft glove. He blocks and receives very well, his exchange is quick and clean, and he throws with plus arm strength to 2nd base. Pop times also lowered to 1.89 seconds to 2nd base. Offensively, Brock is a strong hitter with a square stance and a rhythmic swing. He has fast bat speed, he makes hard/consistent contact, and he rotates his core through the ball. Brock is a talented player and 1 to keep your eye on."

Another from College PREP in Dublin, Ohio, from 2019 stated,

"Brock worked out behind the plate and in the OF during his last workout with The Factory. He is a strong/athletic player with a high ceiling. Behind the plate, Brock has strong hands, he sits in low and athletically, and he looks the ball into his glove. He has a clean exchange and a consistent arm with momentum to 2nd base. Work on blocking will only help catching get even better. In the OF, Brock has loose actions, he tracks well, and moves with agility to the baseball. He takes good angles, makes plays, and throws with accuracy and strength to his target. Offensively, Brock has loose hands, good balance, and fast bat speed. He stands in athletically, swings aggressively, and taps into his lower body."

For Tibbitts, the words are nice, but he admits he has things he wants to improve on and believes Indiana is the right place for him to achieve those goals.

"I see myself playing catcher at IU and developing into the best catcher and hitter I can possibly be with the methods of Coach Mercer and the rest of the coaching staff," Tibbits said. "I have heard about how they develop players and the system they use to do it, and it has been very successful for them before IU and now at IU."

In Mercer's first season at the helm, the Hoosiers went 37-23 and saw their season come to an end at the hands of Louisville in the Louisville Regional in 2019. Tibbitts told TheHoosier.com that he has seen players progress from Bloomington to Major League Baseball rosters and that success was a major reason why he selected the Hoosiers.

"It was very important to me because I wanted to go to a place where I could develop my skills as a player and go to a place where I feel like I can take my game to the next level," Tibbitts said. "IU felt like the best place for me to do that."