Senior baseball player Matt Berkowitz verbally committed last week to Mansfield University. He will be playing at the Division II level in the PSAC conference.
Matt worked on coming back strong this offseason after tearing his labrum in the 7th game of the season last year. He looked at many different options during his recruiting process, but he decided that Mansfield was the best fit for him.
“I was a big fan of the campus atmosphere and the tight-knit community that surrounds the university,” said Berkowitz. “Mansfield has a long history of success in its baseball program which I also liked.”
Mansfield University of Pennsylvania is a campus of Commonwealth University, located in Mansfield, PA. The Mansfield Mountaineers are members of the NCAA Division II athletics and compete in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, which is widely hailed as the top Division II conference in America.
B-A head coach Adam Plummer coached Matt in little league before working with him again on the varsity level, so this college commitment means that much more to him than a typical player’s would.
“Even as a young kid, during practices, games, setting up batting tees in his mom’s backyard while South Side was practicing football, we would all look at each other like, ‘This kid loves it,'” Plummer said. “I’m so happy for Berk. He’s one of those kids that would be found on the short list of hardest workers.”
Coach Plummer said he was proud of Matt for overcoming the adversity he faced early-on last season, when his injury limited him to a narrow job, serving as the Devils’ designated hitter.
“In Berk fashion, he didn’t let that deter him and kept his nose to the grind stone,” Plummer said. “He has earned everything he has gotten to this point.”
Berkowitz ended his junior season with a .317 batting average, and he’s hitting .314 for his career with 44 runs scored, 34 RBI and 12 doubles, but he was recruited to Mansfield as a pitcher.
Coach Plummer believes that Mansfield University is, “lucky to be getting Matt Berkowitz.”
“I know he will do well because he will try to outwork everyone on the field,” he said.
Aside from the baseball side of things, Berkowitz plans to major in Business Administration during his time in college. After graduation he would like to work as a financial manager and eventually become a company executive.
Good luck to Matt on all his future goals and plans.
