18U Isaac “Mr. Versatility” Duva Commits to Erie CC Kats

Isaac Duva, who played five positions for the 18U Titans this season, became the second member of the Class of 2022 to commit to a College in the USA.  The versatile and personable Titan committed to the Erie Community College Kats during a signing ceremony on Sunday in the Clubhouse at True North Fieldhouse. The graduate of Holy Trinity Catholic High School offered his reasons for joining the NJCAA Kats:  “The program seemed like a perfect fit for me to develop as a player and have success” on and off the field. When asked what he was looking forward to the most about living in New York State, the 18U Titans Outfielder, Infielder, and Pitcher mentioned “Playing baseball and proving myself at the next level daily while living with my teammates and still being close to home.”

Duva’s major area of study at Erie Community College will be in “Health and wellness promotion” and he elaborated on his athletic and academic goals at ECC:  

“My goals as a student-athlete at ECC are to be an impact player for the program and do whatever I can to help the team win games while maintaining at least a 3.0 GPA.”  Duva also acknowledged how the Titans Baseball Club assisted him with his post-secondary aspirations:  “The Titans played a huge role in my college placement, especially Coach Denis, Coach Lawrence, and Coach Jim.  They all made sure to guide me in the right direction when it came to looking at schools as well as teach me how to properly contact coaches. I give a huge thanks to those coaches as well as all the coaches in the Titans organization for making this possible.”  

The Bradford resident’s career highlight as a Titan was “Being on the college trip while being surrounded by my teammates. Getting the chance to play against college teams was a great learning experience and I will never forget hitting a grand slam at Glenville State when we were on that trip.”  Head Coach Jeremy Uylenbroek acknowledged his versatile player’s contributions on the College Trip and assessed his qualities as a student-athlete:  “When I first met Duva, I was impressed by his stature, attitude, versatility, and athleticism.  After our last game of the 2021 season, all of those facets were front and center. Duva played 5 positions for us in that game like he had in many others as well. At one point, he was on the bench cheering on his teammates and then also played 2B, RF, and also pitched. His voice was heard regardless of where he was defensively.

I couldn’t have asked for more from Isaac at all; I always got everything he had to give every day.”  Coach Uylenbroek acknowledged the future ECC Kat’s work ethic and dedication to the team:  “Isaac was also one of the hardest workers at our practices and his attendance was near perfect leaving nothing more to be desired as a coach. Having the pleasure to be around Isaac while he’s been a Titan, I’ve learned that he’s a driven, passionate, and caring person. These traits helped him become one of everyone’s favorite teammates all season. Erie will be happy to have him.  Best of luck, Isaac.”

Titans Director of Baseball Operations Lawrence Vera was equally impressed with Isaac’s improvement as a baseball player during the CPBL season and on the College Trip in October:   “Duva continues to grow with the Titans in his second year and we are extremely excited for him to join the ECC Kats. Under Coach Joe, he will be pushed to be the best player he can be.” The 18U Titan offered this advice to the younger players in our program about achieving post-secondary goals as a student-athlete:  “Hard work and consistency on and off the field go a long way.”  

Congratulations and best of luck at Erie Community College, Isaac, where we know your hard work and consistency with carry you a long way in your endeavors on and off the field.