Mitchell Crowley Commits to the University of Rio Grande Red Storm in Ohio

The Rio Grande University Red Storm will be gaining another Titan in 2023. 18U Pitcher and Corner Infielder Mitchell Crowley will be the third Titan player to join the NAIA ball club in successive recruiting seasons. Crowley committed to the southeastern Ohio school in mid-December after visiting URG during the Titans Fall College Trip and a successive family trip to the campus. Titans 18U Head Coach and College Placement Officer Denis Bailey applauded Crowley’s versatility and grit as significant assets for both the Titans and the Red Storm in 2023: “Mitchell is a guy that will contribute on both sides of the ball.  He will play the corners for us and be a contributor on the mound as well. He’s a bulldog—the type of guy that would run through a fence for his teammates and coaching staff.”

The Norwood, Ontario resident discussed his reasons for signing a letter of intent with URG:   “I committed to the University of Rio Grande because of the Academic and Athletic accountability that the program offers.  From the first time I visited the school, I was immediately impressed with the baseball program and also with the focus on academics.  I really liked how Coach Warimont pushes his athletes to be the absolute best they can be. With the small class sizes and the specific courses offered, I am really excited to work on completing my degree while playing elite level baseball for the University of Rio Grande. The baseball team has seen success in the past and I am looking forward to contributing to the team’s success in September.”

In addition to success on the baseball diamond with the Red Storm, Crowley explained what he is looking forward to the most about living in Rio Grande, Ohio:   “The thing I am most excited about is just getting to work. I enjoy the grind and I can’t wait to really start putting in the day to day work on the field and in the weight room. It will be great to be part of a very focused program on a daily basis.  I am also excited about moving to the next step in my academic career and seeing what courses are like at the university level.” 

The Honor Roll graduate of Holy Cross Secondary School in Peterborough offered insights into his academic focus at Rio Grande University: “I will be majoring in Business Management with a minor in Athletic Leadership.  When I met with the academic advisors at the University, they did a really great job of outlining the different programs and the career paths associated with each one. The minor in leadership will allow me to build my leadership skills to use on and off the field.”

Crowley also outlined his athletic and academic goals as a student-athlete with the URG Red Storm:   “I have lots of goals for the future, in both athletics and academics.  From an athletic perspective, I am hopeful that I can continue to develop my baseball skills and continue to play as long as I can into the future. I hope to do this while playing to the best of my ability on the varsity team at Rio.  I want to contribute every year that I am there. I also hope to continue being a leader amongst my peers and teammates.  I hope in the future I can help mentor other players who come from Canada to fit into the US system.  I am equally as excited about the academics.  I have always tried to achieve my best in school and I would like to continue this while at URG.  Pursuing my degree, learning how to own and operate a successful business, and ideally being part of the honor roll will be the goals I work towards. I would like to balance both athletics and academics and to demonstrate this by being in the top percentile of GPA among student-athletes at the University of Rio Grande.”

In addition to delineating these lofty academic and athletic goals, the veteran Titans pitcher and infielder took time to thank the organization for its help with his college baseball placement:  “The Titans college placement team has been incredibly helpful to me. Coach Jim and Coach Bailey were very helpful in finding the right school for my academic and athletic goals. Any questions I had about schools were answered. I really can’t thank the Titans enough for assisting me in the college baseball placement process. I believe I have found the right academic and baseball program to help me achieve success in the next four years.”

 Crowley also reflected on his personal highlights at Titan ballplayer, including the importance of friendships built within the community:  “So far the highlight of my baseball career with the Titans has been when we traveled to Lexington, KY for a tournament. We played really strong ball clubs but we battled with them and ended up coming out on top for most of the games. The lifelong friendships that I made during this time period are certainly some of the highlights of my baseball career.  I have a group of Titans friends who will be my lifelong friends.”

 In addition to the friendships that can be made within the Titans organization, Crowley offered some timely advice to younger players in the program about loving baseball workouts and making good choices so the game remains fun to play:  “The best advice that I could give for younger players is to fall in love with the work and make practice fun. If you aren’t having fun playing the game, then it is time to do something different.  Change up what you are doing, change who you are working with, change your attitude associated with the activities.  Baseball is a choice for all of us; it is not an obligation. Once you find the fun, the rest will fall into place.  Don’t get hung up on timing or on levels; just play your game and you will have so many experiences and opportunities in the future.”

The future opportunities do, indeed, look bright for student-athlete Mitchell Crowley as he enters his final CPBL season as an 18U Titan and his first NAIA season with the Red Storm in Ohio.  The Titans Baseball Club offers its congratulations to Mitchell and wishes him all the best with both his baseball teams in 2023.