Kyle Jusick of Portage Central High School faces a decision soon. Will he pitch in college or be a position player? Or, will he attend a school where he can play both ways?

A talented pitcher as well as a great first baseman/outfielder, Jusick is one of the rare players that can play a position and pitch in collegiate ball.

A foot injury early in the 2010 high school season got Jusick off to a slow start. Playing through the injury, he still started 90% of the games. A month or so into the season, Jusick started to play the way he expects to.

In addition to going 3-0 on the mound, he hit over .400 in May and led the Mustangs to the Greater Kalamazoo Gold Division tournament championship, where he went 3-3 with 2 RBIs.

As a sophomore at Hackett Catholic Central, Jusick was All-Conference, All-District and All-Region at first base. He was also the team’s Defensive MVP for the Irish, committing no errors all season.

His injury behind him, Jusick is poised for a break-out Senior season.

“Kyle is a strong hitter for both average and power” says Head Coach Paul Schneider.

“He is a self-motivated hard worker with a great attitude, extremely coach-able, team oriented and consistently successful.”

Schneider should know – in addition to coaching the Portage Central Varsity team, he coached Jusick this summer on the Kalamazoo Maroons 16U team.

Finally playing at full strength, he had a fantastic summer season.

A left-handed hurler, Jusick led the Maroons in multiple categories including:

Winning%: 7-1
Innings Pitched: 55.67
Complete Games: 6
Shutouts: 2
ERA: 2.14
Strikeouts: 68
K to BB Ratio: 4.25 K’s per BB allowed

A lefty that can produce those kind of numbers playing against top competition is always in demand.

However, Jusick excelled with the bat as well, leading the team in seven categories:

Hits: 56
Doubles: 18
Home Runs: 4
Total Bases: 88
Slugging%: .633
RBIs: 38
HBP: 6

In addition, Jusick was #2 on the team in Batting Average (.403), On-Base% (.488), Runs Scored (38) and OPS (1.121).

“If an MVP had been selected for the 2010 Maroons, it clearly would have been Kyle” said Schneider.

An excellent student as well as a top baseball player, Jusick is drawing the attention of multiple colleges.

He has already made an official visit to Western Michigan University and is being recruited by the the University of Michigan, Central Michigan University, Oakland University, Grand Valley State University, Tiffin University, Adrian College, Albion College Kalamazoo Valley Community College and Kellogg Community College.

While he contemplates his future, Jusick is looking forward to being a Senior leader at Portage Central – one of the top teams in West Michigan.