Julian Greenwell made a prominent decision Tuesday, as if this wasn’t already a big enough week for him.
Friday night, Greenwell will start at safety for Class 5A No. 1 Columbus East when it hosts crosstown rival Columbus North in football. But the junior’s future is in baseball, and he made a verbal commitment to play at Indiana University beginning in the 2019-20 school year.
“It’s always been a dream school of mine, and I’ve always grown up in an IU family,” Greenwell said. “I went on a visit, and the campus was beautiful, and it’s close to home. It’s always been my dream school.”
This spring, Greenwell went 6-1 with an 0.71 ERA and had 68 strikeouts in 39 1/3 innings. He also led the Olympians with a .411 batting average, three home runs and 18 RBIs.
Greenwell said he was recruited as both a pitcher and hitter, but that the Hoosiers were more interested in him as a pitcher. He also likely could have been a college football player.
“I’ve always known I wanted to play baseball,” Greenwell said. “In my opinion, I’ve always been better at baseball, and I know I’d be able to play baseball longer than I’d be able to play football. My dad has had me throwing a ball around since I was as young as I could remember.”
Greenwell wants to go into something in the medical field and feels IU has a great medical program.
The commitment to the Hoosiers is the third from Columbus in a little more than two months. Columbus North junior pitcher Parker Maddox and sophomore pitcher-first baseman Casper Clark committed to IU in late June.
“Those two definitely played a role in my commitment,” Greenwell said. “Three guys from the same town going to the same college, it seemed like it would be a great experience.”
Greenwell is ready for another big experience on Friday night. He intercepted a pass and recorded four tackles in last week’s season-opening 42-17 win at Bloomington South.
He and his East teammates will be looking to avenge a loss to the Bull Dogs last season.
“North-East week is always my favorite week of the year,” Greenwell said. “I love how everyone in the town has made it the big rivalry that it is and a championship environment. It really just makes it feel like a championship game.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Julian Greenwell” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Name: Julian Greenwell
School: Columbus East
Year: Junior
Height: 6-foot-0
Weight: 200
Sports: Baseball, football
College choice: Indiana University for baseball
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