Earlier this week, Julian Greenwell and Jonah Wichman were named to the Class 5A Senior All-State football team.
But the Columbus East seniors are headed to Division I colleges to play a different sport. The pair participated in a signing ceremony Thursday to play baseball at the collegiate level.
“Ever since I was probably about 10, I knew that baseball was my favorite sport, and that’s what I wanted to do when I got older,” said Greenwell, who is headed to Wright State. “No matter where football or baseball took me, I knew I was going to choose baseball. It’s just a different kind of love I have for the game.”
Greenwell originally committed to Indiana University last fall, but reopened his recruiting after Hoosiers coach Chris Lemonis took the head coaching job at Mississippi State after this season. Greenwell went 3-1 with an 0.93 ERA and batted .293 with two home runs and 16 RBIs this spring for the Olympians.
Greenwell, who plans to major in pre-med, remembers playing in some travel baseball games at Wright State a 13-year-old.
“I knew I really liked the facilities there,” Greenwell said. “They were super nice. Then once I went to my official visit there, they just welcomed me like family, and right away, I knew it was the right place. The hospitality was great, and overall, I just wanted to find a place that would be a great home for four years.”
Wichman, meanwhile, is headed to South Carolina-Upstate. He e-mailed the Spartanburg, South Carolina, school in late June and told them he was going to be playing in Georgia. Spartans coaches went and saw him, and after Wichman went on a visit the week after he played in Georgia, they offered him a scholarship.
Wichman, who plans to major in business accounting, also had looked at Belmont and Middle Tennessee State.
“I knew I wanted to go Division I, and I’ve always wanted to play baseball in the south so you can play year-round,” Wichman said. “I looked them up and thought they were a pretty good school, a good fit. It will be pretty fun.”
This spring, Wichman, an outfielder, batted .351 with a home run and 17 RBIs.
“I feel like I have more potential in baseball and can build off my skills more,” Wichman said. “I loved football, but it’s the end of the road. I have to start something else.”
Both Wichman and Greenwell were defensive starters on East’s 5A state championship team in 2017 and on the Olympians’ regional-title winning squad this season. Wichman led the team in interceptions both years.
Both players also were starters on the East baseball team this spring that won its first sectional title since 1999.
“Both are great two-sport athletes, and both of them have a little bit higher ceiling in baseball,” East baseball coach Jon Gratz said. “They’re both extremely hard workers. They’re great leaders in the classroom and on the field, and they’re always doing the right thing.”
