KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
SAN BENTIO — Senior right-handed pitcher Daniel Dial secured his college future by signing his letter of intent Wednesday afternoon.
Dial will play baseball just down the road at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg.
“This is my only sport,” the senior said. “This has always been my dream to be able to play at the college level. This is an unbelievable feeling to be able to sign. I have put so much work into this and now it is paying off.”
Dial received other offers from Texas State and Our Lady of the Lake, but chose to stay close to home and received a full ride at UTRGV.
“UTRGV is an amazing school; it is a division one program,” he said. “I talked with other schools and UTRGV provided the best fit for me and it helps that it is close to home.”
Dial is a three-year letterman and is expected to serve as the Greyhounds’ ace pitcher this spring, and has ’Hounds skipper Jimmy Young excited for the spring.
“He will be our horse,” Young said. “He put in the work for four years. He is a leader on the team and he understands what it takes to play at the next level. When he goes out there on the mound, we will have a shot. We are excited to have him back for one more year. Failure is not an option for him and he knows that and ever since he told me about his vision and what he wanted to do. He has made sacrifices and has always been about baseball.”
As a junior, Dial received a first-team all-district nod as a pitcher and also led 32-6A in strikeouts with 87.
Dial brings to the table a 2- and 4-seam fastball, a changeup, slider, a 12-6 curveball and is hitting 88 mph on the radar gun heading into the season.
The curveball is still something Dial is trying to perfect along with his velocity as he heads into his final season as a Greyhound.
“It is a completely different level from high school to college,” he said. “I could be throwing hard here, but at the college level, it might not be as hard. I need to hit the weight room for sure and continue to get stronger.”