GEORGETOWN, Ky. (EYT/D9) — The baseball explodes out of the hand of Bryson Huwar now.
With a sidearm — and almost submarine — delivery, the Clarion-Limestone pitcher has been nothing short of vexing to opponents early in the 2024 season at Georgetown College.
His offerings have sudden movement and amped velocity; a two-seam fastball that runs in on the knuckles of unsuspecting right-handed hitters; a knee-buckling slider; a cutter; and a timing-shattering changeup for good measure.
(Pictured above, Clarion-Limestone graduate Bryson Huwar delivers a pitch for Georgetown College/submitted photo)
When things get tight in the late innings for the Tigers, it’s Huwar who gets called upon to shut the door.
And he has done it with stunning consistency and efficiency.
“I challenge anyone,” Huwar said. “I don’t care.”
Huwar is already 3-0 with a 2.31 ERA in eight appearances this season for Georgetown. In 11⅔ innings, he has given up just seven hits while striking out 15. He also has two saves, including a 2⅓ inning outing in a 6-4 win over Saint Xavier in Chicago on a windy and raw Sunday afternoon.
It’s a stark contrast to where Huwar was physically and mentally last year.
He had no school. His right elbow was useless after undergoing Tommy John surgery. And he had lost his love for baseball.
Huwar was at the lowest point of his life.
“It stunk,” he said. “Just the surgery itself put me in a bad mood. I honestly was going to give up on baseball.”
Huwar’s arm began bothering him back in his days at Clarion-Limestone. By the time he got to St. Bonaventure, there was no life in the elbow and he had to face the inevitable.
That’s when everything unraveled. He underwent surgery in September, and by the time baseball season rolled around, Huwar had entered the transfer portal, waiting for the green light to throw again.
“I was nowhere,” Huwar said. “I was lost.”
But Huwar had a plan to find himself again.
(Bryson Huwar/photo courtesy of Georgetown College)
He reached out to Chad Miller, a Slippery Rock University graduate who founded the Louisville Slugger Hitting Science Center in Kentucky, about an hour’s drive from Georgetown.
“I texted Chad and was like, ‘I need help,’” Huwar said. “He works with a lot of professional guys and with the Phillies organization.”
Huwar made his way to Kentucky, and he had another thing going for him. His recovery from the Tommy John procedure was a rapid one. He was back on the mound and throwing unencumbered in just over nine months — it typically takes between 12 and 15 months for a pitcher to return to action post-surgery.
“I was blessed to recover that quickly,” he said.
Once Huwar began working with Miller, it didn’t take long to see startling results.
At C-L, he pitched from three different arm angles and his fastball sat in the upper 70s to low 80s.
Miller had Huwar pitching only from one slot — sidearm — and after a few tweaks with his mechanics and delivery, the right-hander’s fastball was suddenly topping out in the upper 80s.
Huwar also had significantly increased movement on his offerings.
“It was kind of like the sun coming out from behind a whole bunch of clouds,” Huwar said. “I was in shock, then I was excited. I just kept with it. And I’m still trusting them. Me and Chad have a plan. So I just gotta keep playing while getting stronger.”
That plan also included a new home, and Huwar found one quickly at Georgetown.
It was a perfect marriage — Huwar wanted to be there and the Georgetown baseball staff wanted him, too.
He committed to the school during the summer.
Miller also put Huwar on a strength training program. That, too, saw eye-popping results.
Huwar added 20 pounds of muscle to his 6-foot frame. His arm, he said, has never felt better.
Huwar, though, is not satisfied. He feels like there is a lot more room for him to grow as a pitcher.
“I’m just getting started for sure,” he said. “This is just the beginning. I’m excited about what’s coming and what’s already happened. I’m blessed from a standpoint of finding the right people at the right time.”
Huwar believes as he gets even stronger, his velocity will continue to climb.
With his movement and arm slot, it has him thinking big things for the future.
Professional baseball things.
“I’m going to keep sticking to the plan,” Huwar said. “I’m going to keep working, but there’s definitely a chance at some opportunities after college if I keep playing well and getting stronger. I feel like, personally, nothing is going to get in my way.”
