LAFAYETTE — McCutcheon baseball outfielder Jonathan Riley is seeing the ball better.
His power has been on display for the state to watch. His first step and reads on flyballs are precise. He’s been the player McCutcheon has leaned on during the first 10 games of an 7-3 start.
“I just try to have no pressure,” Riley said.
Pressure and uncertainty was having an impact on Riley’s life after he committed to play baseball next season at Toledo. That was before having a change of heart and deciding to focus on being a student instead, choosing to make this his last baseball season before becoming a student at Purdue.
“I got tired of baseball this past fall,” Riley said.
Decommitting from a Division I scholarship might be the reason why McCutcheon is profiting from Riley, who is playing the best baseball of his career with a batting average that’s topped over .400 in 2026.
“It’s why I have no pressure right now,” Riley said. “My team was super positive. They supported me through the journey.”
Riley carries a unique journey, his coach Tristan McIntyre said. Finding comfort is what McCutcheon’s skipper wants above all else. Riley’s image as an athlete doesn’t change whether he pursues a college baseball career or not.
“That was a personal decision that he made, but Jon was a dude before that decision and he’s backed it up since,” McIntyre said. “He can play at a high level. He’s having a great senior year; he’s off to a great start so he can keep it going.”
While the choice was hard, the reasoning was simple for Riley: stay home and get a quality education at Purdue. Now he’s focused on his last season and being with the teammates he’s developed friendships with over the past four years.
“It’s my senior year and I just want to have fun with the guys,” Riley said.
Ethan Hanson is the sports reporter for the Journal & Courier in Lafayette. He can be reached at ehanson@jconline.com, on Twitter at EthanAHanson and Instagram at ethan_a_hanson.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Why McCutcheon outfielder Jonathan Riley decommitted from college baseball
Reporting by Ethan Hanson, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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