Central Catholic pitcher Mundt commits to Utah

With sadness in his heart – and a pain in his neck – Central Catholic’s Sam Mundt has walked away from the football field.

The senior said he won’t play for the three-time defending CIF state small-school champions after suffering a neck injury last fall.

The 6-foot-6 Mundt figured to be a big piece on both sides of the ball for the Raiders, who open the season Sept. 4 against Atwater. Mundt was an all-Valley Oak League defensive lineman and tall target at tight end.

Instead, he’ll pour himself into baseball, where the injury hasn’t affected his prospects.

The right-handed pitcher has committed to Utah following a visit to the campus in Salt Lake City earlier this week.

“Missing my senior year is pretty tough,” Mundt said of leaving the football program. “But having baseball there eases it a little bit.”

Mundt received interest from other schools for both baseball and football, but Utah baseball coach Bill Kinneberg was the only one to offer the all-VOL first-team pitcher a scholarship.

Though his verbal commitment isn’t binding, Mundt can’t imagine himself playing anywhere else. He’s received a scholarship offer that recognizes his athletic and academic prowess.

“I just got back from the visit (Monday),” Mundt said. “We got really close to the coach. Utah is really big in being true to its commitments, so it’s pretty much set in stone.”

Mundt leaned on his older brother, Johnny, for counsel during recruiting. A junior tight end at Oregon, Johnny advised his brother to follow his heart – not the expectation of others.

So the Mundts traveled to Salt Lake City with an open mind. Sam felt comfortable with pitching coach Mike Crawford and at ease in a new environment.

“Coaching wise, I wanted someone I felt confident with,” Mundt said. “The guy who recruited me was the pitching coach. He was a family kind of guy and that was the connection I was looking for.”

Utah was 16-36-1 last season and finished last in the Pacific-12 Conference at 7-22-1.

The Pac-12 qualified six teams for the College World Series, including UCLA, the No. 1 overall seed and conference champion.

Cal, USC and the UCLA reached the NCAA Regional finals, and all three teams finished in the final Baseball America Top-25 poll.

Mundt looks forward to the battles in one of the country’s premier baseball conferences.

“That’s the best part,” he said, “getting to go to a great conference with great competition.”

Mundt went 5-4 for the Raiders last spring with a 1.38 ERA and four complete games.

He’s also a member of the NorCal Valley 17-and-under travel team, which competed against college-age players in tournaments in Southern California, Reno and Stockton, among other stops, during its summer season. Three players from that team have committed to four-year universities, including Turlock junior Damon Treadwell (Pacific) and Gregori junior Jimmy McClenaghan (Nebraska).

Mundt’s stock has soared with a full summer commitment to NorCal Valley. Co-coach Danny Ayala believes Mundt has big-league potential.

“Mundt doesn’t know how much potential he has,” said Ayala, also Mundt’s skipper at Central Catholic. “For us, he’s always been a football kid. He came to us in confidence and questioned, ‘What are my baseball abilities? Where can I go?’ We told him ‘The ceiling.’

“He had a pro-type body and can be a pro-type ball player. He made a full commitment this summer. This kid went from not even being on the map in the early summer, but with his size and tools, now everyone is calling and everyone wants to see him. This thing went fast.”

Mundt said he’s been assured by a doctor that the neck injury will heal with therapy. He expects to be on the mound for the Raiders this spring.

“Therapy is helping. It’s going to be a slow, slow process. They said it needs time,” Mundt said. “It’s something that will only get aggravated with contact.”

This story was originally published August 13, 2015 at 6:29 PM with the headline "Central Catholic pitcher Mundt commits to Utah."