On Tuesday, May 1, 2012, Upper Moreland senior Mike Janas was recognized for signing a letter of intent to play baseball of the University of the Sciences. Janas has been sidelined his entire senior year with a torn labrum.
Mike Janas – University of the Sciences (Baseball)
Major: Physical Therapy
Final list of colleges: University of the Sciences, Misericordia, Shenandoah
Reasons for choosing University of the Sciences: “My major is one of the reasons I picked the school. It’s designed as a six-year program where I’m admitted to graduate school as a freshman pending that I maintain a GPA. I felt that would make it a lot easier balancing the academics and baseball. I felt that USP was a better academic fit. That was probably the top academic school I was looking at, and I also feel that with the conference USP plays in, I will be able to go in there immediately and be successful.”
What was the progression that led you to playing collegiate baseball? “Ever since my freshman year I knew I wanted to, and probably even in middle school I knew I wanted to play baseball as long as I could because it’s my passion and I enjoy playing it a lot.
“My sophomore year I started looking into schools. At the beginning of my junior year, I started contacting more coaches. I contacted USP and some of the other schools, and I kept talking with them and kept getting more feedback, so I was able to narrow down the schools that were really interested. I got it down to my final three, and I felt like USP was the slam dunk choice.”
Coach Ernie Rehr says: “Mike has been a varsity pitcher since he was a freshman. The first thing that stood out was his physique. He was certainly a mature freshman, so we wanted to see if we could use that. He was moved to the varsity level immediately, which has been a common theme with a lot of our guys who have been successful. We don’t really hesitate to put them into the varsity show.
“The term that major leaguers use is saying someone has ‘good stuff.’ Mike has really good stuff, and when he’s on, he’s really tough to hit. That stood out immediately - his off-speed stuff.
“The percentage of athletes moving on to anything professional is minimal, so more than even the baseball aspect, the major that he chose and the school that fits that major is ideal. Mike’s going to be very successful in his profession.”
About Mike:
Favorite food: Chicken parmesan
Favorite movie: Miracle
Favorite music: John Mayer
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