Big Men on Campus: Locals Hajjar and Keegan are top dogs at their powerhouse programs

Mar. 5—Two players from the same high school playing college baseball. It's no big deal. Happens all of the time.

What's different with Dom Keegan and Steven Hajjar where they are doing it. And their impact.

Instead of Central Catholic, where Keegan and Hajjar helped take the program to another level, it is Vanderbilt University and the University of Michigan, two college baseball powerhouses.

For their last two years together at Central, the duo drew pro and college scouts to most of their games.

And if Hajjar was pitching, it was basically a 2-for-1 special, as Keegan was his catcher.

Now, separated by 522 miles — Keegan in Nashville, Tenn., at Vanderbilt and Hajjar in Ann Arbor, Mich., at the University of Michigan — they still are, indirectly, connected at the hip.

As in Big Men on Campus.

Keegan is currently batting third for No. 3 Vanderbilt, the premiere college program in the country. Enough said.

And Hajjar is pitching in today's opener with Iowa as the unanimous Big Ten favorite, earning the nod with only four college starts on his resume.

They have a lot in common entering their red-shirt sophomore seasons.

Both are eligible for the draft. Hajjar was rated an early second rounder by most draftniks recently. Keegan wasn't really rated before the season in any Top 100 lists, but after his start the last two weeks — .571 average, 3 HRs, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 13 RBI — he's got to be a candidate for the early rounds.

Both have similar experiences with injuries, really bad ones, as both lost a year.

Hajjar tore his ACL during winter break as a freshman playing basketball — "A huge mistake," he said — and Keegan had what ended up being a blood clot in his bicep as a sophomore in the COVID-19 shortened season.

Hajjar had to watch his Michigan team play 72 games from the stands or on TV. The good news was Michigan made it to the College World Series' final game. The bad news was Michigan made it to the CWS final game and he wasn't pitching.

"It was the toughest thing I've ever had to do," said Hajjar. "But the positive was I got to watch probably the best pitching staff in the country up close every game. I learned a lot, more than I probably would have if I was playing."

Keegan's injury was scary in that it was originally thought to be a muscle before it was correctly diagnosed. And due to the severity of the clot, there was a chance he might never play again.

"That hadn't been easy for (Keegan)," said Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin. "It was something that he had to deal with over Thanksgiving and over Christmas and certainly coming back here — and his mom and dad were a part of that. Just hoping that condition stays away and he becomes a consistent part of the team because he's a good player."

Fast-forward to the last two weeks.

It's early, but Keegan, last week's SEC Player of the Week, is second to nobody in the Player of the Year hype.

"I haven't even played my first game and Dom's already got the award," said Hajjar.

Ironically, Hajjar did what Keegan did last year. His first career collegiate start against No. 8 ranked Arizona State was spectacular, throwing six shutout innings, allowing three hits and striking out seven.

Then the 6-foot-5 left-hander held the best team in New England, UConn, to two runs over five innings; struggled a teeny bit in allowing two runs over three innings against Cal-Poly Tech; before a rock-solid six-inning, two-run and 10-strikeout performance over No. 24 Pepperdine before COVID-10 ended the season.

Hajjar's consistent 93-mph fastball and revamped slider put him at 3-0 and on the national map, just like Keegan did the last two weeks.

Hajjar's been literally waiting 364 days to pitch a real game again.

"I'm a caged animal," said Hajjar, laughing. "I am so excited for this season to finally begin. Not only did we have to wait a year, but I had to watch games the last two weekends, including Dom's games. I need to play."

Keegan laughs when told of his pal's impatience.

"He's one competitive dude," said Keegan. "I know exactly what he's feeling. I know he's crazy about finally playing. That's why I love him. He loves the game and loves to compete."

Their successes are not a surprise.

After Central was eliminated from the Super 8 state tournament when they were both juniors, according to their then-high school coach Marc Pelletier, they were gone within a few days to play AAU and compete in national showcases.

"They were both on airplanes a lot that summer," said Pelletier. "Those two had a lot of interest from colleges and the pros. They were always playing against the best. And to be honest, they belonged with the crowd in the summer. They always had bigger dreams."

Pelletier had both starting at Central as freshmen, playing nearly 90 games for him.

"A lot of kids work hard," said Pelletier. "But Dom and Steven were different. I can't tell you how many batting practice pitches I threw to Dom, in the tens of thousands. And then if he wasn't happy, he'd go with Benty (Dave Bettencourt) at night.

"And Steven was always working on things, beyond just throwing," recalled Pelletier. "He would work on his pickoff move, fielding balls cleanly. The both of them, they didn't want to go good or very good. They wanted to be the best."

If Keegan and Hajjar were able to make it to the major leagues, together, at some point they would not be the first high school teammates to accomplish the feat, with California being a hotbed for this.

In fact with prep school academies popping up everywhere, for all sports, it is becoming common.

But for a Massachusetts public/private high school, particularly one in the Merrimack Valley, that would really be something.

"We've talked about that a lot over the years," said Hajjar. "Dom is a machine. He's got so much energy to work. I'm similar too. And I think we fed off that, pushing each other."

Michigan coach Erik Bakich has made a name for himself and his program with his team getting to the College World Series final game when Hajjar and Keegan were freshmen.

In fact, he was an assistant under Corbin at Vanderbilt for seven years from 2003 through 2009 before taking over at Michigan.

Corbin wanted a New England recruit every year if possible. Bakich ended coming to the Merrimack Valley to watch and eventually sign an Andover kid named Mike Yastrzemski.

"Tim loved New England players and I could see why," said Bakich. "They're a little different. There's a toughness they all seem to have. We have to pay more attention to that area."

Keegan said he's been following the numbers of Merrimack Valley players now playing Div. 1 baseball and several in professional ball, including their former teammate Cam Devanney, in the Milwaukee Brewers system.

"Merrimack Valley guys are tough," said Keegan. "We all know each other and all seem to run into each other at indoor facilities. I'm proud of it. Steven is, too. Nothing scares us and we all have big goals."

You can email Bill Burt at bburt@eagletribune.com. You can also follow him on Twitter at @burttalkssports.

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Coach Erik Bakich on Hajjar

On what makes him special

"He's got the personality of a top-performing Div. 1 athlete. He's got a little bit of mean streak in him when he's between the lines, on the court, wherever, it doesn't matter. He hates to lose 'Rock, paper scissors.'

Key to successes at Michigan

"He added another pitch, a third pitch. Most kids coming out of high school are at 90 (mph) or above, a maybe a decent breakinjg ball. Well, Steven now has two different versions of the breaking ball and his fastball is up in the 90s consistently. The pitch that shut down Arizona State (last year) was his changeup. That's another big pitch for him."

Dealing with injury

"Missing a year did what you hoped it would do to an elite competitor. It made him hungier. He felt terrible, like he let the team down. That was his biggest concern, the team. That meant a lot to me hearing that. He then quickly turned into fuel, attacked rehab and he was even better."

Hajjar's future:

"He has absolutely created a trajectory for himself. He's in position to pitch on Fridays for us (when aces pitch) and will be going against some great players. He's earning an opportunity to start his professional career to a team that is truly interested in investing in him.

"With this competitive fire there is no finish line for this guy. I see him as a guy who can help a team win a World Series and get to the All-Star game."

Coach Tim Corbin on Keegan

Big summer in Futures League:

"Not everybody was able to play this summer and he no doubt took advantage of it. The reports were great. After last year and the injury he needed that confidence boost and baseball self-esteem. He got it this summer."

His struggles in spring:

"Dom had a few weeks where he was scuffling a bit and it was getting to him. But he stayed with it and worked his way out of it. It happens to everyone. I just admire the way Dom gets the most out of every rep, whether it's taking ground balls in the field, at the plate, in the cage ... every rep is treated with respect. I admire that a lot about Dom."

Playing first base:

"He provides us with a lot of consistency at the position. He throws the ball like a shortstop at first base. He makes quick decisions. He loves to throw the ball. At the college level it's important to have consistency at first base and we do with Dom there."