Grafton's Jack Choate, who starred at Westborough High, Assumption University and the Worcester Bravehearts, drafted by San Francisco Giants
Around the midway point of Jack Choate’s sophomore season at Assumption in 2021, the Greyhounds were reeling, having lost four straight, including the first two of an important four-game series against Northeast-10 Conference foe Bentley. Assumption coach Mike Rocco looked to Choate, who was starting Game 1 the next day, to snap the tailspin.
“My coach basically told me, ‘You better have the best game of your life,’ ” Choate recalled Monday afternoon. “I tried not to stress about it. The next day ended up being a good game.”
Choate allowed an earned run on four hits and struck out nine to lead Assumption to a 3-2 victory. The Greyhounds went on to win eight of 10 before falling in the NE-10 semifinals.
Rocco remembers that outing vividly because of what it did for the team, and because, he believes, it was a turning point in Choate’s career.
“That’s when it all clicked,” Rocco said.
Choate, a North Grafton resident who starred at Westborough High, went on to be a Futures Collegiate League all-star that summer while pitching for the Worcester Bravehearts, and as a junior this spring at Assumption, he was the NE-10 Northeast Division Pitcher of the Year.
Choate, a 6-foot-6, 250-pound left-hander, drew the interest of scouts, and on Monday, the San Francisco Giants selected him in the ninth round of the Major League Baseball Draft. Choate was the 286th pick overall.
“I didn’t have expectations (about when I would be drafted),” Choate said. “I just wanted to get drafted, and that ended up happening. I’m definitely super excited.”
Choate is the sixth player in Assumption baseball history to be drafted, and the first since Leominster’s Steve Santucci in 1993.
“It’s unbelievable,” Rocco said. “It really is. I’m so happy for him.”
Choate was a T&G Super Team selection his senior season at Westborough, but he was not highly recruited. He chose Assumption because he liked the school. Assumption was the first college campus he toured, and his mom attended graduate school there.
Choate made the Greyhounds roster as a walk-on.
“Back then,” Choate said, “I was just trying to make the team and do my best. I definitely came a long way to get here.”
COVID wiped out most of Choate’s freshman season at Assumption — he pitched just 6⅔ innings — but Rocco said he showed some very good signs.
“He knew from day one he had to work his hardest every single day,” Rocco said, “and he did.”
In summer 2020, Choate played for Northborough of the Worcester County Baseball League, which was a beneficial step in his development, Rocco said, and, as a sophomore, he went 2-1 with 38 strikeouts and 16 walks in 23⅓ innings.
Choate continued his growth while starring for the Bravehearts last summer. He set a Futures League regular-season record with 82 strikeouts.
MORE: Assumption's Jack Choate of Westboro sets strikeout mark as Bravehearts fall to Brockton
“It definitely helped a lot seeing a bunch of really good college hitters from around the country,” Choate said, “and being able to work on my pitches definitely helped a lot.”
Choate considers his changeup his best pitch.
This spring, Choate, who earned Division 2 East Region Pitcher of the Year honors, went 6-2 with a 2.43 ERA. He struck out 127, walked 35 and pitched five complete games.
“He had a huge year for the Bravehearts,” Rocco said, “and once he came back for the fall, there was no stopping him. He had his mind set. I don’t know if he had his mind set on being drafted necessarily; I think it was more he knew he could be a dominant, dominant pitcher, and he showed that every time he was out there.”
Rocco said as a newcomer at Assumption, Choate benefited from being around older pitchers on the staff like Cole Chudoba, Brendan Desautels of Holden and Holy Name High, and Patrick Harrington.
“Those guys all saw how good he could be,” Rocco said, “and they took him under his wing.”
As the leader of the staff this year, Choate helped Assumption to the NE-10 championship series. In a first-round tournament game against Franklin Pierce, he hurled a one-hit shutout and struck out 18. On March 26, he struck out 19 in a seven-inning, two-hit shutout at St. Anselm, tying the school single-game record.
“Jack is blessed with a lot of things,” Rocco said, “size, arm strength, things you just can’t teach, but working with these other guys, taking teaching he was given from our pitching coach (Aaron Kaska), people he worked with on the Bravehearts, and everyone along the way, it’s all come together. This is the end of one chapter for him and the start of another.”
—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @JenTolandTG.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Grafton's Jack Choate, who starred at Westborough High, Assumption University and the Worcester Bravehearts, drafted by San Francisco Giants
