Oneonta's Gelbsman signs letter of intent to play baseball at Albany
Nov. 18—Thursday marked the culmination of quite the 2022 for Oneonta's Aidan Gelbsman as the senior signed his national letter of intent to play Division I baseball at the University of Albany.
Gelbsman put pen to paper in the Oneonta High School library in front of dozens of family members, friends, teammates, coaches, and teachers. While he announced his commitment to play for the Great Danes in September, Gelbsman said it was a relief to make things official.
"I'm very proud of myself and I'm happy that this many people support me and what I do, and I'm just excited to get ready for this upcoming season," he said.
Gelbsman was named the Daily Star's 2022 Baseball Player of the Year after helping the Yellowjackets capture the Section IV Class B Championship, their first sectional title since 2015.
Gelbsman went 4-2 as a starter with a 2.59 ERA and 81 strikeouts while also tossing a pair of no-hitters. At the plate, he hit .359 with 19 hits, 19 RBIs, and a home run in addition to playing solid defense at first base.
Gelbsman will be joining an Albany program led by head coach Jon Mueller that finished the 2022 season with an overall record of 22-25.
The quality of Albany's program as well as its proximity to home were major factors in Gelbsman's decision to go to school and play ball in the state capital.
"It's just a great school and a great program. I'm excited to be there," he said. "The coaches were great to me when I was recruited. It's very close to home so I can have my support group, my family there to see me when I play."
Coming off such a successful 2022 season, Gelbsman is already hard at work to get ready for the 2023 spring campaign.
"I'm working very hard to improve my velocity this offseason," he said. "Maybe I can pitch harder this year. I'm trying to be [as good], if not even better than last year throwing two no-hitters, but I'm not going to get ahead of myself with that. I'm just trying to support my team with what they want to do and maybe come out with a sectional championship."
Regardless of what his baseball future looks like, Gelbsman will be sure to have all the support he needs along the way as evidenced by Thursday's turnout.
"It's amazing," he said. "I didn't know that this many people supported me. I knew that a lot of people did but it's just amazing to see the amount of support that this school has for student-athletes, and the teachers and coaches who've supported me, it's just amazing."
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