Freshman pitcher returns to hill after ACL rehabilitation
A flurry of emotion ran through Tyler Hankins as he took the mound on Feb. 25 in San Antonio, Texas.
The freshman pitcher was not only playing in his first game in nearly two years, but was facing college hitters for the very first time.
The left-hander, however, held his own that day. Hankins pitched five innings in his collegiate debut against the Incarnate Word Cardinals, allowing a mere three runs on seven hits, while striking out two batters and walking one.
While the Chippewas fell 11-10 to the Cardinals in extra innings, the 6-foot-9 pitcher proved he could contribute immediately and has a bright future ahead of him with the Central Michigan baseball team.
“I was definitely a little nervous,” Hankins said. “I tried to go out there and prepare like any other game, even though it was my first time pitching again in quite some time.”
Since then, Hankins — who missed his high school senior year due to a torn ACL — has been the linchpin of the Chippewas’ pitching rotation through the first month of the season. The freshman leads all starting pitchers on the team in earned run average (3.64), strikeouts (31), innings pitched (42), fewest walks (11) and fewest runs allowed (17).
Hankins leads all CMU pitchers in innings pitched and strikeouts.
Coming Back from Injury
In 2015, the Bartlett, Illinois native was coming off a strong junior season at South Elgin High School in which he was invited to the All-State Showcase after a 4-1 record and 2.80 ERA.
CMU head coach Steve Jaksa met with Hankins at the beginning of the summer and offered him a scholarship shortly after. Hankins committed to CMU before the start of his senior season.
While Hankins was set to go to college on a baseball scholarship, he was also a four-year varsity player on South Elgin’s boys basketball team. Mid way through the season, however, Hankins jumped to catch a pass in a game and landed on the defender’s leg. Hankins immediately knew he tore his ACL.
Hankins dedicated himself to recovering and getting back to playing sports as soon as possible.
“I didn’t want to take it lightly,” he said. “I wanted my knee to get healthy and I wanted to come back stronger. There was just a motivation to come back and play at a higher level.”
Jaksa quickly got in contact with Hankins after the injury and re-affirmed his commitment to his scholarship. He encouraged him to stay the course on his rehab.
“Stay focused — just keep getting better,” Jaksa told Hankins. “You’ll come back stronger mentally and physically.”
After missing his senior baseball season, Hankins moved to Mount Pleasant in August and started fall workouts with the team. He felt much healthier, but there was still work needed to make sure he would be ready for the start of the season.
In the training room, Hankins met sophomore right-handed pitcher Sean Martens and the two quickly became friends. Martens — who underwent a ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction on his pitching arm last season — gave the freshman “quality” advice on coming back from a major injury.
“I told him you have to listen to your body. You have a timetable that the surgeon gave you so you got to follow that,” Martens said. “If something is bothering you, make sure you tell the coaches. Don’t push through it because it’s your career.”
Dominant Start
After finishing rehab, Hankins was cleared to play. He has made the most of his freshman season so far.
Through seven appearances and six starts, Hankins sits at 2-0 and is coming off his best two games this season.
Against Northwestern on March 18, Hankins shined as he pitched all nine innings for the 5-1 complete-game victory. Pitching just 40 minutes outside of his hometown in Evanston, Illinois, Hankins surrendered just one run on eight hits and a single walk.
It was the first time in his baseball career he pitched nine innings.
“I was happy and lucky enough to go the full nine innings. It was a great game,” he said. “My family was super excited. It was the first time my brothers have seen me in college, so it was very exciting.”
His next start came at the home opener at Theunissen Stadium on March 24. In his first home start, Hankins nearly went the distance again, pitching 8 and one-third innings. A lead-off triple in the ninth ended his day after accumulating eight strikeouts against eight hits.
Hankins received a standing ovation from the home fans as he exited for junior Colton Bradley, who got the win in a 2-1, walk-off victory. Hankins said his slider and two-seam fastball have been his best pitches this year and credits the team’s throwing program for his stamina.
Through his long journey of rehab and returning to the mound, Hankins said he has learned a lot about perseverance and patience. He now appreciates every chance he gets to play and is excited for the rest of the season.
“I’m so happy to be back. I missed it so much,” Hankins said. “It was so boring doing nothing and having to rehab my knee. I’m just relieved to finally be playing again and think I’ve matured a lot from the experience.
“I’m really excited to start MAC play. It’s going to be a fun ride.”
