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Michael Colonna Commits to Carolina Baseball

Class of 2022 RHP Michael Colonna announced this week his commitment to play baseball for UNC.

Isaac Schade

The baseball Tar Heels picked up an in-state commitment on Tuesday for the class of 2022.

Weddington High School upcoming junior Michael Colonna announced his pledge to Carolina on his personal social media accounts. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound pitcher is from Waxhaw, North Carolina, and both hits and throws right-handed.

According to Prep Baseball Report, Colonna ranks eighth overall in North Carolina and fourth positionally for the class of 2022. Nationally, he sits at 138th overall and 40th positionally

In the summer, Colonna competes for the SBA (Showcase Baseball Academy) 2022 Futures.

During recent bullpen sessions, Colonna showed off a fastball sitting consistently in the upper 80s and occasionally jumping up to 90. With two more years of high school remaining, and a growing frame, expect Colonna to be able to add a couple more miles per hour to his fastball.

Colonna has nice off-speed pitches to complement his fastball: a slider that sits in the low-to-mid 80s, a curve in the upper-70s to low-80s, and a change-up in the low 70s.

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Prior to the 2020 season, which unfortunately didn’t happen because of COVID-19 concerns, Colonna racked up some awards from Rawlings / Perfect Game.

He was named a 2020 Honorable Mention Preseason Underclassman All-American. Rawlings / Perfect Game also selected regional preseason underclassman teams and Colonna was named to the 2nd Team for the Atlantic Region.

In addition to his baseball prowess, Colonna also competes as part of the back-to-back State Champion Weddington High School football team.

Here's a scouting report from Prep Baseball Report about Colonna from July 31, 2019:

Tall, athletic frame on a dual sport athlete who stands 6-foot-3, 190 pounds. Stuff was down a bit from the early summer, possibly due to full football practice beginning the week of the Future Games. Colonna drove in to LakePoint the day of his outing in order to attend each session of his football responsibilities prior to pitching. Stretch only from the righty. Abbreviated, slide step with the hands set at the belt. Long, clean arm action to a high-3/4 slot. Good arm speed. Easy to project. Fastball ranged 83-85. Showed an ability to locate to both sides. Used his change-up and slider. The slider is a potential out pitch that had occasional hard, downer type depth sitting 75-77. At times he was around the pitch, but it should continue to mature. The change-up is thrown with similar arm speed to the fastball, slight fade at 71-72. Easy to dream on the frame and arm action, especially with the athleticism present.

Make sure to check out these clips of Colonna pitching some bullpen sessions during showcases:

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Isaac Schade
ISAAC SCHADE

I grew up in Atlanta knowing that I was going to be the next Maddux or Glavine or Chipper. Unfortunately, I never grew six feet tall, ran 4.4 in the 40-yard dash, threw 90 m.p.h. on the radar gun, or hit 50 home runs. So I had to find a different way to dive head first into sports - writing about it. My favorite all-time sports moment? 1992. NLCS. Game 7. Sid Bream. Look it up. Worst sports moment ever? Two words: Kris. Jenkins. I live in the bustling metropolis of Webb City, MO, where ministry is my full-time job. I spend my free time with my wife, Maggie, and my two children, Pax & Poppy.

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