Strong season at Penn State puts Pine-Richland grad Matt Wood on radar for MLB teams

Matt Wood did everything he could on the diamond this spring to open the eyes of Major League Baseball scouts, and soon he’ll see if he’ll get the chance to play professionally.

Wood, a Pine-Richland grad, slashed an impressive .379/.480/.667 with 15 doubles, a dozen homers and 53 RBIs this season at Penn State to become one of the top offensive catchers in all of college baseball.

He’ll see if his name is called during the MLB Draft July 17-19.

The draft is 20 rounds.

“Obviously it’s exciting,” Wood said. “I’ve worked hard and now I’m in a position where I could potentially see myself get drafted. It’s a cool experience, but I’m still keeping my head down and getting my work in, because there are other people in this position as well and you don’t want to fall behind at all. I’m definitely letting myself soak it all in, but at the same time I’m still working hard and keeping it day by day.”

Since the season has ended at Penn State, Wood has been at home training. It’s been a nice way to spend time in anticipation of draft day.

“They moved the draft back (from June) to July, so that’s afforded me some time to be at home with my family,” Wood said. “I’ve been working out where I grew up training and lifting, so it’s been pretty cool.”

Wood’s breakout 2022 season with the Nittany Lions actually began during the summer of 2021. Wood pinpointed to a stretch where he struggled with the Newport Gulls of the New England Summer Collegiate League and how he was able to break out of the slump as a major moment in his baseball career.

“Last summer I had a really horrible stretch for about a month where I felt like I couldn’t hit anything or see anything,” Wood said. “It was bad, but then I adjusted and ended that summer with great success. In the fall I spoke with my hitting coaches at Penn State — Coach Sean (Moore) and Coach (Dallas) Burke — about what it felt like for me to make that adjustment so I was able to get back in a hot stretch. I visualized that this year and watched video of moments where I had success and what that felt like, so I could see it and try to replicate it when I was at practice or in games.”

The adjustment wasn’t mechanical. It was getting to a point where he believed he was going to be successful and the results came.

“The only thing that really changed for me was my mindset, which was believing that I was going to hit the ball hard every time I go up to the plate, but also not forcing things at the same time,” Wood said. “I was really relaxed and I felt like I was on a different level. But at the same time it became the norm for me. I was ready to hit and do something good for my team.”

One of Wood’s missions at Penn State was to help leave the program in a better place than when he got there. If it was his final time with the Nittany Lions he feels that’s been accomplished.

Now it’s a waiting game, but in the meantime, Wood will be in the batting cage, getting swings and working to get better.

“I contribute a lot of my hard work to being a kid and seeing how cool those guys were that played in the MLB,” Wood said. “To be in that position now and know that there’s probably some kids that look up to me at Penn State or in my local community at Pine-Richland is special. It makes me want to work harder, because you can have a big impact on people’s lives, because I know they had a big impact on mine. That’s always in the back of my head for sure, and it makes me really grateful.”