A pair of local products who started their baseball careers at Youngstown State will be joining Jeff Duncan and the Kent State Golden Flashes for the 2025 season and beyond.
Alejandro Covas, a 6-2, 190 pound outfielder played his high school baseball at tradition rich Walsh Jesuit. Covas was then named Horizon League Freshmen of the Year after a stellar 2024 season at Youngstown State. The Peninsula, Ohio native, Covas hit .329 with a .545 slugging percentage, 73 hits, seven doubles, 10 triples, seven home runs and 41 RBI, good for second team All-Horizon.
At Walsh Jesuit Covas helped lead the team to the Division I State Semifinals in 2021 and a regional final appearance in 2022.
“Overall, Kent State was the best fit for me all around and I’m very excited to be a Golden Flash,” Covas texted on Monday. “Various things played a big role into why I chose Kent State. First of all, the coaching staff showed a lot of interest as soon as I entered into the transfer portal. They were all very welcoming to me and and showed that they wanted me to be a part of the team from the first call I had with them. They also laid out how they expect me to be an immediate impact player.”
Kent State hopes Covas can help them get back to the NCAA Tournament in 2025, and win a championship in Avon next May. “I want to be apart of a winning culture and along with the coaches having professional experience under their belts.”
Covas’ former head coach at Youngstown State is also coming over to Portage County. Dan Bertolini, head coach at YSU from 2017-2024 is reportedly set to join the Kent State coaching staff as an assistant.
“My former head coach is a great addition to the Kent State coaching staff. Coach Bertolini gave me an opportunity out of high school to play at the next level and to be where I am today. He is a very good motivator and can provide a lot of new knowledge to all the players and coaches at Kent. He is a very good person that puts all of his effort and passion into the game of baseball,” Covas said.
Covas and Bertolni aren’t the only former Penguins joining the KSU program, as it was announced Monday that Matt Thompson would be trading in the red and black for the blue and gold.
Thompson, like Covas, is also a former Horizon League Freshmen of the year, winning the award in 2023. Thompson is a 6-2, 200 pound infielder and a former Wadsworth Grizzly.
Thompson made 58 starts between second and third base, and batted .286 with four home runs and 26 RBI. As a freshmen in 2023, Thompson batted .316 with three home runs and 28 RBI.
Covas knows Thompson well and looks forward to teaming up with him once again at Schoonover Stadium.
“Matt Thompson is a very hard worker and knows a lot about the game. I have worked with him and trained with him in the past and have learned how he deals with all of the adversity that comes along with the game of baseball. Having him as my teammate will be a positive impact for me because I know his style of play and how he thinks. Having someone to talk to as well will be very important. He is a very good person and a friend of mine together and we will do great things.”
The Flashes are hoping a pair of local products who decided to stay home will help them back to their familiar perch a top the Mid-American Conference in 2025, along with their former head coach joining the coaching staff.