Oakley: Fireballing pitcher with basketball build

Chris Oakley is all arms, legs, and potential.

The St. Augustine Prep junior has pitched four varsity innings in his career but already has committed to the University of North Carolina on a baseball scholarship.

"They see that frame and see how he throws and they think about where he's going to be in two years," St. Augustine coach Mike Bylone said of the interest by some of the top college programs on the East Coast in a pitcher who has yet to make an impact at the varsity level.

Oakley is 6-foot-7 and 230 pounds. He played for an AAU team based in Boca Raton, Fla., last summer, the South Florida Bandits, and caught the attention of college recruiters with a fastball that hit 93 m.p.h. on the radar gun.

"I think it just was a matter of coming into my body," Oakley said of the increase in velocity in his fastball from the mid-80s to the low 90s. "I got stronger, I worked on my mechanics, and I just felt more comfortable."

Bylone said that Oakley drew recruiting interest from high-powered programs such as Florida, South Carolina, Central Florida, and Maryland, among others.

Oakley said he knew when he visited North Carolina earlier this year that he wanted to play for the Tar Heels.

"It was love at first sight," Oakley said. "It was everything I wanted as far as the baseball, the academic support, the family atmosphere. It reminded me of my high school."

St. Augustine went 27-4 and won the Non-Public A state title last season with a senior-dominated team that featured veteran pitchers such as Matt Rakus, Cory Dick, and Ed Charlton.

As a result, Oakley pitched at the junior-varsity level. His only varsity outing was a start and four innings of work against Atlantic City.

This season, Bylone thinks Oakley could emerge as one of the top pitchers in South Jersey.

"He has to earn his stripes, but we're expecting big things," Bylone said. "He's throwing really well. He throws a heavy ball.

"I told him, 'I'm not going to take out the radar gun. Don't worry about throwing 90 [m.p.h.]. Just throw strikes.' "

Oakley will be part of a deep, hard-throwing but relatively inexperienced St. Augustine pitching staff this season.

The Hermits have a veteran in senior Kevin Baxter, who went 3-2 last season, but a lot of innings will fall to Oakley and sophomores Joe Gatto and Zach Warren.

The young pitchers look like a basketball front line, with Oakley at 6-7 and Gatto and Warren at 6-4.

Of Oakley, Bylone said, "It's his time to shine."