Under non-coronavirus conditions, getting a Division-I baseball scholarship is plenty difficult. How about now?

Baseball players in New York state haven't played an inning of high school ball since 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. College recruiting has slowed to a crawl, making it all the more amazing that Jackson Strong accepted a scholarship from Canisius last week.

"It was like 'commit now or who knows when you’re going to play college ball,'" said the West Seneca East senior. "That was really scary for me, honestly."

Strong first landed on the Griffs' radar last summer, when Canisius hosted a showcase for potential recruits.   

"They showed really high interest early. That meant a lot," saidStrong. "They agreed that my personality and my playing time matched their program. I felt the same way."

Strong liked a lot of things about the Canisius program; solid facilities, friendly coaches, and a quick commute home if he wanted to visit, but the biggest factor for his commitment was uncertainty about the future.

"Amidst all this going, I have somewhere to go. It's not like I'm all these other players waiting and seeing what schools are going to recruit me," he said. "I just didn’t want to be in that boat."

Strong says he knows of Division-I caliber players taking D-III and junior-college offers because of all the uncertainty surrounding college recruitment. As for Strong, he can enjoy his senior year knowing what comes next.