Wayzata pitcher Nick Argento goes from zero offers to UNC commit in less than a year
PLYMOUTH, Minn. (BVM) — It was October of 2019 and most of the Minnesota leaves had turned from their summer green to their fall red, orange, yellow and brown. Not only was that a change in the season, but also in sports seasons, signaling the end of a baseball season and the beginning of football or soccer for many.
For Nick Argento, a 2021 graduate of Wayzata High School, that meant something different. It was time to grind at the sport he loves the most: baseball.
He had just completed his sophomore year, splitting time as a pitcher on the sophomore team and the junior varsity team. There were high hopes that with some strides made in the offseason, that he would be good enough to make the Trojans’ varsity baseball team the next season. In doing so, Argento held his first showcase of his career, a talent display similar to those of college athlete Pro Days. That was when things started to speed up, quite literally.
In the weeks leading up, his fastball sat around 82-84 miles per hour and Argento had zero college offers. His velocity started to creep up, though, as the showcase approached, sitting around 85-88 miles per hour. The night before, Argento joked around with his friends, dreaming of the idea of possibly getting over the 90-mph hurdle.
Then, the showcase happened. Scouts and coaches all gathered to see what Argento was all about. They had their radar guns pointed toward Argento, but he had no real idea how he was performing. It was not until afterwards when he checked Twitter and saw that he had topped off at 90 mph.
“I was like ‘Oh my goodness. No way. That’s sweet,’” Argento said. “If I am being honest, I was a little surprised at that point just because it was something new and up to that point, I had never really been on a radar gun and gone to all these showcases.”
That night, he received his first phone call from a Division I program and his college recruitment took off. All of a sudden, the spring 2020 season was looking like an uber-important one.
But then COVID-19 plagued the world and the high school baseball season was canceled before it even started. Argento was forced to adjust not only as a baseball player, but as a college recruit.
With no baseball, he focused on what he could control, such as his body. Going into his junior year, Argento weighed around 175 pounds. One year later, he weighed in at 215 pounds with a focus on different strength training programs as well as his diet.
Once it was allowed in Minnesota due to previous COVID restrictions, Argento joined Starters Sports Training, a club program which Argento gives credit to for helping him during the recruiting process.
“They were pitching coaches at my club, but also they were more than that,” Argento said. “They were people that I could bounce ideas off of, get their suggestions. They saw me put in the work every day to try and get better and they had a lot of insight into college baseball.”
“They really helped and inspired me to really focus in on baseball and focus in on the little things because you can get caught up on trying to change these huge things, but at the end of the day the things that make you great are the little things in your mindset.”
Argento held offers from multiple Division I programs and narrowed it down to three schools: North Carolina, Notre Dame and Stanford. He was unable to visit any coaches in person due to the NCAA recruiting dead period, but ultimately, decided in July to attend the University of North Carolina, just 9 months after his first offer.
“The coaching staff here is awesome,” Argento said. “They aren’t just amazing coaches but amazing people and I really truly feel like I am a part of their family, which is something that I was really looking for. And also the combination of such an elite level of baseball but also being able to get such a great degree that after baseball I will be able to use, it was just the perfect fit.”
By committing during the summer going into his senior season, it allowed Argento to focus even more on improving his game, even with the uncertainty of whether or not a season would happen. Luckily, Argento and the Trojans were able to have a 2021 season and they did not waste that opportunity.
Wayzata started out hot by winning its first eight games of the regular season, but then stumbled in the second half finishing the regular season 5-7 in its last 12 games. However, with a 13-7 record, the Trojans earned the first seed in the section 6AAAA tournament. Wayzata’s season came to an early end with a loss to the No. 3 seed Maple Grove in the elimination bracket semifinals.
Argento was a large contributor to the team’s success throughout the spring, recording a 1.66 ERA in 25.1 innings. He also was impactful as a batter with a 1.084 OPS and a team-leading three home runs. Despite the way the season ended, Argento said he was happy to have the opportunity to go out and play one last season, especially since one year was taken away from the team.
“I’ve met some of my best friends from baseball and getting that opportunity to compete together one last time and be one collective group, it was really nice,” Argento said. “And when we lost, let’s just be honest, we were all pretty emotional, but it was a good way to go out. Obviously we would have wanted to end on the top. But looking back on things, obviously I am not happy with the way things ended, but everything happens for a reason, so I just got to look at the positive and keep moving forward.”
Already moving forward and living in Chapel Hill, Argento has been meeting with trainers and coaches for the first time in-person as well as attending summer classes towards a degree in business administration with a potential focus on international business or finance. Playing professional baseball is his dream, but if that does not work, Argento said he would like to still be involved in sports, whether it is coaching or starting a business related to sports.
But, he still has time. After all, he is just a freshman. At this time, he has made his goals clear: doing what he can to bring a national championship to North Carolina and earning a degree from a high-level institution.
