Cape Henry Collegiate baseball standout Noah Hummel commits to the United States Naval Academy
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Cape Henry Collegiate’s (CHC) Noah Hummel has officially committed to the United States Naval Academy to play Division I baseball. The junior pitcher announced his commitment this past August.
The Naval Academy Midshipmen baseball team are members of the Patriot League where their conference competitors include the Army West Point Black Knights and the Bucknell Bisons. Among their opponents, the Midshipmen are ranked first for the strength of their fielding, second for their batting, and third for their pitching. With a boasting seven league championship wins, the Midshipmen will look to continue to strengthen their program and work towards an additional conference championship win in their upcoming season.
Hummel has lived in Virginia Beach his entire life, attending CHC since elementary school. While playing travel ball with the Tidewater Thunderbirds, he joined his school’s varsity baseball team as a freshman. The following year, in 2023, the Dolphins became two-time consecutive VISAA (Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association) Division I state champions with a 6-2 win over Benedictine; Hummel considers this moment the highlight of his CHC baseball career thus far. In addition to his team accolades, Hummel was individually awarded a 2024 2nd Team All-TCIS (Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools) honor. Within his remaining two baseball seasons as a dolphin, he hopes “to win another state championship.”
Having played the sport for 12 years, Hummel states that his love for baseball comes from “the mental side of competing versus [an] opponent and adjusting on how to exploit your opponent’s weaknesses” during a game. He accounts, however, for the double-sided nature of the mental factor of the game, as he considers the navigation of such mental issues to be the biggest challenge within his sport. In addition, Hummel states that his desire to be a perfectionist within his pitching led to his most significant learning curve within the game – that consistency is a stronger force than perfection. After learning to prioritize “throwing consistent strikes in order to put the pressure on the offense,” he feels that his skills and mental approach to the game have significantly improved.
When Hummel is not on the baseball field, he enjoys “hanging out with friends and watching professional sports.” A two-sport athlete, Hummel has been an essential member of the CHC varsity men’s soccer team since his sophomore year, where he acts as the team’s starting goalkeeper. He has helped the Dolphins attain an 8-0-1 record thus far in their 2024 season, including four shutouts against their opponents. Being a leader on both the pitch and the mound, Hummel has continuously challenged his athletic and leadership abilities.
In addition to his excitement towards playing collegiate baseball, Hummel mentioned his passion and enthusiasm for his future home, noting his confidence that the Academy will “set [him] up for the rest of [his] life.” He is also ecstatic at the idea of accomplishing his desire to “serve the United States.”
Regarding his future, Hummel is confident that the lessons that he has learned from both his coaches and teammates at CHC will lead him to success at the Academy. He notes that being a member of a team has encouraged him “to truly appreciate the friendships that you make…and to recognize that while you’re all competing for the same playing time, you can still work together to continually get better while still being encouraging to each other.” Hummel has also honed in on the importance of blocking out all distractions while on the pitching mound – a lesson that he has attributed to his coaches at CHC; he will carry such a lesson throughout his remaining years as a Dolphin and into his following years as a Midshipman.
As for his future collegiate goals, Hummel hopes “to pitch/play [his] freshman through senior years.” For now, however, we look forward to seeing Hummel as a leader on CHC’s baseball field this spring. Best of luck, Noah!
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