By FRED KRONER
It might be a turnoff for some private pitching coaches to have Mom or Dad – or both – hanging around during a workout.
Mattoon’s Bert Bradley – a former major league pitcher and a long-time MLB scout – didn’t mind a bit.
He welcomed it, in fact.
“I want the parents to hear what I’m saying,” Bradley said. “They have to be his eyes when I’m not around.”
Bradley has instructed different pitchers, but worked with Mahomet’s Finn Randolph last winter on a weekly basis.
“He had a few flaws in his delivery and posture,” Bradley said. “He threw pretty decent, and had a good arm, but was not getting the most out of it.”
By the time Randolph started his junior baseball season at Mahomet-Seymour in March of 2023, Bradley said, “he got to the point where he threw the ball extremely well.”
Randolph, however, was not one of the featured pitchers on an M-S regional championship team last spring that featured a second-round MLB draft pick in Blake Wolters.
“I know he didn’t get the innings last year, but it shows just how deep of a staff that we were,” M-S head coach Nic DiFilippo said. “Last year we had him as a reliever spot and this year we look to him to be one of our top starters and inning-getters.
“Finn will be a workhorse for us this year.”
Randolph doesn’t need to worry about continuing to prove himself. He has already committed to pitching for Wabash College, in Crawfordsville, Ind., in 2025.
That may be just the start of Randolph’s future in the sport.
“I’ve scouted a lot of Wabash guys,” Bradley said. “They have a good program. He’ll get seen by scouts.”
When Randolph picked Wabash College, he made a decision that was satisfactory to both him and his family.
“My parents (Todd and Amy) had told me that I could only play baseball in college at a top academic school or I had to give up baseball,” Finn Randolph said. “I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to do both with Wabash.
“Wabash is one of the top academic schools in the nation.”
Though his career high school statistics – thus far – show 18 strikeouts in 17 innings, a 2-0 won-loss record and an 0.41 earned run average, Finn Randolph has devoted years to his passion sport.
“I have played baseball ever since I can remember, probably age 6,” he said. “Much of that came from my Dad teaching me the game as soon as I could walk.”
When not pitching, he’s usually at home on the diamond at either shortstop or second base.
“The one thing that has always stayed the same for all the years I have played is my love of pitching,” Finn Randolph said. “Pitching was my favorite thing about baseball.”
The challenge of the position is what Randolph embraces the most about being on the mound.
“Pitching is much more than throwing a ball to the catcher,” he said. “I love it because it is a mind and skill game. You are trying to do the opposite of what you think the hitter wants.
“You don’t have to throw the hardest, be the strongest, or have the best curve ball, you just have to be the smartest and hit your spots. You don’t have to strike everyone out.
“All you need to do is get the hitter out. There is no perfect or certain way to do so, and you are often adjusting after every pitch as each pitch matters. That’s why I love pitching the most.”
A multi-sport athlete – Randolph ran cross-county four years and competed at state in junior high – he has always had a difficult time in selecting his favorite sport.
“I have played baseball and basketball my whole life,” he said. “I will admit, during basketball season, it is hard to not favor it over baseball.
“And during baseball season, it is hard to not favor it over basketball. I mostly just love sports and being competitive.”
At the end of the day, it’s baseball that has his heart. It has been that way for years, in fact.
“I have always wanted to play baseball in college,” Finn Randolph said. “That’s a lot easier to say than to do though. I didn’t really understand and realize the amount of work you must put in to accomplish that goal until my sophomore year of high school.
“While I had played baseball most of my life, I still needed to get a lot better to compete at that level.”
To jump-start his future, he became one of several teen-aged pitchers from Mahomet-Seymour that Bradley has tutored since COVID.
“I give a lot of credit to Mr. Bradley because he was able to teach me mechanics that worked best for me and certain pitches that I could grip differently,” Finn Randolph said. “I would also watch video from games and analyze what was working and what wasn’t.
“That’s when I started to see real results and realized that my dream of playing in college could come true.”
Bradley said the dream is to work with aspiring athletes such as Randolph.
“He was all ears,” Bradley said. “He wanted to learn.”
Bradley said it was obvious that Randolph was putting in work – even last winter during the basketball season – when away from their private sessions.
“I’d give him homework,” Bradley said. “I can tell the next time I see them if they did the work.
“He had a good work ethic and put the drills in to process when home. When he thought about not playing basketball (as a senior), it made me know how serious he was about baseball.”
The traits that Bradley noticed are also ones on DiFilippo’s radar.
“Coaching a kid like Finn is amazing,” DiFilippo said. “Finn is a hard worker, a kid that will always put the team first and do all of the little things.
“You dream of having a team of kids like Finn. The work he puts in during the off-season and how he listens and grows as the season progresses, makes him one of the best around.
“Finn can be a quiet leader, a very important role on the team; a man that will always lead by example. He knows right from wrong, and he holds himself and others accountable for their actions. He also knows that nothing is given and he continues to grind and get better.”
Though Randolph’s varsity innings were limited in the spring of 2023, it wasn’t because DiFilippo had any doubts about the teen-ager.
“Finn is an outstanding young man and we knew he would have a bright future,” DiFilippo said.
The realization that improvement is always possible isn’t a recent thought for Randolph.
“At a young age, I was more skilled than most kids and won various tournaments and awards,” Finn Randolph said, “but I knew that wasn’t going to matter 10 years later if I didn’t keep trying to get better at the highest level.
“That is why I have played very competitive travel baseball in the summer every year. I played travel baseball because it gave me something to feel accomplished about because you were playing the best and always trying to get better.”
He was involved with Scott Day’s Mahomet Diamond Dogs program from age 7 through 12, and then joined Ryan Tabeling’s Illinois Braves program as a 13-year-old and will play for them again next summer.
“Both Coach Day and Coach Tabeling are terrific coaches and mentors to me,” Finn Randolph said. “In addition to my parents, I owe them a lot for my success and understanding of the game of baseball.
“The key to development for me was playing national travel baseball competitively. I have traveled to places all over the country such as Omaha, Atlanta, Sandusky, and Nashville to play in national tournaments against other great teams and players.”
His parents have been all in, as well.
“My parents took off work to attend these tournaments and drove me to all these tournaments,” Finn Randolph said. “They always supported me no matter what and wanted me to be my best.
“They have been a big part of achieving my goal. I truly wouldn’t have the opportunity to play at the next level if it weren’t for them, my teammates and coaches.”
Randolph fielded inquiries from nearly a dozen schools, including Black Hawk College, Lake Land, Lincoln Land, Parkland College and Illinois Wesleyan University, in addition to Wabash.
“After my visit to Wabash, I just had that gut feeling that it was the place for me,” Finn Randolph said. “Their facilities were awesome, the visit was great, and the school also gives me an opportunity to have a good career after college, which was a requirement of my parents as they always told me that academics come first.”
When his recruitment kicked in, it went from negligible to full-bore practically overnight.
“I didn’t receive much attention during the high school season of my junior year since I didn’t end up pitching much, but rather played middle infield,” Randolph said. “However, not pitching much during my junior season pushed me to work harder on pitching for travel baseball in the summer to get noticed.”
He didn’t imagine in advance how successful he would be in that quest.
“During that summer, I had posted my first video ever of me pitching one night on X (Twitter) and the very next morning I saw that I received roughly 10 messages from college coaches reaching out to see if I was interested in their baseball program or coming for a visit,” Finn Randolph said. “All of the contact and attention started to come at once, so we had to manage it all very quickly to better understand the opportunities and how they fit with my future goals.
“It was a lot at first, but it was also fun to have a few options and learn more about other schools.”
Wabash College was one of the first schools to take notice, but the coaching staff didn’t just rely on what the video post showed.
“Wabash Head Baseball Coach Jake Martin also came to some of my games this summer,” Randolph said.
For one of the games, Martin was in the opposing dugout.
“I ended up pitching against the national travel team he coaches, so he was able to see me live during an entire game,” Randolph said. “I got the win that game.”
Randolph was offered the opportunity to play baseball at Wabash College after taking an official visit there at the end of July, 2023.
“Coach Martin also played baseball for Wabash College and I got the sense that he took great pride in the program he was building,” Finn Randolph said.
Martin is entering his eighth year at Division III Wabash and has a 143-106 career record with the Little Giants following a 24-18 season last spring.
Since his initial visit to Wabash, Randolph and his family have returned on two other occasions. Each time served to reinforce his choice.
“The visits confirmed that I am very happy with my final decision to play baseball and continue my academic career at Wabash College,” he added. “I believe Wabash College is the perfect place for me. All of the students are like-minded in the fact that they want to succeed academically and later on in their careers.
“I’ve met some of the players on the team already and they have been welcoming to me.”
Randolph doesn’t have illusions of being the ace pitcher immediately after he enrolls at Wabash as a freshman.
“Once I reach college, I don’t intend to slow down on the field or in the classroom,” he said. “I want to improve in both.
“I honestly don’t know if I will contribute to the team right away as a freshman, but I do know I will be ready to do whatever Coach Martin asks of me and put in the work required to be elite.
“I will also be a good teammate to others. As it relates to things to improve upon, I’m sure I will be asked to work on many things including physical strength and flexibility, and will be prepared to do whatever the team needs.”
At 6-foot-1, 160 pounds, Finn Randolph will never be confused with an imposing mound figure such as Sean Hjelle, the 6-foot-11 pitcher who appeared in 15 games for the San Francisco Giants last summer and in 23 games during the past two seasons.
However, that’s the main subject of the message that Randolph would like to share with other athletes who hope for a future in a sport such as baseball.
“To all the kids out there who also have the goal of playing in college, don’t let anyone tell you that you aren’t good enough, strong enough, big enough, or fast enough,” Finn Randolph said. “Keep pushing. I was never the biggest or the strongest and was doubted a lot because of my size.
“At the end of the day, it comes down to discipline, mental toughness, and if you’re going to work hard even when nobody is watching.”
The work Randolph has done behind the scenes is why DiFilippo is counting heavily on him as a senior.
“What has impressed us over the years is how confident Finn is on the mound,” DiFilippo said. “His demeanor and makeup will make him very successful as his career progresses.
“His ability to throw strikes and get guys out is a major factor that has impressed us.”
Randolph plans to major in Financial Economics.
“I love numbers and stats as well as analyzing data,” he said. “What I want to do in 10 years is something that involves advanced stats and analyzing numbers, and hopefully in the field of sports.”
Randolph is already showing an analytical nature when discussing the nuances of baseball.
“For most, the appeal to baseball is hitting home runs and throwing no hitters,” Finn Randolph said, “but for me, it’s because baseball is a game of failure. You can fail seven times out of 10 hitting a baseball and make the MLB Hall of Fame.
“I believe that in order to feel accomplished and successful, you must know what failure feels like. I have failed many times in baseball, whether I struck out, made an error at shortstop, or gave up a home run.
“But at the end of the day, it’s how you respond to that failure. When you have a good day on the mound or at the plate, you can look back at those times of failure and realize that not everything can always go your way. However, when things do, you feel accomplished and proud of yourself. The key is to know that consistently striving for excellence produces long-term success over time.”
If there is a drawback to his college choice, it would be that the distance from Mahomet to Crawfordsville, Ind., is about 85 miles.
“There is one thing I’m not looking forward to about Wabash,” Finn Randolph said. “Leaving my mom and dad is going to be tough as I have spent every day for the last 18 years with them.
“However, they prepared me well and I can’t thank them enough for all that they do for me. It will be nice to know they are only 90 minutes away.
“My guess is they will take various trips to Wabash to cheer for me. While I will miss them and my hometown friends, I am excited to create new friendships and start my own life path at Wabash.”
