DALTON — For James Rabuse, the external pressure is now off. All the rising junior at Wahconah has to do now is concentrate on playing baseball.
"It feels great," to be committed, said Rabuse, who announced he was verbally committing to play Division I baseball at Northeastern.
"When I first started talking to colleges and stuff, every game felt like I've got to do all this" on the mound, he said. "Now, I can really relax and have fun playing baseball."
Rabuse, who was 7-3 last year and struck out 84 hitters in 42 1/3 innings, will be playing for Mike Glavine at the Boston school.
Wahconah coach Steve Messina said he is also thrilled for his ace.
"He's worked really hard, really, his whole life playing baseball. He didn't just start to do this," Messina said. "He really loves baseball. He likes to learn and he's coachable. This is really good for him. It's just what he wants to do.
"He has an opportunity and he's going to try to make the most of it, and we're going to try and help him."
James Rabuse, pitches for Wahconah in a win against Monument Mountain in the 2024 season.
In an interview with The Eagle before practice earlier this week, the right-handed pitcher said that he had heard from schools like Notre Dame and Boston College. But for him, Northeastern was the perfect place.
"[Associate head coach Kevin] Cobb is really good, a really good pitching coach," Rabuse said. "He's coached a ton of guys and he's shown a lot of success and he's been there a while. It's a solidified staff that's experienced and they win ballgames.
"You want to win. Winning's fun."
Cobb works under Mike Glavine at Northeastern. Glavine has worked there for 19 years and is in his 11th season at the helm on Huntington Avenue. Glavine is the younger brother of Baseball Hall of Famer Tom Glavine.
Going into this season Mike Glavine has a 308-211-1 record, has taken Northeastern to three NCAA Division I tournaments, the most recent one coming in 2023 when the Huskies were 44-16 and earned an at-large bid to the dance. Last year, Northeastern was 38-17. This year the Huskies are currently 12-7, a record that includes sweeping a four-game series at San Diego State.
"Rip City, all travel ball season, they really helped me out. I got a lot of connections, went to a couple of camps," Rabuse said. "[Northeastern] saw me at a couple of camps, I did well there. They kept in touch.
"They went to a couple of fall ball games, they liked what they saw."
As to why Northeastern, the Wahconah two-way player described it as a somewhat perfect combination of athletics, academics and location.
Wahconah’s James Rabuse slides into home to score a run during a baseball game against Hopkins Academy at Wahconah Regional High School in Dalton on Wednesday, May 1, 2024.
"On my radar, I always thought Northeastern was a great spot, academically and as a baseball school," he said. "I was first on their radar at a camp around January, last year, before my sophomore season."
The Warriors begin play on March 31, at Suburban East rival Southwick. The home opener will be on April 10, against Amherst, also a league rival. Wahconah swept Amherst last year by a combined score of 18-2.
"We'll see how it turns out. Hopefully it turns out well," Messina said. "It's close to home. His parents can go watch him play. There's some familiarity there. He likes the staff. He likes the area.
"He's excited about it."
