Only 12 percent of high school baseball players get to play collegiate baseball at any level. To get recruited to a college roster, student-athletes must maintain good grades, develop their baseball skills and physicality, all while balancing everyday teenage life.
They must also find a college coach and school willing to work with them and allow them to earn an education and play at the next level.
Tyrone senior Landon Hamer has exceeded all these expectations and with his family and coaches at his side, he signed a letter of intent to play baseball for Slippery Rock University on Monday morning at TAHS.
Hamer plans to major in exercise science at SRU.
Slippery Rock has a storied baseball program. They play in the PSAC, one of the most competitive conferences in the state and the nation for Division II baseball.
Last season, SRU finished with a winning 28-18 record. Over the years, SRU has produced 25 All-American players and 22 MLB draft picks. Hamer is stepping into a program that produces high-level athletes who have made it to the professional ranks of baseball.
Hamer is a four-year starter for Tyrone and has posted impressive numbers at the plate and behind it for the Golden Eagles.
In the box, he slashed .377/.433/.462 (AVG/OBP/SLG) last season. He’s also developed a reputation for having elite power and good bat-to-ball skills in the Laurel Highlands Conference.
As a catcher, Hamer controls the diamond with his defense, helping pitchers sequence through at-bats and picking apart hitters’ tendencies.
Varsity shortstop and fellow senior Ashton Walk praised Hamer’s strong command of the defense.
“He’s a very good catcher and leader… I know he’s going to do big things at the next level,” Walk said.
Until 2023, Hamer played and trained with coach Dave Brisbin and the Altoona Curve Juniors travel team during the summer and fall.
Following the 2023 season, Hamer made the Allegheny Pirates travel team and Flood City 17U, and got to travel and play across the country with the two teams, traveling to Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, West Virginia, Seton Hill, and Kent State.
Hamer even had the opportunity to play at PNC Park, the major league stadium of the Pittsburgh Pirates. One of Hamer’s career highlights was hitting a walk off single at PNC Park (see video below).
“It was an exciting journey getting to go to all these places, and the atmosphere was electric,” Hamer said, “I’m super grateful to be able to play with all of my travel teams, and I believe it had major significance in my success in high school.”
Hamer has left a positive impact on his teammates and coaches on both his high school and travel ball teams.
“[Landon] had to make some tough decisions and sacrifices in order to achieve his dreams, Coach Brisbin said. “His work ethic at developing his baseball skills, as well as developing his body to be the best he could be was extremely a pleasure for me to watch and be a part of.”
Hamer is the son of Luke and Leah Hamer, to whom Hamer expressed much gratitude for his success in baseball and beyond.
“My parents have done an amazing job raising me as a person, let alone a baseball player,” Hamer said. “They have given me endless amounts of opportunities to succeed.”
Hamer’s father had the special experience of coaching his son and his friends through Little League, junior high, and some of his high school teams. He offers a unique and special relationship and perspective of his son’s career.
“From a dad’s point of view, I couldn’t be more proud of Landon. Ever since he learned to love the game of baseball he has set goals for himself every season. He created a mental checklist of things he needed to do to improve. All achieved by his constant drive to get better. This is proof nothing comes easy,” Luke Hamer said.
Luke also assisted in his son’s development from a young age.
“From a coach’s point of view, it is the ultimate honor to have someone you have helped coach for so long reach their goals. You watch the work being put in. You watch the growth and maturity happen. He’s a humble kid, not flashy… never needs to be in the spotlight. He does the talking with his bat and his arm. [He’s] the kind of player you want on your team because you know he’s going to give you all he’s got 100 percent of the time.”
Landon’s mother, Leah, also sees his growth and maturity throughout his career, even in something as simple as the respect he was taught to show the umpire.
“My favorite part of every game is watching him hustle to home plate and introduce himself and shake the hand of the umpire at home. I’ve watched him go from a little boy whose hand was engulfed by the umpire to a young man who typically towers over the umpire now, but the amount of respect never changed,” Leah Hamer said.
“We’re excited to see his next steps doing what he loves,” Leah added.
