WAYNESBURG, Pa. (May 21) – Following a record-breaking four-year stint with the Waynesburg University baseball team, 2020 graduate Mason Miller (Bethel Park, Pa. / Bethel Park) will continue his baseball and academic careers at Division I Gardner-Webb University. Miller will be exercising his fifth-year of eligibility, which has been granted to all NCAA spring sport athletes due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic after the cancelation of the 2020 season, to pursue a Master of Business Administration degree.
 
For Miller, this opportunity is sort of a "dream come true," just a few years later than initially anticipated.
 
"I had dreams to compete at the highest collegiate level during high school, but quickly realized my talents then lined up better with D3," Miller said. "I did not even have an idea that there was still a possibility until the virus cancelled our season and we were awarded another year of eligibility. It all happened very fast and once I entered the portal, it took an extremely short period of time before I realized how realistic it was to have an opportunity the D1 level."
 
Head baseball coach Mike Humiston has seen Mason develop immensely from when he first stepped on campus in the fall of 2016, eventually becoming one of the most successful pitchers in the Presidents' Athletic Conference.
 
"Mason has come a long way from his freshman year as a baseball player," Humiston said. "His work effort and determination to be the best he could possibly be was the primary reason for becoming a dominant player in our conference and the opportunity to play at the D1 level."
 
In 2019, Miller broke onto the scene by starting 11 games on the mound and finishing with an 8-2 record, a 1.86 ERA and a Waynesburg single-season record 97 strikeouts in 67.2 innings. He led the PAC in ERA, strikeouts, strikeouts looking (25), opponent batting average (.173), complete games (six) and shutouts (four). He was twice named PAC Pitcher of the Week, lauded as a first-team All-PAC performer and gathered All-Region awards from both D3baseball.com and the American Baseball Coaches Association.
 
His 2020 season was off to a similar start before it was cut short. In two outings, Miller went 2-0 over two complete games (14 innings) with a 2.57 ERA, 24 strikeouts and a .160 opponent batting average. He was named Pitcher of the Week by the PAC during the first week of the season.
 
Miller graduated from Waynesburg earlier this May with a degree in finance. He was recently honored by the Collegiate Sports Information Directors of America as an Academic All-District selection after finishing with a 3.91 cumulative GPA. He is also a three-time member of the PAC Spring Academic Honor Roll, which a chance for a fourth appointment later this year. As he moves to Gardner-Webb to pursue a master's degree, he said he should be able to finish the program by May, 2021.
 
Once he was officially released to be recruited by other schools, Miller had a few options that were interested in bringing him to their program, such as Coastal Carolina and Arkansas. However, in the end, Gardner-Webb presented an offer he couldn't refuse.
 
"I was released to be contacted by other schools on a Thursday. Gardner-Webb made contact with me the next morning and made their full offer by that afternoon," Miller said. "Given that I had only been in the transfer portal for a day, I wanted to see what other offers might arise. I took two weeks and received other offers [from Coastal Carolina and Arkansas] and then I made my decision to go with Gardner-Webb."
 
Gardner-Webb competes in the Big South Conference and finished with an 8-8 record this season, which was the fourth-best mark in the conference. The Runnin' Bulldogs have finished among the top five in the top 10-team conference in four of the past five seasons.
 
As for the future, Miller is confident he will have opportunities in the business field should he choose to go that route. He also knows there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Major League Baseball draft due to the COVID-19 outbreak. This led him to his final decision to lean on a sense of security at Gardner-Webb as he looks to further his baseball career.
 
"Should some clarity arise surrounding professional baseball, maybe I'll end up going that route — but at this time I will continue my education and baseball career at Gardner-Webb," Miller said. "I hope to make this jump and continue to pursue baseball as a career."