Press Staff Writer

Hunter Allen, a 2021 graduate of Woodmore High School, was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the seventh round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft on July 14 – the culmination of a dream for a kid from Woodville.

“The biggest thing was him always wanting to get better and work every single day, day in and day out. That has continued,” said Jacob Huss, who coached Allen at Woodmore. “When he gets a goal in mind, he puts all of his effort into it and tries to accomplish it.”

Allen, who spent the past two seasons at Ashland University, improved his fastball velocity by five miles per hour going into his senior campaign this past spring, sitting at 94-96 and topping out at 100 miles per hour – becoming one of the best prospects in NCAA Division II baseball.

“I know (his arsenal) has changed a lot since high school,” Huss said. “He always threw pretty hard in high school, and he had a nice curveball. He’s expanded on those two pitches for sure. I know he’s gotten into the weight room a lot. There are mechanical things that college coaches have worked on with him to get that extra bit of velocity.”

Allen also sported a low-80s curveball and a mid-80s changeup while at Ashland, where the 6-foot-4, 245-pound righty finished his senior campaign with a 3.96 ERA and 84 strikeouts over 61.1 innings with a 7-1 record.

He gave up just seven earned runs in his first eight starts and even tallied a five-start stretch from March 22 to April 18 where he went 5-0 over 28 innings with a 0.96 ERA. He struck out 46 and walked just 18 over that period, as well.

Huss got a chance to speak with Allen on draft night.

“I went over there and talked with him and hung out a little bit,” Huss said. “He’s super excited. He’s really excited to challenge himself again and give it his best shot and see what happens.

“It couldn’t have happened to a better person. He’s a great kid. He played (a game at) Tiffin University this past year, and he was pitching the second game. I didn’t want to get in his way because he was in his routine. I just wanted to say, hi, but he stopped everything he was doing, came over and gave me a hug.”

Following the season, Allen was named Second-Team All-Midwest Region by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), as well as a First-Team All-Great Midwest Athletic Conference selection.

 “I just remember how he got along with everybody and wanted everybody to succeed,” Huss said. “He’s one person, one piece of that team. He really cared for everyone else.”

Allen started his collegiate career at Owens Community College, where he played for head coach John Parisho.

In his two seasons with the Express in 2022 and 2023, Allen posted a combined 2.39 ERA with 105 strikeouts over 79 innings. In eight appearances as a rookie, he went 4-3 with a 2.93 ERA. He then tallied a 1.85 ERA over nine appearances with a 6-0 record as a sophomore.

“He was a pretty fierce competitor,” Parisho said. “He didn’t like giving away at-bats. If you got a hit off him, he was upset. It would go a long way for him from a competitive standpoint. He’s a big kid, his overall demeanor on the mound was awesome, and still is.

“When he was with us, his fastball had some velocity to it, and there was the changeup and slider. He was still developing some of that stuff. He learned to really control his spots. His arsenal was always good and above average. His changeup was his wipeout pitch. His fastball is his go-to pitch.”

Allen helped lead Owens to a combined 81-18 record in his two seasons there as the Express captured back-to-back Region XII titles and finished as the district runner-up twice. That included a 48-4 campaign his sophomore year.

“Hunter is a great example of what these guys strive for, and how much work they put in,” Parisho said. “You have to put time in the weight room to be able to get to the next step. He worked hard with great guys from the area. Talent only takes you so far. It was amazing to see these guys taking extra ground balls and extra batting practice.

“There’s (only) a two percent chance that you can get to the Major Leagues, but let’s do it, let’s go for it.”

In terms of both round and overall pick, Allen is the third-highest Ashland product chosen all-time in the MLB draft, behind only Ken Kravec (third round, No. 69 overall in 1973) and Randy Fierbaugh (fifth round, No. 105 overall in 1974).

He becomes the ninth Ashland baseball player to be selected in a Major League Baseball draft.

Press news editor, Nicholas Huenefeld, also contributed to this story.