Ahearn To Transfer To IMG

Dwyer High (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) righthander Tyler Ahearn will transfer to IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) for his senior year.

Ahearn, a Florida State recruit, hopes that the strength and conditioning program, as well as the structured throwing program and routine that IMG has to offer, will help him improve his game and prepare him for the next stage of his career, be that pro baseball or the Seminoles.

“I’m going to get into a routine, get on a throwing program with good exercises,” Ahearn said. “I’ll work hard and eat the right food every single day and get ready for the next level of baseball.”

Ahearn said that he visited IMG a few weeks ago, and decided recently to make the change.

“Maybe a year or two ago, when I first played a tournament there, I was blown away by the facility and I thought, ‘How cool would it be to go to a school like that?’ and have access to all the training and nutrition.”

“Classic projection righty,” one scout said of Ahearn in a text to Baseball America on Wednesday evening. Ahearn has shown flashes this summer with three pitches. Baseball America has had eyes on him at the Perfect Game National Showcase, Tournament of Stars and the Metropolitan Baseball Classic, and as an underclassmen at the Perfect Game Junior National Showcase.

Ahearn’s fastball routinely works at 87-89 mph, and can reach into the low 90s when he is well-rested. He has shown feel for his changeup and his curveball shows top-to-bottom shape, though the development of its consistency and tightness will dictate the pitch’s effectiveness. Ahearn has a projectable frame, with room to add muscle as he matures physically.

“I like to attack the inside part of the zone with the fastball,” Ahearn said. “With the changeup, I developed that pitch years ago and that’s kind of my go-to pitch. A year or two ago I started to develop a feel for my curveball.”

IMG’s facilities have drawn in athletes from around the nation. Baseball alumni include Padres lefthander Logan Allen, as well as Indians lefthander Brady Aiken and Padres rghthander Jacob Nix, who played for the school’s postgraduate team in 2015.