Faith, perseverance lead WVU's Manoah to Blue Jays

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Alek Manoah’s career as a Mountaineer came full circle Monday evening.

The junior right-handed pitcher became the first West Virginia baseball player to be selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball Draft since 1997, going 11th overall to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Manoah watched the draft with his teammates, coaches and family at West Virginia head coach Randy Mazey’s house, the same place he had visited before he gave the program his commitment.

“Four years ago I took my visit here and I’ve told everybody that that home-cooked meal that they cooked for me here is what got me here,” Manoah said in an interview with WVUSports.com. “I’m extremely thankful he opened his house to everybody and we were able to enjoy a real exciting night with everyone.”

Coincidentally, the only other West Virginia baseball player to be picked in the first round of the MLB Draft also went No. 11 overall. That was right-handed pitcher Chris Cnochs, who was selected by the Oakland Athletics in 1997.

Manoah’s draft selection was the culmination of a dominant junior season by the Miami native, one in which he struck out a program record 144 batters and earned Big 12 Pitcher of the Year honors as well as First Team All-American recognition.

However, at this time a year ago, Manoah’s full potential wasn’t quite put on display consistently and he found himself struggling with his command and control on pitches.

This was after a disappointing season for the Mountaineers in 2018 and in his sophomore season that year, Manoah saw his amount of starts decrease and began making more appearances out of the bullpen.

“Me personally, I was supposed to be one of the weekend guys and couldn't get over that hump and be consistent and that's what we needed,” Manoah said during this past fall. “But I think going to the bullpen helped me really me find myself and who I was and that really helped me have a good summer.”

A summer with the Chatham Anglers in the Cape Cod League would also pay dividends for Manoah as he worked with Tom Holliday, the head coach of the Anglers and father of seven-time MLB All-Star and World Series champion, Matt Holliday.

Tom Holliday had also recruited Manoah when he was a pitching coach at Auburn.

“When I first got there I basically told him I had a hump to get over and he said, 'Well, there's only a hump in your head,’” Manoah said. “That was one of the things that kind of helped me as well, so I had a great time playing for him this summer."

Manoah led the Cape Cod League in strikeouts with 68 and his transformation was evident heading into fall baseball season with the Mountaineers.

Although he didn’t pitch during the team’s fall baseball season, his approach and leadership helped his teammates get on the same page and become more accountable starting with a simple task.

“Something Coach Mazey wants us to do every morning is make our bed and the past few days I would send a picture of my bed made and Mazey goes, ‘Every time you make your bed you're already ahead of your opponent,’ and 15 other guys will follow up with pictures of their made bed and in the past, some guys would take it as a joke, but now people are actually taking accountability and making their bed and doing the right things,” Manoah said last fall.

With more confidence and development on Manoah’s side, Mazey knew he was destined for a big junior season.

“His body looks way better, his approach is way better, he's got a ton of confidence coming off a great summer and I think that'll completely carry over into our season," Mazey said during the fall.

His stellar summer did more than carry over into West Virginia’s season, it helped the set the tone for a historic season of Mountaineer baseball.

And as the season passed and the Mountaineers put themselves in a spot to for a second NCAA Regionals appearance in three years, Manoah continued to climb up the draft boards and rankings.

About two or three weeks prior to being drafted, Manoah met with the Blue Jays front office and left the meeting believing the organization would be the best fit for him.

“I left that meeting, I was feeling extremely good about playing for them,” Manoah said.

Following West Virginia’s run to the NCAA Regional which saw the program host for the first time since 1955 but suffer a heartbreaking loss to Texas A&M to end the season, Manoah would soon discover where his future in baseball lied with.

The four highest possible landing spots for Manoah looked to be No. 8 to the Texas Rangers, No. 9 to the Atlanta Braves, 10th to the San Francisco Giants or 11th to the Blue Jays.

Manoah was told by his agent via text message that the Rangers would pass on him and when it became Atlanta’s turn to draft, the Braves would pass on the right-hander as well.

“The Braves are about to make the same mistake,” Manoah’s agent texted him.

Soon after, Manoah received a call and believed he was about to be picked by the Giants, but it was his agent informing him that he was about to become a Blue Jay.

“I think this was a perfect fit for me,” Manoah said. “They love my size, they love my competitiveness, they love who I am as a man off the field and they’re just extremely excited to get me going.”

Manoah also has ties in the Blue Jays organization with general manager Ross Atkins having been raised in Miami. Manoah also knows some of the organization’s previous draft selections in 2016 second rounder and shortstop Bo Bichette and a fifth round selection from last year’s draft in catcher Christopher Bec. All are Florida natives.

According to Manoah, the plan is for him to eventually became a starter alongside current Blue Jays right-handed starter Marcus Stroman within the next few years.

What started out as a dream to be a MLB catcher and then to a MLB pitcher his senior year of high school, Manoah is now one step closer to accomplishing that feat but knows there’s still a lot of work left to be done.

“That dream hasn’t come true yet,” Manoah said. “My dream is not to get drafted, my dream is to pitch in the big leagues, so this is one goal that I’ve reached and I’m extremely excited to go set more goals and to accomplish those goals.”

He also credits his faith for getting him through both the successes and adversities of his playing career as well as to this point in his life.

“God guided me to West Virginia, God has guided me to prevail through my adversity, he’s guided me to stay consistent through my success and I knew he would work everything out,” Manoah said. “I’m just extremely excited to get to this position and continue my career.”

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