Eastern York's Brandon Knarr commits to Notre Dame

When you have a season like the one Eastern York's Brandon Knarr had last spring, it's going to draw some attention. Make that plenty of attention.

But there's another side to Knarr, one that doesn't make the highlight reels. That's the side that led to the powerful left-hander giving his verbal commitment to attend and play at the University of Notre Dame.

"A lot of it was the academic side of things," the junior said. "I love the way they have everything set up academically. That was one of the biggest draws for me. I will probably major in business. I really like the Mendoza (College) of Business there."

After two visits, and several conversations with Fighting Irish pitching coach Chuck Ristano, Knarr fell in love with the program and the campus.

"I was shocked. The place is absolutely beautiful, the campus, the buildings and to match that with the history there," he said. "I love the coaching staff there, the pitching coach is from Long Island. After the first phone call there was something special. I just loved what he had to say."

Getting a solid financial package was a key as well. "That school is not cheap," Knarr said.

Although Notre Dame is big, Knarr said he likes the "smaller school feeling" of the campus. He also looks forward to competing in the ACC, which the Irish are a part of in baseball. He is looking forward to traveling and playing schools in the south.

Always a hard thrower, Knarr developed outstanding off-speed pitches as well, which made the GameTimePA.com all-star even more dominant last spring.

"They clocked him at 87 (miles per hour) during the seventh inning of the county (playoffs)," Eastern baseball coach Blaine Garner said. "He works his curveball pretty well, and his change-up. You can see he is always tinkering."

"They like my fastball velocity. Another thing they liked was my curveball. The (Notre Dame) coaching staff told me they were short on lefties," Knarr said. "The fastball is going to be the pitch I am most steady with. As the season went on I got a feel for the off-speed, and my curveball was there towards the end of the season."

He is the second Golden Knight lefty to head to Division I in recent years. Fellow southpaw Terry Godfrey, a 2014 Eastern grad, is entering his sophomore year at Delaware State.

Knarr is coming off a sophomore season in which he had 16 or more strikeouts in four of his starts, with a no-hitter and two one-hitters. He fanned 18 Delone Catholic batters during the YAIAA tournament semifinals.

Garner said Notre Dame also likes the intangibles that Knarr will bring.

"They see a player that gives everything they've got. He comes to battle each and every pitch," Garner said. "You don't have to ask if that was his best effort. You know it when you are around the kid long enough."

Knarr, who transferred into the Eastern district after a freshman year at Penn Manor, has traveled the U.S. with his summer team during the past few months. It was during those showcase tournaments that he and several teammates got noticed, which led to a few receiving Division I scholarships.

"We have another kid on my summer team that is going to Notre Dame. Our third baseman is going to Virginia, and our catcher is going to Maryland," he said. "That's our goal of the team and coaches. We want to get everyone a scholarship and send them off."