The Ithaca College baseball team came into the season with a heavy influx of first-year players who have been put in key roles. Out of all those newcomers, dual-sport phenom Anthony Mestre has heard his name on the national stage the most. 

Mestre came to IC from North Broward Prep in South Florida, where he had only played baseball since he turned 11. Despite this, Mestre gave into his interest and began also playing football late into his high school career. 

“When I got to high school, the high school atmosphere of football made me itch to want to play it, so I started my junior year,” Mestre said. 

Mestre racked up over 411 return yards for the Bomber’s football team during the fall and has been a reliable mainstay in the outfield for the baseball team, hitting five home runs and batting in 31 runs as of April 28. Mestre also became just the second Bomber to take home the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Rookie of the Week award, taking home the honor in just his first week of collegiate play. 

Mestre had already created quite the buzz around his name when the Bombers swooped in to recruit him to South Hill. Mestre already had connections to baseball coach David Valesente through his travel baseball coach, and had made initial contact with the college through football chats with former head football coach Michael Toerper. Mestre said he had received offers from Division I schools, but coaching changes and a lack of dual-sport acceptance made him pivot. 

“I had offers from the University of Massachusetts, Bethune–Cookman, Akron, USF, and their coaches had changed so those offers were not on the table anymore,” Mestre said. “I met Coach Toerper and I wasn’t ready to choose a sport. I’m still not ready to this day. … [Ithaca] made it easier for me to play both sports.”

Mestre said he does not yet have a favorite of the two, but said the transition from football to baseball was more difficult than baseball to football. 

“Football is so demanding on my schedule … baseball is more on your own,” Mestre said. “It’s about time management and working on mechanics. My teammates and coaches made [the transition] an easy process for me.”

The baseball and football dual-sport combination has not been something uncommon to South Hill in the past. The 1980s saw multiple baseball and football dual athletes, with John Nicolo ’80 leading the baseball and football teams to separate national titles as a star running back and shortstop. Valesente said he wanted to bring that connection between the teams back. 

Fellow first-year outfielder Isaiah Smith said that when Mestre first came over from football, his athletic traits were extremely evident. 

“We didn’t see him in the fall because he had football,” Smith said. “I’m sure he was pretty nervous because I mean as a freshman coming in, there’s 45 guys who all know each other. On the first day you could tell he was really athletic. He’s one of the fastest kids on the team and has a lot of raw power. … His raw athleticism was pretty impressive.” 

Smith described Mestre as a humble worker who was at first quietly adapting to the team. Smith said the young guys often talk about the differences in their high school sports experiences and said Mestre really started to open up during the team’s spring break trip to Myrtle Beach, SC. 

“It’s fun on the bus to talk about the different cultures and the different things compared to here versus Southern Florida,” Smith said. “High school baseball is completely different. [Mestre] was facing 95 sometimes, the fastest I ever saw was 90. It was cool going to South Carolina. He would show us things that were more of a southern vibe.” 

The coaching staffs of both the football and baseball teams have gotten behind Mestre to support his split between both sports. During this spring, while Mestre has been fully focused on baseball, it has not been uncommon for him to show up to watch spring football practices when baseball obligations are not at hand. 

Head football coach Brandon Maguire said the running back and return specialist is a special athlete who will not back down from a challenge on the diamond or the field. 

“The [football staff watches] the [baseball] games all the time,” Maguire said. “You see the heater he was on, then he went on the spring break trip and had a little slump there, then turns around and goes four for four the next day. That’s the type of person he is. He’s competitive and he’s not going to let anything keep him down.” 

Even with the obligations of baseball, Maguire said Mestre was still working with his football teammates just after a big performance on the diamond.

“One of the quarterbacks told me, ‘we got the guys out, were throwing and Mestre was out there,’” Maguire said. “I said ‘make sure he’s not running routes because he’s doing really well for baseball right now.’ … But just the fact that he comes off that weekend and is still out spending time with the guys is cool.”

Mestre said the fact that he is playing two sports makes him want to grind harder in each to make sure he is the best he can be at the end of the day. 

“It [makes me want to] plan more work on and off the field,” Mestre said. “When I’m on the football field my baseball teammates are getting better … and vice versa with football. It makes me go harder in practice and in the weight room and get as much of an advantage as I can.”