Ian Seymour’s road to becoming New England’s top 2020 MLB Draft prospect passed through the offices of a clinical health psychologist and former Buddhist monk.
Seymour (Westborough, Mass.) was coming off an impressive – albeit somewhat inconsistent – 2018 season as a freshman starter on the Virginia Tech pitching staff. His college coaches encouraged him to take the summer off to rest his arm, so he reached out to Newton, Mass.-based psychologist William Jackson on the recommendation of his mother.
“He taught me to meditate and write down my process throughout the week, before each pitch, and all of those moments,” Seymour said. “It was a huge thing in terms of my success and being prepared.”
Seymour returned to Virginia Tech for his sophomore season and promptly secured the role of Friday starter heading into the spring. He was more consistent on the season, posting a 3.97 ERA over a team-leading 70.1 innings with 81 strikeouts.
