(Left) Henry Kaczmar (6) warms up the arm during Ohio State’s warmups, (right) first-year catcher Mason Eckelman. Credit: Katie Good and by courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
Being “brothers” on the field has a whole different meaning for cousins and teammates Henry Kaczmar and Mason Eckelman, who both gear up in Buckeye jerseys as they proudly represent their home state on the baseball diamond.
Because the two have grown up on the field together, continuing their careers at Ohio State made sense. However, the journey there was something unexpected.
Buckeye fans were almost cut short of seeing sophomore shortstop Kaczmar and freshman catcher Eckelman team up at Ohio State. Before committing to the Buckeyes, both were committed to the Michigan Wolverines.
Following a coaching change in Michigan’s staff, Kaczmar said he cut ties with the Wolverines and was left with a short time to decide where he wanted to play collegiate baseball and further his studies.
“There were four days where it was like alright, I’m leaving for college in two weeks. I don’t even know where I’m going,” Kaczmar said.
Shortly after, head coach Bill Mosiello reached out to Kaczmar and did everything he could to keep the Bath, Ohio, native in state.
“Once I found out about the Michigan situation, we were all hands-on and recruited the heck out of him,” Mosiello said. “I knew from day one when I met him, that was the kind of person I want around.”
A year has gone by and Kaczmar has shown clear benefit to his recruitment. He was named an Ohio State Scholar-Athlete and put on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2023.
Kaczmar said he’s continuing to build on his freshman resume and he’s happy with his decision.
“Being here at Ohio State, there’s not a place I would rather be,” Kaczmar said.
For Eckelman, it was a different story. Though he dealt with a shoulder injury during his recruitment period, Mosiello held on to his decision to bring in Eckelman.
“Coach Mo was like, ‘We know you’re injured now but we know the type of ballplayer you are and we know the type of person you are,’” Eckelman said.
Mosiello was extremely excited to pull in both Kaczmar and Eckelman to the Ohio State community but he didn’t feel any pressure to draw in Eckelman after recruiting Kaczmar — he wanted them both for the skills they offer.
“I don’t think they were packaged, they were just great kids that wanted to win and enjoyed being around each other,” Mosiello said.
Eckelman said the relationship he has with his cousin helped him establish his outright commitment to the Buckeyes, especially hearing how happy Kaczmar was with his decision.
“I trust Henry with pretty much everything,” Eckelman said. “When I heard that he was enjoying it a lot, liking the coaching staff, team and other players, it was pretty much set in stone that I wanted to become a Buckeye.”
While Eckelman is ultimately following in his cousin’s footsteps, Kaczmar is just one of the family ties Eckelman has to Ohio State.
Alex and Katie Eckelman, Mason Eckelman’s parents, are both Buckeye alumni and they demonstrate exactly where Mason Eckelman’s athletic genes come from.
Alex Eckelman played varsity baseball for the Buckeyes where he was a four-time letter winner from 1994-97. He was elected to Ohio State’s Varsity ‘O’ Hall of Fame in 2006 and also had a lengthy Minor League Baseball career. Katie Eckelman played varsity soccer for the Buckeyes.
With a combination of both parents participating in collegiate athletics, that makes it almost impossible not to be destined for a career in sports, Mason Eckelman said.
“There’s so many ties that Ohio State and my family have that it’s really special to say that I play baseball here,” Mason Eckelman said. “I see my dad’s name walking into the locker room every day, and so that kind of gives me some motivation that I’m gonna carry on this legacy.”
Kaczmar said the connection between him and Mason Eckelman has already increased since the start of the 2023 fall baseball season and that should only propel them to be more successful.
”I feel like our relationship is the strongest right now,” Kaczmar said.
Maybe Ohio State was always in Mason Eckelman’s fate, but the connection he has with his cousin has proved time and time again to better him.
”I couldn’t be happier to have somebody like Henry to be able to guide me through each step of my baseball career,” Mason Eckelman said.
