Purdue’s Zach Edey Nearly Became A Superstar In A Totally Different Sport

An incredible X/Twitter thread details how Purdue superstar Zach Edey turned to a journey on the court following a once-promising baseball career that he had to end abruptly.

The 7-foot-4 Zach Edey has been virtually unstoppable during the Boilers’ magical March Madness run. Purdue will meet the UConn Huskies in the national championship game tonight at 9:20 p.m. EST.

Given his immense size and habit of dominating easily around the basketball rim, one would think that basketball was always Edey’s No. 1 priority in sports. But actually, Edey’s main sport was baseball, until a giant surge in growth began to impact his performance, as Andrew Petcash told the story in an X/Twitter thread.

A Little League coach recruited Edey to the game of baseball. By the time he was 14 years of age, Edey was already 6-foot-10 in height…and he was throwing pitches as fast as MPH:

Zach Edey is dominating college basketball.

But as a kid, he 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 playing a different sport professionally.

Here’s the fascinating backstory: 🤯 pic.twitter.com/WtuT7bczd7

— Andrew Petcash (@AndrewPetcash) April 6, 2024

At age 14, Zach Edey quit hockey altogether to focus solely on baseball.

Why?

He grew to 6 '10" and was throwing 80MPH at 14 years old.

But something happened… pic.twitter.com/Su4BdJeJ1v

— Andrew Petcash (@AndrewPetcash) April 6, 2024

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But as Petcash detailed, Edey began to lose his mechanics following the giant growth in height. He decided to give basketball a shot. And the rest, as they say, is history.

During his freshman baseball season, Edey struggled.

The 10-inch growth spurt completely 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘧𝘧 his mechanics (and he had shoulder issues).

So what did Zach Edey decide to do?

Give basketball a try… pic.twitter.com/UkEZwy6SK5

— Andrew Petcash (@AndrewPetcash) April 6, 2024

He transferred to IMG Academy and was a 3-star recruit.

🏀Edey chose Purdue over Baylor and Western Kentucky.

Today, Zach Edey is one of the 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 college basketball players of all time. pic.twitter.com/v0jM6v6Z8a

— Andrew Petcash (@AndrewPetcash) April 6, 2024

The Toronto, Ontario native moved to Bradenton, Florida to attend the IMG Academy to continue his basketball career. After shining there, Zach Edey received an offer to join the powerhouse Purdue program.

And now he finds himself one win away from delivering the men’s basketball program its first-ever national championship.

Zach Edey Is Expected To Be A 2024 NBA First-Round Pick

Thanks to his all-world performance in March Madness, Zach Edey has only boosted his stock for the 2024 NBA Draft.

In their latest ESPN mock draft, Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo projected that Edey will go 14th overall to the New Orleans Pelicans. The team’s current center, Jonas Valančiūnas, is a pending free agent and will be 32 next month. So Edey would certainly be an intriguing fit in New Orleans, playing alongside one of the game’s top stars in Zion Williamson.

Also Read: “He Will Slip”- Gilbert Arenas Criticized Zach Edey By Calling Him A Waste of Lottery Picks