With his third season at Stanford University about to begin, Tommy O’Rourke was ready to go.

In the fall and winter, O’Rourke was feeling good about how he was pitching during intra-squad games, and felt like a brand new pitcher because of the improvements he had noticed. He was ready for a big season with the Cardinal, one that would hopefully lead to him getting chosen early in the 2023 MLB Draft.

Just before opening day, things changed for him. An injury to his lat forced O’Rourke to miss the season. He went from an everyday pitcher to a spectator from the dugout just days before the season began. His plan of going pro had changed.

“That is everyone’s dream when they go to college. So that was, in a way, taken from me, or a lost opportunity, however you want to chalk it up,” said O’Rourke. “When I reflect back on it, it was a huge year for growth, and just developing as a person on the baseball field, but also, more importantly, off the baseball field.”

What O’Rourke didn’t know at the time is that this was the start of a long baseball journey that took him places he never would have expected.

O’Rourke arrived at Stanford for his freshman year in 2021 and posted a 4.07 ERA and 1.48 WHIP in 24.1 innings out of the bullpen. He described that year as being “thrown into the fire,” just trying to get outs in any fashion and survive unscathed. He had a 4.41 ERA in his second season with Stanford in 2022, but felt more in control when he was on the mound, knowing where he was supposed to locate pitches to get the necessary outs.

After his second season ended, he came down to Hyannis and pitched for the Harbor Hawks, appearing in 5 relief outings and two starts. He posted a 6.91 ERA and 2.09 WHIP in 14 innings for the Hawks, but enjoyed his time on the Cape in the summer.

“My pitching coach at Stanford, Thomas Eager, he told me, ‘hey, I’m going to send you to the Cape League, the Hyannis team.’ I was like, ‘this is, in a lot of ways, a dream come true,’” said O’Rourke. “I grew up hearing about the Cape Cod Baseball League and how, as a college baseball player, you want to eventually make it to that league.”

After his summer in Hyannis was over, O’Rourke went back to Stanford feeling like a better pitcher. He felt his mechanics, his delivery, almost everything about him was better. That was when his lat got injured, necessitating a year of rehab and recovery.

With a rare injury like this, the days of rehab were a mental grind for O'Rourke due to the uncertainty of the injury and the recovery timeline.

“It is not necessarily the hardest part to show up to physical therapy or rehab and do the exercises and follow the protocols,” said O’Rourke. “I think what is more challenging is just keeping peace of mind, staying level headed [during] the process, because the lat injury is more rare. It’s more uncommon.”

After a year on the sidelines, O’Rourke still had the opportunity to go pro. He decided to return to Stanford, citing unfinished business, as he wanted to help the Cardinal win a national championship.

As he was getting ready to return, he re-injured his lat throwing a bullpen. All of a sudden, O’Rourke was set to miss his second season in a row.

O’Rourke wouldn’t have been blamed if he sulked, if he was hard on himself with a setback like that. That was never an option in his mind.

“You can let it bury you and deter you from continuing that process of getting back,” said O’Rourke. “Or, you can just roll with it, roll with the punches and say ‘hey, this is only going to make me stronger at the end of this. This is only going to teach me more about myself, and help me down the line.’ That is the route I took, even the second time around. I never doubted that I was going to get back. I never doubted that I could get past that injury.”

After that second year injured, O’Rourke did make it back, but he did so in a Vanderbilt University uniform. O’Rourke finished his degree at Stanford and, upon entering the transfer portal, chose Vanderbilt because of strong academics and baseball.

His first official game back was February 16 against UC Irvine, where he allowed one run in one inning pitched. In O’Rourke’s eyes, he was already back before that, but it was a good feeling nonetheless.

“In my mind, I was already back, completely back, and there was no missing a beat or anything like that,” said O’Rourke. “But, at the same time, I walked off that field saying ‘I officially did it. It is in the books now, I made it.’”

O’Rourke pitched 15.2 innings out of the Vanderbilt bullpen this spring, pitching to a 4.02 ERA and 1.15 WHIP while converting two saves for the Commodores.

“When I was out there, pitched in 15 innings, [I] did a better job of throwing strikes than I had in my previous two college seasons,” said O’Rourke. “I think the arsenal was more mature and revamped in terms of when to execute a pitch, when and where and how, and reading hitter swings and things like that.”

The irony of pitching in a Vanderbilt uniform is not lost on O’Rourke. With Stanford in 2021, they lost to Vanderbilt in the College World Series to end their season. Four years later, he was pitching for the Commodores.

“I remember being on campus at ‘Vandy’ pretty early in the fall and seeing guys who had maybe just finished their professional baseball career and are working in Nashville or helping out with the program day-to-day, and I said ‘holy cow, dude, we played each other at the College World Series.’ That was really cool,” said O’Rourke.

After a successful comeback with Vanderbilt, O’Rourke came back to the Cape this summer, and back with the Harbor Hawks as well. He’s had better results this time around, posting a 4.91 ERA and 1.23 WHIP with one save in five appearances, spanning 7.1 innings.

Now 23 years old, O’Rourke is the oldest player on the Hawks roster, especially among the pitchers. He’s taken on a role as a mentor and a leader to the young Hyannis pitchers, something that manager Mitch Karraker has taken note of this summer.

“Tommy brings a lot of maturity to the group,” said Karraker. “He is a fun guy to have, when he is not pitching, he sits down by the coaching staff in the dugout. He is very present in every pitch, which is not normal for a youngster. It is good to have an older guy like that around, and hopefully the young guys pick his brain on what works, what does not work, and just how to go about things the right way.”

Hyannis pitching coach Blaise Martinez also took note of O’Rourke’s mindset and mentality this summer and how important it is.

“I have been around a lot of guys that have played at the higher levels, and Tommy definitely has that mentality, and the execution and the mental approach,” said Martinez. “Day in, day out, hitter to hitter, he has that ability as well, so I think Tommy is ready for [pro ball].”

Beyond the work ethic, O’Rourke has been attacking opposing hitters with a four-pitch mix on the mound for the Hawks this summer, adding a new pitch to an arsenal that he already felt good about.

“He has been developing a splitter recently, and he has had a good slider and fastball, he just goes attacking guys all day,” said Martinez. “He has a cutter too, and I always forget that it is a very good pitch as well.”

Whether O’Rourke decides to turn pro with the MLB Draft just days away or decides to return to Vanderbilt for another season, he has had quite a ride since his college days began.

It’s taken him to Hyannis twice, to rehabbing a year long injury twice, and to a school he didn’t think he’d be pitching for. He’s back on the mound now, and he’s making the most of every appearance.

Michael Najarian can be reached at mikenajarian379@gmail.com and on X @MichaelNaj3.