River Falls High School senior pitcher Keenan Mork has all of the physical attributes of a future Division 1 college player, but it’s his mentality that pushed him over the top and made him a Notre Dame Fighting Irish commit.

Mork and six other River Falls seniors signed their respective letters of intent at the high school on National Signing Day on Wednesday, Nov. 9, while surrounded by family, friends and coaches.

For River Falls baseball head coach Ryan Bishop, Wednesday was a special day because it’s not often a high school baseball coach has a player sign a letter of intent to play Division 1 baseball, and it’s even rarer that the player commits to compete at a school in a Power Five conference.

“Anytime you’re getting an opportunity to play after high school, you’re doing something well,” Bishop said of Mork. “The fact that he is getting an opportunity to play at the Division 1 level at an ACC school like Notre Dame, that’s really impressive. I’m super proud of him and the development he’s made.”

For Mork, getting the opportunity to play at a historically prestigious institution in a Power Five conference is a dream come true. He spoke about Notre Dame, Division 1 baseball and the recruiting process.

“Notre Dame reached out to me through club baseball. It was a lot of them seeing me at tournaments and then they reached out,” Mork said on National Signing Day. “I had a couple of other offers too. I’ve had it ingrained in my mind for a while (that I’m a Division 1 player).”

While Mork eventually chose Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish were not one of the first programs to make an offer. Instead, Mork had narrowed his choices down to a couple of other Division 1 programs, including the Wichita State Shockers. That was until Notre Dame swooped in late and made Mork an offer.

“I had it narrowed down to a couple of places, and then (Notre Dame) reached out and it opened up everything,” Mork said. “It’s a little bit of a relief to have a school picked out going into my senior year.”

Mork has always had his sights set on playing college baseball, but it was his junior season for the Wildcats that began demanding attention from coaches throughout the country. Last year, he dominated the Big Rivers Conference, which is notorious for being one of the most challenging in the state. He was also selected as the Big Rivers Conference Pitcher of the Year.

Mork posted an impressive 5-0 record in eight total starts on the mound last season. In two of those five contests, he pitched complete- game shutouts and single-handedly propelled his team to victory. In total, he pitched just over 46 innings last year, 10 more than the second-most on the team, and allowed six fewer earned runs than the other player.

He also posted a team-low ERA of 1.36 and struck out 85 batters while only walking 11. While there are a lot of metrics that would prove Mork’s dominance on the hill, perhaps none speak louder than his WHIP, which is a combination of Walks, Hits and Innings Pitched (WHIP).

Through his approximately 46 innings of work last year, Mork posted a WHIP of 0.82. For reference, anything below 1.30 is considered above average and any figure lower than 1.10 is considered elite.

While his season proved to be a breakout year, coach Bishop always knew that there was something special about Mork. Not just his lengthy frame and flamethrowing nature, but a Jordan-like mentality that makes him one of the most dominant pitchers in River Falls history.

“From the very beginning before he even pitched a high school game he told me, ‘Coach, I’m not going to lose a game in my high school career. I’m going undefeated,’” Bishop recalled of Mork before his freshman year. “The reality is that isn’t going to happen. But he took that mental approach and that’s the approach he takes every time he’s out there. That’s a confidence thing that carries over to his teammates.”

There was perhaps no greater example of Mork’s cutthroat, competitive mentality than the final game of his junior season, a Division 1 Regional Championship game on the road against BRC runner-up Eau Claire Memorial at historic Carson Park in Eau Claire.

Coach Bishop gave Mork the start that day and he began dealing immediately. Mork went deep into the ballgame, gave up no earned runs and allowed hits sparingly against that stacked Old Abes roster.

Although Eau Claire Memorial ended up beating River Falls 4-3, Mork did more than his fair share to win that game. Bishop spoke about that performance and what it said about Mork’s ability to pitch well in high-pressure situations and shine when the lights were the brightest.

“You can pinpoint a few games where you can see he’s really good, but that (Memorial) game, he put the team on his shoulders,” Bishop said. “He did his part that day and did everything he could to try to get us a win.”

Bishop, Mork and the rest of the Wildcats roster go into the season with high expectations and a lot of hope. Mork returns as River Falls’ ace and has more opportunities to grow throughout the season. Bishop spoke about Mork’s upcoming senior campaign.

“He lost a year because of COVID and he hasn’t even had his senior year, so he’s only had two years of high school baseball,” Bishop said. “This is his chance to prepare himself and get ready for (Notre Dame). This will be a year of continued growth but with less stress and less pressure.”

Perhaps it’s part of that aforementioned mentality, but Mork already has high expectations for his senior season. He spoke about what the fans can expect throughout his final year at River Falls.

“I think expectations are high. We’ve got a couple of leaders that will step up this year and continue to build the program,” Mork said. “We’ll get some help from some underclassmen and I think we’ll be very good on the throwing side. We should win the Big Rivers Conference Championship this year. Our expectations are high and so is our work ethic.”

Mork will have one last dance in River Falls before moving to Indiana to continue his academic and athletic career at the University of Notre Dame as a member of the Fighting Irish men’s baseball program in the fall of 2023.

River Falls senior pitcher Keenan Mork delivers a strike during the WIAA Division 1 Regional Championship game on the road against Eau Claire Memorial on Thursday, June 2, at historic Carson Park in Eau Claire. Photo by Reagan Hoverman