It started with a sidearm toss — Cam Schuelke’s natural motion toward home plate. Strike one.

Then came a pitch from over the top — a common delivery for a pitcher. Strike two.

It was capped with a submarine throw — the latest addition to his repertoire where Schuelke’s hand nearly scrapes the dirt before the release of the ball. Strike three.

Those three pitches made up an eight-second clip shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, by Prep Baseball’s Ian Smith. It was later shared by Stephen Schoch who has become one of the top personalities across collegiate baseball.

Ultimately, the clip of Schuelke pitching for College of Central Florida, generated more than 500,000 views. It was the crowning of one of the sport’s “best weird arm slot guys,” according to Schoch, and a moment that led to Schuelke’s rise in the recruiting scene.

“The next 48 hours, it went from — he was already talking with Kansas and FAU and FIU and Florida State — it went from that to almost every school in the country,” his father, Mike Schuelke, told the Clarion Ledger. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Less than a month later, Cam committed to Mississippi State. As the Bulldogs (38-21) prepare for their first postseason appearance since 2021 — which starts Friday (6 p.m., ESPN+) as a No. 2 seed against No. 3 seed St. John’s (37-16-1) — Cam is headed to a place with ties to his rise.

MSU is in the Charlottesville Regional of the NCAA Tournament where No. 1 seed Virginia (41-15), Schoch’s former school, is the host.

With him, Cam carries the memory of a fallen Navy SEAL.

How Cam Schuelke honors Patrick Feeks

Cam played with the same core of players from Little League to travel ball, with his father coaching. To keep the team motivated throughout a season, Mike developed a theme each year.

In 2015, Mike wanted to promote brotherhood, so he leaned on the military.

“I never want you to play with fear on the baseball field,” Mike told his team. “Somebody has paid that price, and they’ve done something a hell of a lot scarier than what you’re doing. The best way you can honor them is to find what your dream is, to chase it with relentlessness and to bring that solider along for the ride.”

He had players reach out to Gold Star families and ask if they could honor their loved ones by wearing their name on the back of jerseys.

David Warsen − who was born near Cam’s hometown of Dorr, Michigan – was among those honored. His father asked that the team also remember Patrick Feeks – a fellow Navy SEAL who died alongside Warsen in August 2012 when their helicopter was shot down by enemy fire in Afghanistan.

Cam took that assignment and carried Feeks’ legacy off the diamond.

As a freshman in high school, Cam got in trouble for a drawing depicting violence. When he returned home, Mike handed down the usual punishments, such as taking away TV privileges.

However, he also tasked Cam with calling Tom Feeks to ask if he could continue honoring his son.

“The longer Pat has been deceased, the more everybody only remembers all the perfect things about him,” Tom told Cam. “He wasn’t perfect. Neither are you. I promise you this, Pat didn’t make the same mistake twice. If you’ll promise me you’ll always learn never make the same mistake twice, then I would be honored if you continue honoring my son.”

On the door of his childhood bedroom in Michigan, Cam has a sign reading, “Honor Patrick Feeks every day.”

How Cam Schuelke developed three arm slots

Cam’s primary position growing up was shortstop where he naturally threw from a sidearm angle. However, as he grew as a pitcher, Cam's parents made him develop a conventional over-the-top delivery.

“They put me in the doorway and had me throw up there,” he said.

When he arrived at the Cape Cod Baseball League – one of the premiere summer collegiate leagues − in 2022, Cam added the submarine delivery to his arsenal. He left the league crowned as its relief pitcher of the year.

He followed that with a strong 2023 campaign at College of Central Florida where he won a junior college Division I title and saw an eight-second clip helped change the trajectory of his career – one he hopes doesn’t end soon.

“Cam’s goal is to be the first true three-arm slot guy that makes it all the way,” Mike said. “That’s what he wants to do.”

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @skrajisnik3.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Cam Schuelke: How Mississippi State baseball pitcher honors Navy SEAL