Urbana senior Billy Swaney built a reputation on consistency, accountability, and becoming the player coaches trust. With Harford Community College ahead and bigger goals beyond it, his work is still accelerating.
Statistics can tell you what happened.
They tell you that Billy Swaney, a senior at Urbana High School, hit .447 this spring with a .486 on-base percentage, .699 slugging percentage, 19 hits, 19 RBIs, 2 home runs, and 3 triples while helping lead the Hawks to a regional championship.
The numbers tell you he produced.
They do not tell you who he became.
Because players like Swaney rarely introduce themselves through highlights. They introduce themselves through consistency. Through showing up long enough, often enough, and with enough purpose that coaches stop wondering if they’re ready and start expecting them to be.
At 6’0”, 195 pounds, the switch-hitting utility player and catcher built a senior season that turned heads. Yet when asked who he is as a player right now, his answer had little to do with batting averages or recruiting.
“Right now, I’d describe myself as a competitive, hard-working player who takes pride in doing things the right way every day,” Swaney said. “I bring a good attitude to the field, and I try to be someone my coaches and teammates can count on.”
Dependable. Accountable. Those words surface repeatedly when Swaney talks about baseball, not because they sound impressive, but because somewhere along the way he decided talent alone wasn’t enough.
Baseball has a way of exposing players. Not during the stretches when everything feels easy, but during the periods where confidence disappears, failure becomes louder than belief, and players begin questioning whether the work is enough.
For Swaney, the hardest part of his baseball journey has been learning to silence everything outside of himself.
“Ignoring the noise and believing in myself.”
The answer is short. The process behind it rarely is.
Every serious player understands the pressure. External expectations. Internal doubt. Comparison. Recruiting timelines. The quiet weight of wondering whether years of work will become opportunities or simply memories.
When things aren’t going well, Swaney doesn’t point outward.
“I remind myself of the work I’ve put in, how far I’ve come as a baseball player, my past accomplishments, and who I can be.”
That answer says as much about his future as any stat line ever could.
Confidence built only from results tends to disappear. Confidence built from preparation usually stays.
Ask Swaney what separates him from other players his age and he avoids discussing switch-hitting, versatility, or offensive production. Instead, he returns to consistency.
“A lot of players have talent, but I take pride in showing up every day ready to work and compete,” he said. “I try to keep a good attitude, stay coachable, and do the little things the right way.”
The response feels revealing.
Players who become difficult to remove from lineups often describe themselves this way before anyone else does.
Growth rarely arrives all at once. For Swaney, the past year brought noticeable progress in both his physical tools and mentality.
“Something that I am proud of that I have improved on is my arm strength, and mindset at the plate and on the field.”
Still, development is rarely complete. The players who continue climbing usually know exactly where they still need work.
Swaney’s answer came without hesitation.
“I am currently trying to fix my right-handed swing.”
No illusion of perfection. No hiding weaknesses. Only adjustment. The pursuit continues.
There are players whose development arrives in bursts.
Then there are players whose growth compounds quietly over years until one day, the player standing in front of you barely resembles the version that started.
Those around Swaney have watched the latter happen.
“Billy is a hard-nosed, tough player,” said Dustin Pease, founder of Pease Baseball Professionals. “He has a football background, and that grit shows up in how he competes. He’s willing to lay it all on the line, but what stands out is his temperament. He doesn’t get too high or too low. He stays even keel.”
For catchers, that matters.
The position demands more than physical tools. It requires emotional steadiness, leadership, and the ability to absorb adversity without allowing it to spread through a dugout.
“That transfers extremely well behind the plate,” Pease said. “You need catchers who can stay composed and lead. Billy has those qualities.”
The physical profile creates another layer.
Legitimate switch-hitting catchers remain uncommon in baseball. The rarity increases when offensive production follows. Swaney’s .447 average this spring created evidence, but the versatility may prove equally valuable.
“Being a true switch hitter is difficult enough,” Pease said. “When you combine that with catching, it becomes even more sought after. Billy also has the ability to play multiple positions. Players who can swing it and move around defensively tend to create more opportunities because coaches find ways to keep those players on the field.”
That adaptability may become increasingly important as Swaney transitions to Harford Community College, where roster spots tighten and versatility often separates contributors from role players.
Still, those closest to his development point less toward tools and more toward trajectory.
“The progress has been steady for years,” Pease said. “He’s worked extensively with Brady Policelli, and his development has shown a consistent upward trend. There hasn’t been much fluctuation. He works, he improves, and he embraces standards serious players hold themselves to.”
The metrics eventually followed.
Over four years working alongside Swaney, instructor Brady Policelli watched incremental growth become something more substantial.
“Billy has developed into the ultimate competitor,” Policelli said. “Primarily a catcher, his athleticism has allowed him to become a serviceable utility player with the confidence to get the job done anywhere he’s put on the field.”
That versatility emerged alongside measurable gains.
Dedicated training pushed his numbers upward, including exit velocities reaching 105 mph and a sub-6.7 second 60-yard dash, indicators of both strength and athleticism that continue expanding his ceiling.
Yet Policelli points elsewhere when discussing Swaney’s greatest asset.
“The hit tool is his strongest attribute,” he said. “He’s a true line-drive hitter with the ability to hit home runs to any part of the park. I strongly believe he will hit at any level he plays.”
For players transitioning to college baseball, evaluators often search for carrying tools.
The ability to impact baseballs consistently tends to travel.
The ability to compete usually does too.
Those closest to Swaney believe both will.
“As a coach, it’s been an honor watching him grow into the type of player and leader any coach would want on their roster,” Policelli said. “I’m excited to see him compete at the NCAA level.”
That sentiment surfaces repeatedly among the people who know him best.
Growth. Consistency. Trust.
The pattern appears less accidental with each voice added.
Since joining the environment at Pease Baseball, Swaney believes the evolution has gone beyond mechanics.
“My ability as a hitter has evolved, and the instructors have helped me become both physically and mentally stronger,” Swaney said. “All aspects of my game have been elevated.”
The environment matters too.
“The Pease environment is open and friendly,” he said. “It gives me the ability to work on my swing anytime, while being surrounded by likeminded individuals. There is also a high level of professionalism and knowledge throughout the facility.”
Development compounds when standards become normal.
This summer, Swaney will continue preparing before beginning his collegiate career at Harford.
For some players, commitments become finish lines.
For players wired the way Swaney appears to be wired, commitments become starting points.
“I’m excited to continue watching Billy blossom at the next level,” Pease said. “Our job doesn’t stop because a player signs somewhere. We’re looking forward to continuing to serve his development this summer ahead of his first collegiate season. The expectation is continued growth.”
Growth.
Again, the theme returns.
Because even now, with a regional title behind him and college baseball ahead, Swaney’s goals continue climbing.
“I’m working toward winning a state championship,” he said. “And I believe I’m capable of playing Division I baseball.”
Not hoping.
Believing.
There’s a difference.
At the end of the conversation came one final prompt:
Finish the sentence: “I know I’m on the right path because…”
Swaney paused.
Then answered with something simple enough to overlook. Powerful enough to remember.
“I know I’m on the right path because I’m getting better every day even when it’s hard, and I’m not quitting on the things that matter to me.”
The statistics from 2026 will eventually become archived numbers.
The regional championship will become memory.
Harford will become the next chapter.
But players who continue improving when nobody is watching, who choose consistency over comfort, and who refuse to quit on difficult things often keep writing chapters long after people stop expecting them to.
Governor Hogan has announced lifted restrictions on the state of Maryland as a part of phase one of recovery from the COVID19 pandemic. Pease Baseball Academy is excited to re-open on Friday 5/15, biding by state guidelines. As a disclaimer, we do not identify as a gym as mainly all operations occur by appointment only, and there are mainly never more than 5 people inside the building at a time with private instruction only. For the time being we will be limiting all group instruction (IE Live at bats, hitting groups, SNIPE velocity) until further notice since we will be operating at a limited capacity.
Pease Baseball COVID Guidelines for those attending sessions or appointments are available in confirmation texts the day of lessons. If you are specifically interested in our COVID Guidelines please reach out to me direct, and I will send you a link or copy of the guidelines we have set in place until further notice.
I would like to personally thank everyone who has reached out since we have been closed as your support has been greatly appreciated. Looking forward to returning to action and hopefully getting back to some sort of baseball here soon!
