By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

Occasional ankle pain for a basketball player is nothing out of the ordinary.

Aidan Hill’s pain became something different, though.

It remained constant and so persistent that after a few weeks, it was time to get a doctor’s opinion.

The diagnosis is not what Hill and his family were expecting.

How could they, really, considering the odds they were about to hear.

The results returned evidence of an incredibly rare foot condition of the talus bone (the ankle bone that connects the foot to the leg) that affects approximately only 1 in 100,000 people.

Hill fit into that .002 percent, and he needed surgery for an osteochondral lesion in his left ankle.

That was back in January 2023 — about four games into his sophomore basketball season.

The procedure required a three-month rehab period and cost him the remainder of his basketball season, as well as his baseball season.

Hill patiently waited and diligently rehabbed, waiting for his chance to compete again.

His patience would be tested once again, though, when it was discovered that he had a stress fracture in the same left ankle.

That was back in September 2023 — just eight months after his initial surgery and three games into his junior football season.

The injury required another surgery, this time placing two screws into his foot, and it cost him the remainder of his football season and the first half of his basketball season.

Through it all, Hill never stopped working.

The 6-foot-4 right-handed pitcher was casted, booted and on crutches, which obviously limited what he could do, but remained on an upper body program to stay in shape, but also as an outlet to keep himself connected to the sports he loved so much.

In a sense, he knew he was making an investment for when he was healthy again.

What he didn’t know was how he would surprise even himself once he was cleared from the rehab process.

After his first bullpen session after being cleared, his trainer walked up to him with a surprised look on his face.

“I remember him asking me, ‘How fast do you think those pitches were’?,” Hill said.

He offered a couple of guesses.

They were wrong because they were too low.

Despite so much time off, and a very limited opportunity to work on the strength of his lower body, Hill’s velocity had risen eight miles per hour to 87.

It set the stage for Hill’s spectacular 2024 junior baseball season.

At the plate, he hit .400, with 27 hits, nine doubles, two home runs, 27 RBI and 27 runs scored. On the mound, he had five wins, 62 strikeouts in 25 innings of work and a 1.34 earned-run average.

With the injuries behind him, Hill has already celebrated a strong senior season on the football field and basketball court. Now, his baseball season is here, and he and his G-Men are already off to a fast start.

He is one of the most dominant arms in the region and has sparked his team out to a 4-0 start to the year, including a 15-strikeout, two-hit shutout in a 5-0 victory over Southeast on April 1.

His pitching bag features four different looks, with a fastball topping out near 88 that is largely complemented by a devastating knuckle-curve. Hill also adds in a splitter that effectively serves as his changeup, as well as a cutter.

The range of options keeps hitters uncomfortable at the plate, but has also developed a level of trust between Hill and his head coach Mike Paes.

With veteran catcher Brock Pesicek behind the plate, Hill and his battery-mate work together to call their own game.

Hill, who has already committed to play at California University of Pennsylvania, has found that wrapping up his college decision has allowed him to play for fun and free of the pressures of impressing a scout.

“It feels good. Whether I am hitting or pitching, I just go out there to have fun,” said Hill, who estimated that he has played about 65 baseball games per year since he was 8. “I know what my job is and who I need to be for our team, but there is a balance I have to live within for that. I am confident in myself, but not in an arrogant way. I have high expectations of myself, and we have high expectations for our team, and we will get there, but the game is fun first.”