It’s been a frustrating inning for Mason Hulligan. Facing St. Charles Community College on February 15th, in his first outing in almost a year due to injury, the Hawks’ redshirt sophomore has struggled. He has already allowed two runs to score. The most recent run tied the game after a wild pitch. The go-ahead run stands 90 feet away. Many pitchers in this situation would unravel. 

But the tall righty stays composed. Calm and collected, he strikes out the batter to end the inning. He follows with a scoreless inning, keeping his team tied. The Hawks end up losing the game, but for Hulligan, it’s a huge victory, both physically and mentally.

Baseball is a grueling and unforgiving sport. Often called a “thinking man’s game” due to the immense amount of strategy involved, but also due to the mental fortitude required to succeed. For Hulligan, this mental battle defines his career. 

Hulligan began playing baseball in kindergarten, playing up a grade level because of his skill from an early age. He didn’t begin pitching, however, until he was in 8th grade. Hulligan developed a fixation on winning, and when he began to realize that every time he pitched, his team won, it became an obsession. 

Despite this obsession, Hulligan struggled to feel confident in himself. On and off the field, he struggled with anxiety; baseball was a haven. He enjoyed summer and fall ball and performed well, but once the high school season began, he struggled and saw his playing opportunities become more limited, further impacting his confidence. 

Not until his junior year at Buffalo Grove High School did he see his first varsity innings. His first start would only allow his anxiety to grow.

That first start was against Mid-Suburban League powerhouse Barrington. Before taking the field, he suffered panic attacks, throwing up behind the dugout. But he pushed through and pitched strongly against the Broncos, earning the win and his coaches’ trust. More than that, he learned something about himself. 

The anxiety he experienced as a pitcher became both his least favorite and most favorite thing in the world. 

“Once I get on the mound, it’s the best feeling ever. Everything goes away,” Hulligan said. “I get to be who I want to be; control everything. I need to be assertive, and pitching allows me to do that.” 

Hulligan became the ace for the Bison from that point on, eventually setting the single-season record for wins, and learning lessons all along the way. 

“Adrenaline and anxiety fuel me,” Hulligan said. “Thank goodness the anxiety goes away when on the mound, otherwise I wouldn’t be a good pitcher.”

He discovered that anxiety fueled him after the worst outing of his senior season. Facing rival and friend Jeremy Allen, whom he was fighting against for the conference strikeout record, Hulligan entered the game the calmest he had ever been. 

Needing to match Allen in strikeouts, Hulligan lost focus after some early struggles and allowed the game to snowball on him. Jeremy ended with more strikeouts and walked away with the win. For Hulligan, it was a lesson.

“It’s not how I work, I need to be myself out there,” Hulligan said. 

Calmness wasn’t his style; he needed to channel his anxiety to have success. From that point, the focus wasn’t on records but on pitching his best as himself. 

Hulligan continued this momentum when he entered college at Harper. After seeing the success past players had, and getting to know Head Coach Dominic Milano, Hulligan felt that being a Hawk was right for him. In his freshman year, this decision paid off, as he was named a Second-Team All-Regional Selection for his strong pitching for a young Hawks squad. Entering his second year, Hulligan had high expectations of himself.

But after just five appearances, disaster struck.

Facing off against Rockford on March 21, 2025, Hulligan left the game early due to injury. He had partially torn his UCL and needed Internal Brace Surgery, which would end his season early. He now faced a grueling recovery, testing his mental strength.

But Hulligan didn’t allow this setback to tear him down. With the support of the coaching staff and his teammates, Hulligan found it easy to stay positive. Despite the early mornings and frequent physical therapy appointments not being fun at the moment, the work became a source of pride.

Hulligan also gives credit to his support staff, who worked to keep his emotions balanced, reminding him to stay patient. 

“Some days I wanna let it rip, but Coach Milano helped with mental discipline each day,” he said. “If you want instant gratification, everything gets delayed.”

Since his surgery, Hulligan has focused fully on the mental aspect of his game. He wanted to better understand why he can channel his anxiety into performance, and discovered a new theory he calls the “Green and Brown Theory.” 

The theory stems from the green grass and brown dirt of a baseball field. For Hulligan, his mind races when he runs across the grass towards the mound, and everything becomes a green blur. Once on top of the mound, he becomes focused on the dirt and calms. For Hulligan, this captures the essence of why he pitches. He describes this as the craziest adrenaline rush you can imagine.  

“It’s what I crave,” Hulligan said. “It is why I pitch.”