Ball State lands Amare 'AJ' Mitchell from Canton McKinley

Amare Mitchell (Provided photo)

CANTON, Ohio -- Ball State is set to welcome a new Edge rusher to its team after Amare 'AJ' Mitchell announced his commitment on social media from Canton McKinley.

"When I took the visit there this past weekend, it felt like home to me," said Mitchell. 

As reported by 247Sports, Mitchell received additional offers from several Mid-American Conference (MAC) teams, including Akron, Buffalo, Eastern Michigan, Toledo, Miami (Ohio), and Ohio University.

His additional public scholarship offers included South Florida, Temple, Howard, Fordham, Youngstown State, and UConn.

He came to Canton McKinley after playing his freshman year at Reynoldsburg High School, located a few miles east of downtown Columbus, Ohio. 

Ball State is a Division I (FBS) program that concluded last season with a record of 4-8 (3-5 in conference play) under the leadership of head coach Mike Uremovich, who took over in 2025 following a successful tenure at Butler University.

IM HOME 🏠@BallStateFB @CoachU_BSU @CoachSiwicki @McK_FBall @coach_wink55 @AllenTrieu #Gocards pic.twitter.com/Yp0xItXlTR

— Amare (AJ) Mitchell (@AmareMitchell2) June 22, 2026

"For real, it's just a brotherhood there," said Mitchell. Currently, there is a good number of defensive ends on the roster. He is joining the sole other defensive lineman coming out of high school, Dominic Insefelise, who stands at 6'4" and weighs 280 pounds, hailing from New Lenox, Illinois, as a commitment for the 2027 football season, as reported by 247Sports.

Mitchell's standout quality is his knack for getting to the quarterback, as he recorded 4.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss playing for the Bulldogs last season. He is listed at 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds.

He is the son of former alumnus Kinta Mitchell, who starred for the Bulldogs from 1991 to 1994 and was a bruising fullback and linebacker, contributing to the Bulldogs' 10-1 season his senior year and scoring four touchdowns in the 100th McKinley-Massillon game. 

He was also inducted into the Stark County High School Football Hall of Fame. 

"Coach Siwicki, my position coach, has been recruiting me for a while now," he elaborated when asked about what was the deciding factor to become a Cardinal.