Collmenter grew up in rural Homer, Michigan. He learned to pitch by watching baseball on television and reading about how to grip different pitches in Sports Illustrated. His pitching mechanics, however, are the product of a childhood spent with his brothers entertaining themselves by throwing tomahawks at things such as snakes and trees. The process resulted in the development of an unorthodox, extremely overhand pitching motion.\n', '

Collmenter attended Homer High School, where he played baseball, basketball and football and graduated as the salutatorian of his class in 2004. Collmenter was one of the top pitchers in Michigan high school baseball history. In 2004, Collmenter led the Trojans to a 38-0 record and the first undefeated championship season in the state\'s history. That season propelled the Trojans to a national-record 75 game win streak. Collmenter won 18 games in the 2004 season, the third highest total in state history. He recorded a state-record 13 shutouts that season while striking out 223 batters and notching a 0.13 ERA. Collmenter finished his high school career with 49 wins, 23 shutouts, 546 strikeouts and a 0.99 ERA, all of which rank in the top six in state history. Homer compiled a record of 110–18 while Collmenter was with the team.\n', '

Prior to playing professionally, Collmenter attended Central Michigan University, with whom he played from 2005 to 2007. In his first season with the Chippewas, Collmenter went 7–1 with a 2.70 ERA in 16 games (10 starts). The following season, Collmenter went 8–5 with a 3.41 ERA in 15 games (14 starts). He went 9–4 with a 1.93 ERA in 15 starts in 2007. He was named the 2007 Mid-American Conference Pitcher of the Year.\n', '

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