Barth's stellar career could lead to upcoming MLB draft

Next week can't get here soon enough for Conner Barth. That's because the Major League Baseball Draft begins Sunday and ends Tuesday and there is a shot that Barth, 18, could be chosen. As a lifelong baseball player, it would be a dream come true. Barth graduated from Woodcreek High a little over a month ago, where he had quite a baseball career that earned him a scholarship to play baseball at the Mississippi State University. "I had about 25 offers," said Barth. "I originally committed to Oregon State, but my goal has always been to be the best and to compete at the highest level and that is in the SEC. "I visited Starkville and I fell in love with the program. The coaching staff was awesome. I went to non-conference football game and it was a pretty wild scene for an 11 a.m. football game." While Barth ended his high school career playing shortstop for Woodcreek, he's being recruited as an offensive second baseman by the Bulldogs. He played second base most of his career before shifting over the shortstop midway through his junior year. "One of the reasons why I liked Mississippi State is having the opportunity to play right away," Barth said. "Their infield is pretty wide open." Barth will major in Communications with a minor in Psychology. Barth has been playing baseball since he was 4 years old, all the way from T-ball up to Woodcreek, where he truly excelled. "For me, I've always wanted to be a professional baseball player," Barth said. "On the first day of kindergarten, the teacher made us write down what we wanted to be when we grew up and I wrote that I wanted to be a professional baseball player. That's been the goal for me and when you have that big of a goal, everything else settles into place." Among his baseball accomplishments over the years, in eighth grade, Barth made it to the final round of the USA National team selection process but COVID hit and there was no team. Barth made the Area Code team his junior and senior years. At Woodcreek, he was a three-year starter and captain. As a sophomore, Barth was named the Offensive Player of the Year. As a junior and senior, he was a first-team all-league player and this year also was named the Most Valuable Player of the Capital Valley Conference All of those accomplishments have given Barth a good shot at being drafted next week. "This spring I was invited to a couple of private draft workouts," Barth said. "I participated in the Royals Scout League for three years. I've had some really good talks and there's a good chance I might be drafted." Barth will see if he's drafted and then if he can't make a deal with the team, he will head to Mississippi State for college. Lucas Conn, Barth's head coach at Woodcreek the last three years, loves the kid. "I can't speak enough to how incredible he is as a person," Conn said. "His baseball accolades speak for themselves. I have to check the records, but he might have the most hits ever in Woodcreek history and same with runs batted in and extra base hits. He's been an all-league player all three years with an Offensive MVP and an all-around MVP award. "He's an amazing kid with incredible character. He participated in multiple community service events like Wreaths Across America, where he's put wreaths on gravesites of fallen Veterans. He worked with the Blue Star Moms on sending care packages overseas to armed service members and he's worked with Santa's Helpers through the National Honor Society. "Connor works tremendously hard and does everything the right way. There's a shot that he gets drafted and we have our fingers crossed. That's a dream of his and even if he's not drafted this year, he will play baseball at a very high level."