Matt Shaw started dreaming of becoming a professional baseball player when he was 4 years old, and since he was 12, he has been determined to make it happen.
“Pretty early on, I kind of knew I was going to do everything I could to become a professional baseball player,” Shaw, the former Worcester Academy standout from Brimfield said, “and if I put every ounce of energy into that, I think I always believed it would be real.”
Shaw’s Worcester Academy coach, Jim McNamara, did, too.
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“He’s someone who doesn’t get distracted by things,” McNamara said. “His goal is to get to the major leagues, there won’t be anything that gets in the way of him trying to achieve that goal.”
Shaw, who recently wrapped up a record-setting and All-America junior season at the University of Maryland, projects as a first-round pick in this year’s Major League Baseball Draft, which gets underway at 7 pm Sunday.
“I’m very excited,” said Shaw, who will be at home with his family on Sunday, “but also just enjoying it.”
MLB Pipeline ranks Shaw, the 2023 Brooks Wallace Award winner as the nation’s top shortstop, 16th overall in the 2023 draft class and Baseball America has him 17th. He has the chance to be the highest-drafted position player in Maryland history.
The Boston Red Sox, by the way, have the No. 14 picks.
Shaw, the 2023 Big Ten Player of the Year, attended the MLB Draft Combine last month at Chase Field in Phoenix. There, he interviewed with team GMs and scouting directors.
“It was cool to get to know them and for them to get to know me,” Shaw said.
Shaw’s Maryland teammate, right-handed pitcher Nigel Belgrave of Auburn, was also at the combine. Shaw said it has been great to share this exciting time with Belgrave, a close friend. They were also teammates last summer playing for the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Shaw was the 2022 CCBL Player of the Year.
In MLB’s prospect rankings, Belgrave is No. 250, while Bryant right-handed pitcher Coleman Picard, also of Auburn, is No. 195. Rounds 3-10 of the MLB Draft are Monday and rounds 11-20 Tuesday.
This season at Maryland, Shaw, who can also play second, third and the outfield, batted .341, with 90 hits, 24 home runs and 69 RBIs. With 53 career homers, he set the Maryland all-time record, and he certainly left his mark on the program.
Early this season, former Terrapins coach Rob Vaughn, who recently left Maryland to take over at the University of Alabama, said of Shaw, “He’s probably, when it’s all said and done, going to be the best player to ever walk through here. “
Shaw attended Wilbraham & Monson from eighth grade through his sophomore year before transferring to Worcester Academy, where he was the MVP of the soccer team his senior season while leading the Hilltoppers to the New England Prep School Athletic Conference Class A championship.
As a junior, Shaw helped Worcester Academy reach the semifinals of the Central New England Prep School Baseball Tournament.
“A lot of things stood out,” McNamara said. “One was how gifted he was athletically, his ability to move so gracefully and powerfully. Also, his work ethic (stood out). He was constantly working, constantly asking questions and trying to learn. He was always a plus-plus defender. He was our best athlete by far, so we certainly wanted him at shortstop, but he can really play anywhere, and that’s something that’s going to help him get to the big leagues quickly.”
Shaw committed to Maryland before his junior season. His only other Division 1 offer at the time was from Northeastern. He made an immediate impact with the Terrapins, starting 45 games as a freshman and leading the team in batting average (.332). He was a first-team All-Big Ten selection last year, and he was sensational this season as he continued his rise as a top pro prospect.
“It has definitely taken a lot of focus,” Shaw said, “a lot of discipline and awareness of where you’re at. There are a lot of players that may be better than you. (It’s) being able to look at yourself and say, ‘What do I need to do to be better?’ and putting in a lot of effort on the field and off the field with nutrition and sleeping and things like that, and having that awareness to know how you can get better.”
Shaw, who played for the Worcester Bravehearts of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League in 2020, batted .360 with five home runs and 19 RBIs during his Cape Cod Baseball League MVP season last summer.
Shaw and McNamara have kept in touch through periodic texts, and Shaw considers Matt Swope, a longtime Maryland assistant who recently became Terrapins head coach, a great mentor.
At every level, Shaw’s experiences, and his unwavering commitment and drive brought him to his next and deserving opportunity.
“I’ve learned a bunch from every one of those places I’ve been,” Shaw said. “Along the way, I’ve been around really great people, really experienced people who understand the game and who understand life in general. In each one of those places, each one of those stops, I’ve had really great people to be in my corner.”
—Contact Jennifer Toland at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @JenTolandTG.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Former Worcester Academy star Matt Shaw awaits possible 1st-round selection in MLB Draft