Straughn freshman center fielder Ethan Wilson fell in love with baseball at a young age, and has dreams of making it to the majors.

 

Wilson has been into all kinds of sports from the time he was able to walk, but baseball and his dreams of a big league career have been the driving force behind the Tigers’ standout freshman.

 

“I play football, basketball and baseball,” Wilson said. “But baseball has always been my passion.”

 

The first time Wilson picked up a bat he was around 3 years old.

 

“The first bat I ever picked up was one of those big yellow plastic bats,” Wilson said. “My dad (Ray Wilson) would toss me wiffle balls in the living room, and that was when I fell in the love with the game of baseball.”

 

Wilson was hooked from that moment on, and said he would spend hours in front of the television watching baseball games and imitating the swings of professional players.

 

Last season as an eighth grader, Wilson was called up to the varsity team, and made an impact as soon as he arrived. The success allowed Wilson to gain important confidence in his game.

 

“I think it was my second game on varsity, and we were playing a doubleheader against Hillcrest,” he said. “I was 3-for-3 with two doubles in the first game, and 2-for-3 in the second game. That was when I really gained confidence in myself.”

 

Wilson said that he was well aware of how hard the path to major league baseball is, but he said that he is determined to do what it takes to reach his ultimate goal.

 

“It’s a lot of hard work,” Wilson said. “I know that is, but when you want something, you have to be willing to put in the work to achieve it.”

 

A couple of the things Wilson said he has to work on are his speed, and his base-running skills.

 

Wilson said each season he strives to be the best player on the team, and sets lofty goals for himself along with common team goals of winning area and state championships.