“Poudre High School's Carlile catches baseball scholarship to Missouri”

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Poudre High School's Carlile catches baseball scholarship to Missouri Posted: 30 Jul 2010 07:25 AM PDT Drew Carlile laid wide awake in bed Sunday night at the Holiday Inn in Columbia, Mo. The recent Poudre High School graduate was set to go to a baseball camp at the University of Missouri the next day that might as well have doubled as a tryout and a job interview. "I was pretty nervous," Carlile said. "I didn't sleep for a while. I really wanted Missouri to work out." Things ended up working out great Monday for Carlile, who performed so well at the camp that he will play collegiate baseball for the Tigers next year after he was offered and accepted a scholarship later that evening. "My goal all along was to play Division I, and I really wanted to play in a good conference," Carlile said. "I really liked the campus and the town, and the coaches were great." Had the Big 12 Conference member not come through with the 11th-hour offer, Carlile, a catcher, said he was prepared to take a year off and possibly go to a baseball academy in Florida. He went to a camp at Duke earlier in the summer but was informed that the program did not need another catcher. Missouri seemed like a good fit from the outset. Chris Knabenshue, Carlile's fall league coach and Atlanta Braves scout, Fort Collins coach Frank Gonzales and private instructor Rick Sellers had ties to the Tigers' coaching staff. All three put in a good word on Carlile's behalf. Still, Missouri did not look like it was in the market for another catcher until Brett Nicholas signed with the Texas Rangers earlier this summer. "They didn't expect him to sign, so that's when they sent me an e-mail about the camp," Carlile said. "They told me I'd probably play in a secondary (backup) role next year, but they also said if I worked hard, I'd have a shot at playing some." Carlile became the sixth 2010 graduate from Fort Collins who will play Division I baseball. The others are Rocky Mountain's quartet of Marco Gonzales (Gonzaga), Bryan Matz (Air Force Academy), Pierce Trumper (Arkansas) and Luke White (Kansas State) and Fort Collins' Dakota Holcomb (Southern Illinois). "A rising tide like Rocky Mountain raises all ships," Poudre coach Marc Buffington said. "I think having Drew sign to play Division I is a good motivator for future Poudre players. "Drew's an extremely smart kid. Finding the right fit for him athletically and academically was extremely important to him. I think he'll be able to handle both the mental and physical aspect of playing at that level, and I'm sure he's going to represent Northern Colorado well." Carlile hit .451 with three home runs and 26 RBIs as senior, but his most impressive stats probably came off the field. He graduated 13th in his class with a 4.2 GPA and as a member of Poudre's vaunted International Baccalaureate program. "I wanted to go some place real good academically," Carlile said. "I'm not sure what I'm going to be majoring in yet, but Missouri has a lot of good programs." Five Filters featured article: "Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

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