OMAHA (KMTV) — Millard South grad Camden Kozeal lives and breathes baseball.
On Friday morning he came home from a couple of months of playing in the Futures League in New Hampshire.
By Friday afternoon he was back at his alma mater’s batting cages getting some reps in.
Kozeal’s preparing to play baseball at the next level in some way.
He’s already committed to play at Vanderbilt, but he’s also ranked in the top 150 on the MLB.com prospect list.
So if he hears his name called to the pros, he has a decision to make.
“It’s definitely a pull both ways,” Kozeal said. “There’s benefits of both and there’s negatives of both. But the way I like to look at it is it’s two Plan As. There’s not really a bad option, and I’m excited for whatever comes my way.”
He said he’s been playing baseball in some form since he could walk.
“My parents had a little apartment out in Bellevue, and I still have pictures of me outside the apartment with my glove trying to field ground balls and that sort of stuff with my dad,” he said.
That childhood activity could soon become his career and he’s not taking it for granted.
“So many kids wish they could be in this position,” Kozeal said. “It’s kind of every little boy’s dream to either play [in] the College World Series or a professional baseball team if you get to the big leagues. So you’ve kind of just gotta put it in perspective and leave it on God’s hands. That’s just kind of how it goes.”
He’s played other sports throughout his life, including four years of football at Millard South.
Baseball though was the one that stuck.
“I knew baseball was my future probably sophomore year of high school when I went down to the PBR Futures games and college recruiting really started taking off,” Kozeal said. “Going to a very major program and playing back in Omaha in your home city. That’s a possibility for me now.”
Last summer, the pro scouts started looking at him.
With the draft a few days away, Kozeal’s hoping he’ll help pave the way for more players looking to live out their dreams on the diamond.
“It’s a unique experience and you’ve kind of just gotta savor it,” he said. “Eventually hopefully more Nebraska prepsters have the experience I’m having and I can go back and help them.”
