MORE: 20 for 2020, Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
FONTANA, Calif. - Football, baseball or both?
That will be the question D.J. Uiagalelei will have to answer in the coming years since the 2020 five-star quarterback from Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco is a star football player and might be a first-round Major League Baseball pick, too.
“That’s what people say,” Uiagalelei said this past weekend at the Passing Down SoCal Regional. “That I’m supposed to be a first-round pick coming out of high school.
“That’s very big. I’ve always liked baseball. That’s always been a sport I’ve always loved. That’s a real sport for me, that’s a real possibility.”
The 6-foot-4, 235-pound quarterback took over the starting job shortly into his sophomore season at powerhouse Bosco and finished with 2,733 passing yards with 29 touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for four scores. USC, Alabama, LSU, Michigan and other national powers remain seriously involved in his early recruitment.
He is not playing baseball this season at Bosco but has developed a reputation as one of the best high school-level pitchers nationally and he’s traveled the country playing club baseball for years.
For Uiagalelei, a five-star in the first 2020 rankings released this week, his future is bright whether it’s on the football field, on the baseball diamond or both.
“It just depends when that time comes,” Uiagalelei said. “If I go to college, I want to play both in college. I want to play both football and baseball in college. Whatever college lets me play both, that’s where I’ll go. If I do decide to go straight out of high school to the MLB then that’s another thing.”
The decision does not need to be rushed. Uiagalelei is not playing high school baseball this year as he focuses on an ever-demanding football schedule that has him traveling all over the region for camps and 7-on-7 tournaments.
But he will return to the sport for his junior and senior years and he already has a lot of seasoning. The 2020 recruit has been playing baseball since he was four years old. He had only three years of youth football under his belt.
It’s a rare situation to be a baseball and football star at this level, but hardly unprecedented. In his senior year of high school, Joe Mauer was the only player ever to be selected the USA Today High School Player of the Year in both sports. He’s now the first baseman for the Minnesota Twins.
Drew Henson played at Michigan (according to reports, he was going to sign with Florida State until Chris Weinke, coming back from a stint in the minor leagues, picked the Seminoles) and signed a professional baseball contract with the New York Yankees.
A four-star in the 2002 recruiting class, long-time pro Jeff Francouer turned down playing football at Clemson after being a first-round MLB Draft pick and then had a lengthy career with multiple baseball franchises. Two-time Super Bowl champion John Elway was a talented baseball player who was selected in the 18th round by the Kansas City Royals. He chose football - and that sure paid off.
According to Uiagalelei’s dad, the word he’s been told from scouts is that his son has first-round potential. Long-term, he might have that potential in the NFL Draft as well. It will still be a choice, though, whether one or both sports will be pursued seriously after high school. A commitment that won’t have to come soon.
“I still don’t know,” Uiagalelei said. “For right now I’m just worried about high school. That’s a long time away. I’m just worried about my high school season now for football. When that time comes I’ll worry about that then.
“I’ll play my junior and senior years of baseball so that’s when I’ll really get down with baseball.”
And really ready to choose what his future holds.
