Prep Baseball Report

Player Spotlight: LHP Hunter Swift (Staley, 2016)



Shon Plack
Missouri Scouting Director

Hunter Swift (Staley, 2016) is a 5-foot-8 172-pound left-handed pitcher that led Staley to the Class 5 State Championship game.  In a relief appearance against Liberty North to send the Falcons to the state quarterfinal game, Swift touched 85 mph and was later named Honorable-Mention All-State as a pitcher.  He was a member of Team Missouri in the PBR Future Games last summer and recently attended the Class of 2016 Games on June 9 in St. Louis.  Currently, Swift is suiting up for Mac N Seitz Hobbs 18U team this summer.  

Swift had a chance to answer a few questions about his recruiting process.

PBR: Are you looking for anything in particular in a school?

Swift: I would like to major in Criminal Justice so that is a must and accommodations for my Dyslexia would help ensure my academic success.  A wish list item would be the opportunity to be a two way player.

PBR: Describe the atmosphere at T.R. Hughes for the Class 5 State Championship.  What were your high school statistics? Name some players that played a key role in Staley’s success.

Swift: The atmosphere at T.R. Hughes was intense.  I tried to block out everything but the fact that I was there to play ball.  I had a 2.4 ERA overall and my relief ERA was 0.  I pitched a total of 50.67 innings.  My coach had a great deal of faith in me this year as I started against 6 of the top 10 schools in the state. The amazing thing about the Staley team this year was that all of the players contributed to our success.  If I had to pick one player, it would be Sean Cooley, my catcher.  Without a trusted catcher behind the plate, a pitcher is worthless.

PBR: What are your goals for your senior season?

Swift: #1 is to win state.  Everything else will fall into place when we do that.

PBR: What travel team do you play for?

Swift: My summer travel team is MNS Hobbs 18u.  We played our first tournament this past weekend in St. Louis.  We will be in Atlanta the end of June and Arkansas mid-July.  We play every weekend somewhere.

PBR: Describe your experience at PBR’s Future Games last August.

Swift: It was awesome.  There were more scouts in one place than I have ever seen.  It was an honor to represent Missouri in that way.

PBR: Do you play any other sports?

Swift: played basketball until the 8th grade and football through my sophomore year of high school and even lettered but baseball has always been my passion.

PBR: What are your ACT and GPA?

Swift: My ACT is a 22 and my GPA is a 3.43.  I have Dyslexia but I attribute a great deal of my success to this challenge.  I have to work harder and smarter to compete.

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