Inside the Recruitment: '17, SS Carson Burns Commits to Western Texas College

We take a minute to catch up with Ontario Nationals shortstop Carson Burns, who recently committed to Western Texas College. Burns is a left-handed hitting shortstop with smooth actions defensively and he will look to play a big role offensively this summer in the CPBL with the Nats. He takes us inside his recruitment process and offers some good advice to others going through the same situation.

PBR: What were your expectations about the recruiting process? Was it easy/difficult?
Burns: Right from the start I wanted to go to a junior college program just to develop myself more as a player because I wasn't sure if I was ready for D1 program. I was getting some D1 looks but I thought the juco route would be a little better route for me. My process was fairly easy because I had a good video and some coaches with some good connections, so I had a lot of help along the way.

PBR: Why did you choose Western Texas?
Burns: I chose Western Texas because it's among one of the best Juco conferences in the country. I wanted to go as far south as possible and getting some offers in Texas was right up my alley. I see kids who are going to big D1 schools who transferred to this conference, that’s how good it is. Also the program is on the uprise with a bunch of returning freshman so i'm excited to see what we can do next fall.

PBR: Where did Coach Martinez first see you and how did your relationship develop with the WT staff?
Burns: Coach Martinez first saw me through my video on the PBR Ontario website,  taken by PBR scout George Halim. He then started talking to one of my assistant coaches and he gave them my contact information. Once I started talking to Coach Martinez, it just felt like a good relationship. He also previously coached one of my high school teammates, so that was good to know as well.

PBR: Who has helped you the most to get to where you are today?
Burns: Honestly there's been a bunch people help me get to where I am today. I mean mostly my coaches of the Ontario nationals, George Halim of PBR Ontario, Trevor Nyp who owns PlayBall Academy, and always a bunch of respect, support, and encouragement from my teammates. Without the help of these guys I would not be where I am today.

PBR: What team do you play for in the summer and how has that helped you prepare for the next level?
Burns: I play for the Ontario Nationals organization and the coaches there absolutely know what they're doing. I used to be pull happy, not even look to the other side of field and just try and hit homeruns every at bat. They helped me realize that middle away is where all the hits are and it makes you such a better hitter. The strength training in the winter also has prepared me for what's going to come next year. The CPBL league is best of the best here in Canada so I'm thankful to have this league to prepare me before I leave.

PBR: At what point in your career did you realize you were a college caliber player and became serious about taking your game to the next level?
Burns: Honestly until joining the Ontario nationals I always hoped I would play college baseball but never really had the skill or potential do it. Up until my grade 10 year I had never been involved with elite baseball, and I played house league until grade 8. The Ontario nationals gave me a chance and thankfully with hard work and good coaching it paid off.  It was probably around the beginning of last year where I finally started to think I could play college baseball. With a very successful year last year for myself, I've built a lot of confidence and hopefully can bring that into this year.

PBR: What advice would you give to young baseball players striving to get where you are?
Burns: To any young kid trying to go play college baseball you have to want it bad. Nothing worth having comes easy. For me baseball was all I had so I didn't see any other way. You have to work at it every chance you get and if it's something you really want you won't mind.

PBR: What do you like most about Western Texas and what was the key factors in making your decision?
Burns: Again just the atmosphere of Texas baseball and the conference down there. Battling day to day with the best juco players in the nation will definitely make me better as a baseball player which is my ultimate goal.

PBR: What do you feel are the strengths about your game?
Burns: I think definitely my defensive game. Some people say I have really good hands but I'm not really sure I think it all just comes natural. I do take ground balls every day though because I really value defence especially being a shortstop. I'm definitely not the strongest kid but I do put the ball in play mostly every time with authority. Every at bat I just try to send a line drive up the middle or the other way and I had a lot of success doing that last year.

PBR: Preview your team, and what expectations you have for the upcoming summer?
Burns: Definitely going to be a good hitting team. A lot of guys that know how to hit and a couple more with some tuneups over the winter, we should be in good shape. We did lose a good core group of guys like Andy Leader, Jaxon Valcke, Jason Jovetic, Daniel Weagle and many others. We are young team with a lot of developing to do but we should be all right this season, hopefully win a lot of ball games.

PBR: What is your most memorable baseball moment to date?
Burns: My most memorable baseball moment is definitely hitting a walkoff homerun in my CWOSAA high school finals with a 6-4 win sending us to OFSAA.

PBR: Who is the toughest pitcher that you have faced in Ontario?
Burns: I think the toughest picture I've faced so far in the CPBL is Jonathan Burkhart. He's not necessarily a flamethrower but the kid knows how to pitch. Facing RJ Freure and Jordan Balazovic was definitely a little tough but I find Burkhart always shut me down along with my whole team.