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By Aaron Wilson
PBR Michigan Assistant Scouting Director

In PBR Michigan's inaugural season, a shortstop from Ann Arbor Pioneer High School was named the #2 player overall for the class of 2012. He went on to sign at the University of Michigan playing three seasons, raking up numerous accolades such as All-Freshmen team, All Big Ten, Louisville Slugger & Baseball America Preseason All American. This past June he was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 2015 MLB Amateur draft. His name, Travis Maezes. Travis took time out of his busy schedule to speak with PBR Michigan.

PBR: You were heavily recruited out of high school, why did you choose the University of Michigan?

Travis: I grew up in Ann Arbor and have lived by campus my whole life. I visited a number of other schools but nothing could beat the school I grew up cheering for as a kid.

PBR: How was the experience at the University of Michigan?

Travis: I loved my three years at Michigan. The coaching staff pushed us to not just become better players but better men. I met some great people along the way as well. I didn’t realize how big the Michigan network was until I was apart of it.

PBR: After a brilliant career at Ann Arbor Pioneer, you had immediate success at U of M, being named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All American, All Big Ten Freshman Team, followed by two All Big Ten Selections. How did you make the transition so smoothly and what is the biggest difference from high school to college ball?

Travis: When I stepped foot on campus I was apart of a new coaching staff. The staff along with the upperclassmen set a foundation of excellence and as a young guy on the team I followed those standards so it made the transition much easier. The biggest difference from high school to college was combining the baseball and school together. You spend more time at the field then you ever have in your life and you also add an increase workload in the classroom.

PBR: How did PBR assist you?

Travis: I went to a few PBR Showcases that always had a number of college coaches in attendance. I used PBR to get my name out there to the schools where I had interest in attending. PBR was a very helpful resource in the recruiting process.

PBR: You recently won the Big Ten Tournament Title advancing to play in the NCAA College Regional, how was that experience?

Travis: We went on a great run to end the year. The seniors were a huge part of that. Team 149 did something that hasn’t been done in the program in a number of years and that was win a championship. To be a member of that team was extremely special, it was a great year for the Michigan program. I’m expecting great things for Team 150.