Colson Montgomery felt “a wave of emotions” when he heard his name called during Sunday’s MLB draft.
“Especially with all the hard work, everything that I put into this sport, it all paid off,” Montgomery said during a conference call. “And it’s not the end either. It’s just the beginning.”
The Chicago White Sox selected the shortstop from Southridge High School in Indiana with the No. 22 pick.
“I’m very honored and blessed to have this opportunity to continue my next chapter with the White Sox,” Montgomery said.
Montgomery, 19, batted .333 with nine doubles, seven home runs, 23 RBIs and 42 runs during his senior season at Southridge in southern Indiana. He helped the team win the IHSAA Class 3A state championship.
Montgomery earned second-team All-America honors from Baseball America and MaxPreps.
“We were hoping, we were watching intently in the draft room, watching if the Cubs or a team in front of us would select him,” said Mike Shirley, the Sox director of amateur scouting. “We weren’t sure if he would get there or not. We’d heard as high as 10 in the draft. We heard a lot of different stories.
“He was a guy we had our eye on. We feel lucky. We feel like we got the right guy. We are very excited to have this young man.”
Montgomery is the first shortstop drafted by the Sox in the first round since All-Star Tim Anderson in 2013.
“I feel like it’s the most athletic position on the field,” Montgomery said. “It’s not all about physical, it’s about the leadership standpoint. That’s what I’m big on, being a leader. Communicate to everybody. That’s why I like playing shortstop.”
Montgomery is a left-handed batter and throws right-handed. He was ranked No. 25 on MLB.com’s list of the top 250 draft prospects and was listed as the No. 7 infield and No. 14 high school prospect.
“The White Sox were always high on the list, especially with the connections I had, especially with Shirley,” Montgomery said. “I could tell how passionate he was and how confident he was with me and my abilities. Once the clock starting ticking down and running into the White Sox’s pick, I got pretty confident that was where I was going to land.
“Just knowing Shirley, I get a really good idea what the White Sox organization is all about.”
Montgomery was a three-sport athlete at Southridge, playing baseball, basketball and football. He was recommended by Sox scout Justin Wechsler.
“We think this guy is going to continue to flourish,” Shirley said. “I think the most transformative piece in the bat this year was every time this kid, when we were in the park, struck the ball, the power was real. When he delivers the barrel, he gets to his power.
“That was the thing offensively that jumped out at us. You think about a plus bat in terms of the hit tool plus power, that was the exceptional piece. You have an easy-moving athlete, graceful, does the part defensively, gets to the impact of the bat. That jumped out at us as well.”
White Sox draft picks
1st round (No. 22): Colson Montgomery, SS, Southridge HS (Ind.)
2nd (57): Wes Kath, 3B, Desert Mountain HS (Ariz.)
3rd (94): Sean Burke, RHP, Maryland
4th (124): Brooks Gosswein, LHP, Bradley
5th (155): Tanner McDougal, RHP, Silverado HS (Nev.)
6th (185): Taylor Broadway, RHP, Mississippi
7th (215): Theo Denlinger, RHP, Bradley
8th (245): Fraser Ellard, LHP, Liberty
9th (275): Gil Luna Jr., LHP, Arizona
10th (305): Tommy Sommer, LHP, Indiana
11th (335): Christian Edwards, RHP, Jacksonville State
12th (365): Johnny Ray, RHP, TCU
13th (395): Colby Smelley, C, Shelton State CC (Ala.)
14th (425): Noah Owen, RHP, Golden West College (Calif.)
15th (455): Cameron Butler, OF, Big Valley Christian HS (Calif.)
16th (485): Terrell Tatum, OF, N.C. State
17th (515): Jayson Gonzalez, 3B, Vanderbilt
18th (545): Adam Hackenberg, C, Clemson
19th (575): Shawn Goosenberg, SS, Northwestern
20th (605): Haylen Green, LHP, TCU
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