Naperville Central’s Colin Barczi began his final high school season with a bang and nearly ended it with one too.
The star catcher homered in his first at-bat of the season opener against Lincoln-Way Central at Joliet’s Duly Health & Care Field.
Barczi’s final at-bat came in the bottom of the seventh inning of a 4-1 loss to Plainfield East in the opening round of the Class 4A Naperville Central Regional. Representing the tying run, Barczi smashed a one-out blast that just missed leaving the park.
“He absolutely crushed it,” Naperville Central coach Mike Stock said. “The whole place just held its breath. The ball got held up by the wind, which was blowing in, but the swing and the contact was what we’d seen all year. He just answered every challenge.”
Barczi, a Vanderbilt recruit, had more challenges than usual this season. Not only did opponents regularly pitch around him, but he missed 11 games with mononucleosis.
“Through all the ups and downs — and there were a lot of them this season — having the teammates there to push me while I was off with mono and once I was better was important,” Barczi said. “I was a little rusty, but I had teammates behind me who were pushing me to work harder.”
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One of the best players in Illinois, Barczi is the first three-time player of the year in the history of the DuPage Valley Conference, which was formed in 1975, and led the Redhawks (22-10) to their third straight title.
Barczi, the 2023 Naperville Sun Baseball Player of the Year, hit .417 with eight home runs, 31 RBIs and 17 runs scored in 21 games. The three-time area player of the year walked 23 times and struck out just eight times in 85 plate appearances, had a .576 on-base percentage and had a .917 slugging percentage. His return ignited the Redhawks’ 10-game winning streak.
“Going back after being out for three weeks was definitely a little nerve-wracking because I hadn’t seen a live pitch, but I knew I had it in me,” Barczi said. “I was just going to try to stay as confident as I could, and having guys cheering me on really helped bring me back to where I was before the sickness.”
While Barczi’s bat created buzz, his other skills were just as beneficial.
“What I realized when we lost him for those 11 games was how much it hurt our pitching,” Stock said. “That was no rip on our guys who had to catch instead. It was just how good he is at calling games and working with pitchers.”
Stock and his staff had always called pitches for their catchers, but they allowed Barczi to do it.
“It’s a little less rare than it used to be, but most guys are not calling games themselves,” Stock said. “He did a great job behind the plate for us for three years. Made the pitchers real confident.”
Barczi is the rare high school player whose every bat was a must-see event.
“One of the neat things about Colin is people pay attention, and rarely, if ever, were they disappointed,” Stock said. “I got that feedback from other coaches, players on other teams and even the umpires.
“He’s had a real special career, and it’s exciting. It’s only the beginning for him.”
Indeed, Barczi will soon embark on a busy summer. He is planning to spend July in the Futures League, which is for college players and uses wood bats, in New England.
“I’m super excited,” he said. “I’ve never been there, so it’s going to be cool.”
Barczi expects to be selected in the Major League Baseball draft, which will be held July 9-11, and has been invited to the predraft combine. Depending on what he’s offered, he may turn pro.
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“I have talked to a lot of teams, but they don’t really throw out numbers early,” he said. “I’m still going to play summer ball, so there’s still so much time before the draft for people to come see me.
“It’s been my dream ever since I was kid (to play professionally), but so is playing for Vanderbilt. I have two really great options, and we’ll see what happens.”
Regardless of his next move, Barczi will always have fond memories of his Naperville Central career.
“Central baseball is some of the best times of my life,” he said. “The coaches and the teammates really made it such a special period of time, so I’m so grateful for all of those guys.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.