Former Naperville Central baseball star Colin Barczi began his junior season at Vanderbilt with a bang by slugging three home runs against TCU in the opener on Feb. 13.
Five days later, it nearly ended with a pop.
Barczi, a 6-foot-3, 217-pound catcher, suffered an injury in his throwing shoulder on a slide during a game against Eastern Michigan. He was sidelined for a month but returned to action as a designated hitter, determined to contribute anything he could for the Commodores.
“I was like, ‘I’m not sitting out,’” Barczi said. “I was only swinging on game days and days leading up to game days. Basically, I just kind of swung through it.”
Unable to play in the field, Barczi still appeared in 31 games. He had another three-homer game against Texas A&M on April 2 and finished the season with a .263 average and a career-high 11 home runs to go with 28 RBIs and 27 runs scored.
Barczi, who was a three-time area player of the year, had shoulder surgery in late June. Dr. Keith Meister repaired a small labral tear and cleaned up Barczi’s rotator cuff. Meister also performed Chicago Cubs pitcher Justin Steele’s elbow surgery in April 2025.
“He’s one of the best baseball doctors in the world,” Barczi said. “He’s super confident that I’m going to be back at 100%.
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“I’ll be swinging by next year and behind the plate just a few months after. Once I get behind the plate again, it will be just a few months until I get all my velocity back.”
In the meantime, Barczi is back home in Naperville and getting some rest while recovering from the surgery. He’s eligible for the 2026 MLB Draft, which will be held in Philadelphia on Saturday and Sunday, Barczi’s 22nd birthday.
“I went to the draft combine, which went really well, and then I had my surgery,” he said. “I really haven’t heard too much, honestly. I’m just letting it play out, letting my agent do all the talking.
“I’m just sitting back, relaxing and enjoying my time at home just knowing that whatever happens is going to happen.”
Barczi’s shoulder injury might put a damper on his draft prospects this weekend, but he still has two more years of eligibility remaining at Vanderbilt.
“I have two amazing options,” he said. “It’s either go live out my dream of playing minor league ball or go back to Vanderbilt. So it’s not like I’m stressing one way or the other.
“I’m chilling, hanging out with some of the boys from Central, just taking it easy, getting to see my family for the first time in a while. So it’s all good.”
Barczi has always been a good hitter. Former Naperville North star Tanner Mally, who just completed his junior season at Western Michigan and also could be selected in the draft, competed against Barczi in high school.
“He’s special,” Mally said. “He’s a freak athlete and just a solid dude on top of that. He’s one of those guys who you just have to root for, even if I played against him.
“I haven’t talked to him personally lately. I’ll reach out eventually. But I’ve been following his career.”
So has Naperville North coach Jim Chiappetta, who coached Barczi’s older brother, Christian, a catcher who later played at Valparaiso.
“I obviously knew about him as a youngster,” Chiappetta said. “I just love seeing any time a Naperville kid excels. Between the lines, it’s a different story when you’re competing against each other, right? But when they go on to do special things, it’s pretty awesome.
“Whether they’re wearing Navy blue or they’re wearing red, it’s a great representation of the town. It speaks volumes to how many kids we have here that are good in a variety of different sports and maintain those successes.”
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Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.