Seth Halvorsen To Take Baseball Talents To Mizzou
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- There are only a few baseball players in these parts that garner big attention; that bring out the scouts with their radar guns and charts to watch and evaluate.
Seth Halvorsen is getting that attention this spring.
His dad was a division one baseball player who moved the family to the Twin Cities nine years ago to start a church in Maple Grove.
Hes spends part of his day at Heritage Christian Academy with pre-school children.
"It's a great time playing with the kids, and it's a good learning experience just to remember what it was like being young, and just how there's not really a worry in the world, besides just playtime," Seth said.
He figured something out at an early age: He liked baseball.
"We'll I've been playing ever since I could hold a ball," he said. "My dad played in college and so obviously he inspired me to play, and he's wanted me to play for my entire life … with any sort of ball that I've had in my hand, and then it just ended up a baseball."
His coach, Jon Ledeboer, remembers when he first heard of Seth.
"His brother actually came over with him, I think Seth was on spring break when we started baseball practice, and Nathan [Halverson] was a very good player, good pitcher, good hitter for us, and so I was glad to see him," Jon said. "I started talking to him, and he's like, 'Yeah, just wait until you see my brother swing, he's better than I am [laughs]!'"
He was right. Seth has flourished in front of their eyes. He is one of the best players in the state, and he has his eyes on the future.
"I want to be a pro baseball player, so I'm going to do whatever I have the best ability or the best chance to do that, and whatever position that is then I'll do it. I'd prefer to be shortstop, probably, but I'd love to do both," Seth said.
Coach also sees pro baseball in Seth's future.
"I think he's a kid that has, you know, the five tools that baseball players talk about and baseball coaches talk about," Jon said. "He has all five of those tools. Obviously has a very strong right arm."
He plays in the summer with the Minnesota Blizzard, which is an elite group that helped him secure a scholarship.
"I'm going to the University of Missouri," Seth said. "I selected it because they recruited me to be a "two way." That means I play shortstop and pitcher. And I like the coaches a lot, I like the atmosphere there, the coach is great, and I've always dreamed of playing in the SEC."
Part of what they like is about him is that he is an athlete. All you have to do is watch him play basketball. He has the natural motion and explosion that you cannot teach.
"There's things you can teach, and there's things you can hone, but athletic gifts aren't really something you can teach," Jon said. "A lot of stuff is God-given."
When you can make it look effortless, it usually means you have gifts.
"I don't think anybody expected [HCA's boys basketball team] to go to state this year after graduating four starting seniors," Seth said. "But this year was a lot of fun. I've never really, like, played basketball too hard. I've just kind of played it for school and that's about it."
But that will become his fun-time sport. What he has to be is serious about baseball, and he's serious because, like the good ones, he loves to compete.
He closes out what has been quite a ride since he showed up at Heritage Christian Academy as a freshman. It has been a high school career filled with highlights and few regrets.
"The people have been great here. They've supported me throughout my baseball career, and just academically people help you here, and it's great, and coaches are awesome," Seth said.