logo
Sophomore Preston Morel maintains a persistent approach for Aurora Christian. Spotlight or not. ‘I play loose.'

Sophomore Preston Morel maintains a persistent approach for Aurora Christian. Spotlight or not. ‘I play loose.'

Chicago Tribune05-04-2025
The sharp glare of the spotlight doesn't bother Aurora Christian's Preston Morel whatsoever.
A sophomore infielder/pitcher, the versatile Morel doesn't feel out of place in the big moments.
'I've been dealing with pressure ever since I was a little kid,' Morel said. 'I'm used to it — and that is all the motivation I need. I play loose and I know how to keep my teammates up.'
Morel kept the Eagles on the upswing Friday afternoon, coming up with a two-run single that sparked his team to a 9-3 nonconference victory over host Aurora Central Catholic.
Junior infielder Nolan Robertson added two hits and drove in a run for Aurora Christian (8-2). Junior starter Zach Zappia (3-0) struck out eight, allowing five hits and a walk in five innings.
Junior pitcher Tyler Davis and freshman infielder Leo Corral drove in a run apiece for ACC (8-3).
Morel finished 2-for-2 with two walks and two runs. A starting guard in basketball, he had a quick turnaround to the spring season following the Eagles' run to the supersectional in Class 1A.
'I was still practicing in the offseason, but basketball was a long season and I only had a week off between seasons,' Morel said. 'I had a slow start with baseball, but I'm getting used to it.'
The 6-foot-2 Morel is hitting .379 with eight runs, three doubles and nine RBIs. He has the size and power to go deep and the athleticism to make plays on the bases or with his smooth fielding.
In his only start as a pitcher this spring, Morel struck out eight in four innings March 27 during an 8-3 win over Serena.
'He's a baller,' Aurora Christian coach Andy Zorger said of Morel. 'He comes to play every day. He never lets a strikeout or anything negatively affect him.
'He's not really fazed by anything. He's very versatile defensively and he can play a lot of different positions. He's got a good head on his shoulders.'
Robertson said Morel has a disarming quality that allows him to fit into the culture of the team.
'The guy's hilarious and he makes me laugh,' Robertson said. 'He's a competitor. He has fun, but he competes at the same time.
'I could tell last year when he was a freshman that he was going to be up with us. He's just a natural.'
He has also emerged from the shadow cast by older brother Cameron, a two-sport star who was the second-leading scorer as the Eagles took fourth place in basketball at state in 2023-24.
Their parents were both tennis players in college.
'It was so competitive with the two of us when we were growing up,' Preston said of Cameron, who's now playing basketball at Wisconsin-Platteville. 'We'd fight all the time.
'I miss him not being around. He's really the reason why I started playing both sports. I saw him playing and I wanted to play with him.'
Playing at the highest levels in baseball and basketball, Preston is primed for any experience.
'You need such a strong mentality, especially in baseball,' he said. 'The game is all mental. When I pitch or out in the field, it doesn't really matter. You just need that short-term memory.
'You make an error, just forget about it. Scratch it and move on.'
Morel deflects the attention and prefers to be part of a larger collective. It's his nature.
Even if his talent dictates otherwise.
'I just love hanging out with the guys,' Morel said. 'What I've taken from them and my brother is just the hard work I'm always putting in.
'I feel like I can't go a day without going to hit or something like that.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Red Sox remain focused on pitching in MLB Draft, select 12 more pitchers on Day 2
Red Sox remain focused on pitching in MLB Draft, select 12 more pitchers on Day 2

Boston Globe

timean hour ago

  • Boston Globe

Red Sox remain focused on pitching in MLB Draft, select 12 more pitchers on Day 2

'We had targeted a group of college pitchers that we really liked, and I think a lot of the bats that we liked as well went early,' said Sox amateur scouting director Devin Pearson. 'We were able to get a couple of bats that we had valued highly throughout the draft, but were really intentional with what bats we circled.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Of the eight pitchers the Sox drafted inside the top 300, seven hailed from SEC programs, and all were at least 6 feet, 2 inches. Advertisement 'Big frame, big [velocity], and stuff. That's kind of how we prioritize pitchers as we work throughout the draft,' Pearson said. 'And certainly, we got a lot of those guys. I know there's a lot of SEC players this year. That was, I guess, where all the big guys with stuff and [velocity] are.' The Sox' approach was epitomized by their fifth-round selection, Christian Foutch, a 6-3, 245-pound fireballer from Arkansas who averaged 98 miles per hour on his fastball and touched 101. Advertisement Foutch had a monster sophomore campaign in 2024, posting a 0.81 ERA, 20 strikeouts and one save in 20 appearances, and opened his junior season as the Razorbacks closer before losing the job because of a 4.09 ERA in 21 appearances, struggling with his secondary pitches. 'We saw some optimization opportunities there,' Pearson said. 'Definitely the velo, definitely the size and just the chance to get to really good secondaries and pairs that all together could give him a shot to be pretty interesting.' Similarly, in the ninth round, the Sox selected another of the SEC's hardest-throwing relievers in LSU flamethrower Jacob Mayers. The 6-5, 220-pound righthander has a sinker that sits at 96-97 miles per hour and has touched 102, with nearly 23 inches of induced vertical break — one of the best marks in the country. But in his junior season at LSU, Mayers posted a 4.80 ERA over 15 innings with a concerning 27.8 percent walk rate. 'Just a fun arm with some upside,' Pearson said. 'And we were excited to get him.' The Sox opened Monday with the fourth-round selection of Mason White, a power-hitting infielder from Arizona. White hit .327 with 20 home runs and 73 RBIs in 65 games as a junior, and cut down on his strikeout rate from 35.6 percent as a sophomore to 25.3 percent as a junior — albeit still a high number 'He cut down his lift rate a lot, and has just continued to get better. Gets the ball near the pull side with some power,' Pearson said. 'He fits what we do here, well, and especially at a premium position, with a guy we didn't want to miss on.' Advertisement In the 13th round, the Sox selected Jack Winnay, a Newton product who played at Belmont Hill. Winnay played the infield and the outfield over his three seasons at Wake Forest, mashing 20 home runs as a sophomore and 15 as a junior. The Sox also spent only one draft pick on a high school prospect, coming with the selection of Fabian Bonilla out of Christian Military Academy (Puerto Rico) in the 19th round. 'It's a result of how the board went,' Pearson said of the lack of high school selections. 'We've had a lot of success with high school hitters recently. And if there were ones we could access that we really like, we certainly would have taken them.' Matty Wasserman can be reached at

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni slams criticism that Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts isn't a top-tier QB: 'That's bulls***'
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni slams criticism that Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts isn't a top-tier QB: 'That's bulls***'

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni slams criticism that Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts isn't a top-tier QB: 'That's bulls***'

Jalen Hurts is a Super Bowl champion and a Super Bowl MVP. But the jury remains out on where exactly Hurts stands in the echelon of NFL quarterback play. Hurts' hardware from leading the Philadelphia Eagles to their second Super Bowl title in February leaves him as a made NFL man. But his performance as a starting NFL quarterback of four-plus seasons leaves plenty of detractors of his bonafides. Advertisement Hurts doesn't stack up with the top tier or even the second tier of NFL passers. And his success is more of a product of his elite supporting cast than his own abilities. So that argument goes. Nick Sirianni: 'That's bulls***' That's not an argument that Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni is interested in entertaining. He lashed out at the case in candid comments recently made to local media that surfaced Monday. 'Yeah, that's bulls***,' Sirianni said, per Reuben Franks of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Sirianni went on to characterize the criticism of Hurts as a media contrivance — something to fill air time in a broadcast environment with a lot of hours to fill. 'Anytime, I hear that, it's cool, it's like a nice debate thing that people like to have,' Sirianni continued. 'And I get it, there's a lot of hours that TV shows and radio stations have to fill to be able to fill that debate. "I understand that, but we're talking about the ultimate team game there is, and he does whatever he needs to do to win each and every game.' That's legitimate criticism of media from Sirianni. But it doesn't directly address the criticism of Hurts, which isn't without merit. Criticism of Jalen Hurts' game is valid. But this is what does — and should — matter to Nick Sirianni. (Logan Bowles via Getty Images) Is the criticism of Hurts warranted? Hurts plays behind the league's best offensive line and has an elite stable of playmakers at his disposal, most notably reigning Offensive Player of the Year Saquon Barkley and three-time Pro Bowl receiver A.J. Brown. Advertisement Philadelphia's offense is balanced by an elite defense that allowed the fewest yards and the second-fewest points in the NFL last season. Hurts is set up for success like arguably no other quarterback in football. Meanwhile, Hurts' passing performance in the 2024 regular season met the definition of middling. In 15 regular season games last season, Hurts completed 68.7% of his passes for 7.35 yards per attempt and 2,903 total yards with 18 touchdowns and five interceptions. His quarterback rating of 96.7 ranked 12th among NFL starters. His passing touchdown total ranked 20th. His passing yards per game (193.5) ranked 26th. Those are the numbers of a solid NFL starter, not anyone sniffing an All-Pro team. Hurts' rushing totals of 630 yards and — more notably — 14 touchdowns boosts his case as a difference-maker. Of course, the counter to that points back to his elite offensive line and the tush push that virtually guarantees a touchdown in short-yardage situations at the goal line. Advertisement The counter to that counter is that Hurts' mammoth legs and lower-body strength are integral to the success of the tush push. And so the debate goes. Sirianni: Mahomes, Brady also boosted by great teammates Here's what Sirianni has to say about criticism that Hurts' success is a product of his surroundings. 'You name me a team that wins and wins consistently that doesn't have good players around you,' Sirianni said. 'Like, you name me a coach that doesn't have good players around him that wins. Like, you don't win with bad players, and it's the same thing you don't win with bad players as you're a quarterback either. 'It's a team game. Yeah, that always bothers me to be honest with you, when it's talked about because it's football.' Sirianni went on to list a few of the certified all-time greats alongside a salient point. They weren't playing with bums en route to their Super Bowl victories either. 'One of the reasons I love football so much is that it takes everybody to accomplish your goals,' Sirianni continued. 'Listen, you name great quarterbacks, you can go ahead and start naming great quarterbacks. I'll tell you their great receivers and their great defense. 'You know? Whether it's [Tom] Brady with [Rob] Gronkowski or Brady's defenses, [Patrick] Mahomes with [Travis] Kelce, Steve Young with Jerry Rice. The list goes on and on and on." The counter to that, of course, is that Hurts' track record as an elite performer doesn't come close to those of Brady, Mahomes and Young. He just doesn't consistently make the same kind of game-breaking and game-winning plays that they do or did. And his numbers don't stack up. Advertisement But none of this should matter to Sirianni. He's the coach of a Super Bowl championship team with a Super Bowl MVP at quarterback. And when the stakes were at their highest, there was nothing middling about Hurts' game. Hurts averaged 10 yards per attempt for 221 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in February's Super Bowl romp over Kansas City. He added a game-high 72 rushing yards and another touchdown on the ground as the Chiefs steamrolled Mahomes and the Chiefs. That was a legit Super Bowl MVP performance in one of the most dominant Super Bowl wins in recent memory. And it's the exact thing Sirianni should hang his hat on when talking about the quarterback of his football team. There's no upside for Sirianni to entertain arguments otherwise.

Cal Raleigh to play for US in World Baseball Classic, joining Judge, Skenes and Witt
Cal Raleigh to play for US in World Baseball Classic, joining Judge, Skenes and Witt

Hamilton Spectator

time2 hours ago

  • Hamilton Spectator

Cal Raleigh to play for US in World Baseball Classic, joining Judge, Skenes and Witt

ATLANTA (AP) — Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh agreed to play for the U.S. team at next year's World Baseball Classic, joining captain Aaron Judge, Paul Skenes and Bobby Witt Jr. USA Baseball announced the decision Monday before Raleigh participated in the All-Star Home Run Derby. The 28-year-old entered the All-Star break leading the major leagues with 38 homers and 82 RBIs. The 20-nation WBC will be played from March 5-17. Japan is defending champion. Also Monday, the World Baseball Softball Confederation said the baseball tournament at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will be played from July 15-20 at Dodger Stadium. MLB is considering whether it can interrupt its 2028 season to allow major leagues to participate. There will be two groups of three teams during a preliminary round over three days, with two games per day. The group winners advance to the semifinals, while the other teams compete in a pair of quarterfinals. Semifinals will be played July 19, and gold and bronze medal games the next day. The softball tournament will be played from July 23-29 at OKC Softball Park in Oklahoma City. A five-day round-robin will be played on July 28 followed by the gold medal game the next day. ___ AP MLB:

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store