Collin Auten '19 Recruiting Profile

Hello, My Name is Collin Auten and I am a 2019 graduate from Jay M Robinson High School and I hope to find a spot on your roster as a Catcher, Pitcher or Third baseman.

At Third Base I enjoy the fast pace and having to be ready at any moment to prevent a ball from getting past me.  While pitching I look forward to facing tough hitters to see if I can win the battle or if I didn’t start a game when the coach would put me on the mound with no outs and bases loaded.  Catching quickly became my favorite position. I can use my strategic thinking to size up the situation, keep my pitchers focused and run the field.  While Batting I focus on the situation making adjustments to beat the Pitcher to move batters and get on base.

I started playing baseball when I was 9 years old. From that day on I can’t imagine a day without baseball and I knew a early on that I wanted to play baseball at the highest level I could and I was going work hard to reach that goal.  I stayed focused in school, taking the hardest classes and maintaining a 4.0 GPA knowing that would open doors for me at the type of schools I wanted to attend. 

Early in my sophomore year I hurt my back. At the time the trainers and doctors told me it was muscular and gave me stretches and exercises to help. I followed their direction and continued to play through the pain. Finally, in July of 2017 the pain had gotten so bad I told my Mom it had to be more serious than a muscle issue. After 2 months of pushing the doctors and insurance company they finally did an MRI’s and CT scans which showed that my back was broken. The doctors told me that since I had played for so long without a correct diagnosis I only had a 70% chance that my back would heal correctly.

After hearing the news, I was faced with a tough decision. Continue to play through the pain by altering my playing style and not play as hard as I used to, or try to get my back to heal so I could play with the 100% effort I enjoyed.

I chose to stay focused on my goals to play at the highest most competitive level. To do that I had to be committed to wear a hard-shell custom brace 24 hrs. a day and no physical activity other than walking until my back was healed. I went into the brace in October of 2017 and was scanned every 3 months to check the healing process. After 9 months in that brace my back was healed! I was able to start training and playing again. This was great news but now I was faced with the fact that I lost my entire Junior year of recruiting and I had a lot of catching up to do.

I have been on the field and doing drills to get back into the athletic shape I was in before a year of no training. Although it has been hard work I have enjoyed every minute of it. I had forgotten what it was like to play with no pain! I am a hard-working, dedicated athlete that does not give up. I will work hard on the field and in the classroom to be successful at the next level.

I know I am facing an uphill battle to achieve both of my goals so late in the season, but I am not willing to give up. I am just hoping that the right door will open.