SHG grad Antonacci drafted by White Sox in 5th round

Springfield's Sam Antonacci can soon call himself a professional baseball player.

On Monday, the Chicago White Sox selected the 6-foot infielder out of Coastal Carolina University with the 140th pick in the fifth round of the 2024 MLB Draft .

"It was pretty hectic, to say the least, but I'm super grateful and I'm looking forward to the future," Antonacci said. "It's a little bit of a different scenario here, but I'm thankful for all the opportunities to continue playing the game that I love."

The 2021 Sacred Heart-Griffin High School graduate led the Chanticleers as a junior with a .367 batting average (83-for-226) and had six home runs, 47 RBIs and stole 15 bases in his first season playing NCAA Division I ball. His .523 on-base percentage led the Sun Belt Conference.

"Pretty exciting afternoon," Antonacci's high school coach, Nick Naumovich, said. "Sam's just always been different. He's just built different. The way he practices, the way he takes care of the game; he's just a different kid.

"I can't be happier for Sam; just an awesome kid who comes from a great family."

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Antonacci had been in touch with the White Sox organization prior to the draft, but he said it wasn't a sure thing where he was going.

"I have, over the years, been pretty close with them," said the 21-year-old Antonacci. "It was just kind of up in the air with every team once you get to draft time. The White Sox were willing to pick me and take a chance on me."

In 2022, he was named the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II National Baseball Player of the Year.

Antonacci was named The State Journal-Register Large School Baseball Player of the Year and led Heartland Community College in Normal to the NJCAA DII National Championship in 2022. Antonacci led all NJCAA DII in hitting (.515 average), RBIs (103), runs scored (105), hits (106), doubles (32) and on-base percentage (.618). He also belted 14 home runs and stole 33 bases as Heartland went 57-5.

After playing shortstop at Heartland, he moved to third base at Coastal Carolina. He said it was important to him to continue succeeding at CCU.

"A big question this time last year was if I could hit Division I pitching," Antonacci said. "I could've gone in the draft last year, but wanted to prove to myself and prove to others that I wasn't just a junior college hitter but a Division I hitter — and now, a professional hitter. Now, I just want to keep out-working others and strive for greatness."

The White Sox selected Antonacci 61 spots higher than his rank of 201st on the MLB Draft prospect board. The scouting report on mlb.com includes that Antonacci is, "an overachiever who stands out more with his skills, instincts and energy than his tools. ... One of the most disciplined hitters in the college ranks, Antonacci takes a lot of pitches, rarely strays out of the strike zone and makes repeated contact against all types of pitches versus both left-handers and right-handers.

"A lefty hitter, he uses the opposite field well and draws more than his share of walks."

At SHG, Antonacci won consecutive Central State Eight Conference batting titles: .505 in 2019, .538 in 2021; the 2020 season was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic. He also posted a .477 career batting average in high school.

Antonacci's hard work at constantly getting better was one of the things that always most impressed Naumovich.

"If you were going to start over with a team, and you could pick one player from the conference to start a program, everybody in the conference said it would be Sam," Naumovich said.

Naumovich said he saw a lot of potential in Antonacci during high school, but predictions can be difficult.

"I don't know if we ever would've said he's going to make it to the big leagues (in high school), but I can tell you that if there's a guy that was going to make it from our program, it would be him," Naumovich said.

Antonacci said his ultimate goal is to get to the major leagues, and not just for himself, but to reward all the sacrifices everyone has made on his behalf.

"It'll be pretty cool if I get to the level I ultimately want to be at, which is the big leagues," Antonacci said. "I have a lot of family close to here and they've supported me so much on the way that it would be pretty cool to see all them make a trip up to Chicago and see all their hard work and sacrifices have paid off. I think that's the coolest thing about it, is I've got such an amazing support system and give them a chance."

After he was selected, Antonacci's phone went haywire with countless messages and phone calls. He said it was stressful trying to keep up with all of them.

"I have to respond to a lot of people that have supported me," Antonacci said Tuesday. "It's a good thing to have to respond to so many people and that they root for me."

Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, ryan.mahan@sj-r.com , Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: SHG grad Antonacci drafted by White Sox in 5th round