Tony Barreca, a 2018 graduate of North Scott, spent his high school years focused on growth and development in every area of baseball. He attended numerous PBR showcases to display his change, which left him as the top-ranked catcher and the 21st overall player in the state for his class by PBR. In the midst of this development, Barreca connected with Georgetown, where he plays collegiate baseball today.

 

 

Barreca began preparing for college baseball right away. “Being from small-town Iowa, you don’t get recruited very easily,” he said. “So one of the first things I did my freshman year is I went to a local PBR showcase with the goal in mind of getting my name in the database and be ready to receive emails and get in contact with coaches as quickly as possible.”

In between showcases and seasons, Barreca worked on his skills at the plate. “Early on, I took hitting lessons from a place called The Baseball Factory in Mount Joy, Iowa,” he said. “Barry Bilkey and Allan there did a wonderful job transforming me into a great hitter.”

He also developed at his position. “And then it was up to Tyson Blaser, my catching coach, to start really molding me into what I wanted to be behind the plate,” Barreca said. “I accredit a lot of things to him, a lot of my catching knowledge. Everything he has told me I have soaked in as best as I can, and I try to teach it to younger generations.”

Now, Barreca is learning from his college coaches. “With college, being picked up by Coach Wilk and learning to be not just only a great baseball player but a great person through him has been really, really valuable,” he said. “And now that we have a new head coach, we’re instilling this whole team culture in being able to be comfortable being uncomfortable. So now having this team of everybody competing against each other, which creates this nice team chemistry which I think I am going to very much benefit from.”

Having a game plan during showcases is part of what helped him get his name out there. “Do your research,” Barreca said. “Every showcase kind of lays out what they’re going to test you on. To really prepare for that showcase, you have to be able to single out what you’re doing from everybody else.”

 

Tony Barreca 8/6/17

 

But success off the field can make a difference. “I say the biggest piece of advice I can give for high school students, the keyword there is student, you need to get good grades,” Barreca said. “Getting good grades opens up so many more doors than doing poorly in school.”

And when it is early in the recruitment process, don’t be in a hurry. “Be patient,” Barreca said. “That’s a big one. Don’t be ready to rush and get recruited your freshman year or sophomore year. It will happen if you just trust the process. You will get recruited.”

Tony Barreca worked hard his entire high school career, and it paid off. Between catching lessons, hitting lessons, coaches’ support, grades, and so much more, he rose above and found success at Georgetown. When the opportunity came, he jumped at it and made the most of it.

 

Savannah Dennis is currently a senior at Johnston High School and has been working for Prep Baseball Report Iowa as an intern since October 2020. She has been managing the Johnston baseball team since she was a freshman and has also worked for the Iowa Sticks team as a data collector. Outside of the baseball industry, Savannah is the Print Editor for the Johnston Black & White newspaper. In the fall, she plans on going to college and majoring in statistics while managing the chosen school's baseball team.