MIDLAND - The baseball journey began early for Carter Campau.

“I started getting lessons to catch at the age of seven,” the junior-to-be at Midland Bullock Creek said. “I loved it. I felt I was in control of everything.”

Soon after, college baseball entered his mind.

“When I was eight I remember seeing older cousins playing baseball and football at a high level,” Campau reflected. “That kind of inspired me to want to play at the next level.”

More recently, the idea became realistic.

“Two years ago I started having people tell me I was really good and I had a chance,” the seventh-rated 2022 catcher in Michigan related.

The 6-2 185-pounder has more than a chance, in fact it is now a reality after a commitment to Central Michigan.

“They saw a video on PBR twitter and contacted my coach,” noted Campau, whose first interaction with CMU came at a camp this past winter. “After three calls and sending them videos they ended up offering. They liked my swing at the plate and my receiving at catcher.”

Belief in his ability helped the 45th-ranked incoming junior in the state reach the goal of playing college baseball.

“I kept believing I was good enough to play Division I and worked my butt off in the weight room,” Campau said.

The ninth 2022 in Michigan to commit witnessed a glimpse of the competition at the PBR Preseason All-State Underclass Showcase in early March.

“That was a good experience for me,” Campau explained. “I was able to see I can compete with the top prospects in the state. It motivated me to try and be better than them.”

Unfortunately, there was no high school season to show off his skills. Instead, Campau worked out at home in an effort to continue developing.

“I’ve got a dumbbell set in my garage and I lifted and lifted,” Campau said. “Two miles away there is a Little League field with cages and I’d go there and hit every morning.”

Saginaw Valley, which has been following Campau since his freshman year, was the only other college to contact the recently-turned 17-year-old who is excited about a future at CMU.

“I feel I was ready to commit and feel Central Michigan was the best fit for me,” Campau explained. “I like that it’s close to home and it’s a great baseball program.”

The drive now is to improve according to Campau.

“Getting stronger is an easy number one,” Campau said about where the need is to get better. “After that is the mental state. Baseball is 90 percent mental most of the time.”

It is an area of the game that Campau has worked hard at improving.

“I come into games with a thought on how I’m going to approach an at-bat,” Campau pointed out. “I also have a plan on calling the game behind the plate.”

With a 3.47 GPA and plans to major in business, Campau sees his leadership ability as a plus when it comes to playing at the next level.

“The biggest thing about catching is it forces me to be a leader of the team,” Campau said. “I’ll bring to the program a good receiving catcher that can be a leader and hit when they need him to.”

Parents that “pushed me to be the best I can be” and coaches that “helped so much in getting a hold of colleges and getting me to Central Michigan” have been the biggest influences according to Campau, who lives just a half-hour from the Mount Pleasant campus.

“This is very exciting to make a commitment,” noted Campau, a quarterback on the Midland Bullock Creek football team. “It’s a relief to finally get it off my shoulders. The recruiting process was somewhat what I thought it would be, but I thought it would be a lot longer than it was.”