NEW HUDSON - Evan Haeger missed out on playing one season of high school baseball with his older brother Trey. But COVID-19 did not prevent the fourth-rated player in Michigan’s 2023 class from adhering to his advice.

“He’s my role model and I try to follow him,” Haeger explained about his older sibling, a recent graduate of Detroit Catholic Central High School. “He sets a good example for me.”

The advice to follow is simple.

“On the field hard work,” Haeger said. “Off the field stay humble. And always work hard in the classroom.”

The recruitment of his older brother ended with a commitment to Hillsdale, giving the younger Haeger the aspiration to pursue a path to college that also includes baseball.

“It was in the seventh grade when I thought I should try to do this,” reflected Haeger. “I saw my brother trying to reach out to schools and thought I wanted to do that, too. Everything before that was just playing baseball and having fun.”

While Trey Haeger is staying close to home at a Division II school in Michigan, the younger Haeger is taking a far different route after committing to Alabama in arguably the most prestigious conference in college baseball.

“I started talking to Alabama the first week of the quarantine,” the top-ranked incoming sophomore outfielder in the state said. “From there I sent them videos, lots of hitting videos. A PBR post helped me out a lot as well.”

The recruiting process quickly heated up.

In addition to Alabama, Michigan and Tennessee offered the 259th-rated sophomore in the country, who also was talking with Vanderbilt and South Carolina.

“I didn’t expect it to ramp up so fast,” admitted Haeger, who at the Michigan Future 50 in 2019 was at the top of categories for Most Tools and Best Runner. “I didn’t expect it like this. The PBR video really helped out a lot. My first offer came in, and that spiraled into three pretty fast offers there.”

But Alabama, which had already received a commitment from Haeger’s summer ball teammate Parker Picot (the third-ranked 2023 in Michigan), moved to the top of the list.

“The coaches are all great guys,” Haeger explained. “I have a good relationship with all of them. That’s definitely a selling point.”

However, there is more that stood out about a program that has won 25 league championships all-time, the last coming in 2006

“The competition,” Haeger noted. “The best players in the country are in the SEC. This is an opportunity to go play against SEC-caliber competition.”

Alabama obviously believes Haeger will fit right in.

“They like my swing and my defense in center field,” Haeger related.

Both are areas of the game the 6-1 165-pound southpaw has worked hard at improving.

“I’ve put in a lot more work on my swing,” the left-handed hitting Haeger said. “Growth happened a little bit, too. I’ve also been seeing better pitchers and working on getting better jumps.

“There’s still outfield work to do,” Haeger added. “Taking the right reads and making sure I take the right angle to the baseball are things I can work on to improve.” 

A 4.1 student planning on a major in business marketing, Haeger has had assistance from others in addition to his brother on his baseball journey to Alabama.

“My dad is always willing and able to help me out,” Haeger noted. “All my coaches, both new and past, have also helped out. I’ve been blessed to have a lot of good people around to help get me where I want to be.”

And that is Alabama, a place Haeger believes he will fit right in.

“I’m a guy that likes to compete and works hard every single day,” Haeger said.

Relief and excitement come with making a commitment.

“I really feel comfortable with the coaching staff, I think it’s the best in the country,” Haeger concluded. “They are a lot of great guys that all care about my family. I’m so excited about having a future there. I get to go to a great school, get a great education and play baseball, too.”