STORY: Tilton Hoping Baseball Part Of His College Future

MIDLAND - As a future pre-med major, academics are obviously very important to Zachary Tilton. The Midland Christian senior just wants to add baseball to his college education.

“I’d love to go Division I, but I understand how difficult this is,” Tilton said. “Academics might now be the biggest factor of where I choose to go.”

Tilton, who carries a 4.46 GPA on a 5.0 scale, already has the highest Presidential Scholarship offered at Abilene Christian.

“If nothing else works out, I’ll go there and try to walk on,” Tilton said. “Right now I’m just trying to find an option that will work out.”

Fairfield, a Division I university in Connecticut, is another consideration.

“They’ve been talking to me,” Tilton explained. “They don’t know what their catching situation looks like right now. Their catching coach thought I had the stuff to work with. He said I could receive well and had all the fundamentals of catching.”

The left-handed hitting backstop has been to numerous showcases for exposure.

“I went to the Top Prospect Games in Dallas and to an A&M PBR showcase at College Station,” noted Tilton, who has been to a PBR New England Brown Showcase as well as events in Long Island and Houston. In addition, Tilton has attended Pepperdine, Fairfield and Trinity College showcases.

“Coach (Toby) Bicknell from PBR (Texas) called Fairfield and several other northeast schools for me,” Tilton noted. “He’s really tried to help me out.”

The idea of playing in college came to Tilton just before his freshman year of school.

“The concept I didn’t understand was what it meant to be done playing after high school,” the 5-10 165-pounder explained. “As soon as I realized that, I wanted to go do it. A bunch of friends I played with were doing it and I thought if they can do it, I’ve got a shot.”

But making it happen is more difficult than expected.

“It’s still a longshot right now,” Tilton admitted about playing college baseball. “Coaches aren’t looking for guys that want to play, they want to win. It’s not for fun anymore, they’re paid to win games.”

It is something Tilton feels he could help a program do if given the opportunity.

“If I’m not on the field I’d be helping out in the bullpen,” Tilton said. “If I’m on the field I can help with blocking and receiving. My arm has also gotten better over the past year. It’s kind of been hindering me, the lowest my pop has been is 2.1 through my junior year, but the arm has definitely gotten stronger this year.”

His hitting ability has also improved of late.

“I’m not a very big kid, so my power is not quite there yet,” Tilton said. “But I’m getting better and developing power as needed. What I’m really good at it is hitting to the opposite field.

“And this year we’re seeing better pitching and I’ve been able to do hold my own. Three of the four teams in our district are starting D-I (college) pitchers and I’ve been able to get on base. I’m getting accustomed to that kind of pitching and been able to put it in play. I only have four strikeouts on the season. I don’t feel out of my league when I step to the plate against good pitchers.”

Now it is a matter of getting a chance to prove it at the next level.

“It’s been disappointing,” Tilton admitted about the recruiting process thus far. “I understand I’m not a 6-4 powerhouse, so I’ve got to get attention different ways. I’m not going to hit home runs left and right or be throwing the ball 95, it’s different for me  I’m good at receiving and blocking behind the plate and I have high academics, so I can get money there if nothing else. I’m also trying this year to run the team by being a good leader and keeping the tempo up, encouraging everyone as much as I can.

“I don’t see myself playing professional baseball, college is about getting a good education. But I would love to have baseball along with it.”