Crystal Lake South baseball coach Brian Bogda made some personnel moves late in the season with the long-term future in mind.

Bogda called up the underclass shortstops in the program, not to get anyone playing time, just to let them observe senior Garrett Bright’s routines.

“All the shortstops – freshmen and sophomores – practiced with us the last two weeks,” Bogda said. “How does [Bright] go about his business? We’re going to need someone to play shortstop, and I wanted to give those kids opportunities to work with him and talk to him, be around him and see how he prepares. That speaks volumes.”

Bright was proficient in the field, committing only seven errors, and productive at the plate, setting Gators’ school records for batting average (.515) and RBIs (40).

“When I was going through the season, I wasn’t thinking about it too much,” Bright said. “I was thinking about trying to help the team win. It just happened that I was putting balls in play, and they were getting through holes. It was pretty exciting.”

Bright helped South to a 24-9 overall record and a second-place tie in the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division at 12-5 with Jacobs. For his overall offensive and defensive abilities, Bright is the Northwest Herald Baseball Player of the Year, selected by the sports staff with input from local coaches.

McHenry sophomore third baseman-pitcher Bobby Miller, Cary-Grove pitcher-right fielder Larkin Hanselmann, C-G catcher Wyatt Mascarella and Prairie Ridge center fielder Chris Slack also received consideration.

Bright, the Gators’ first Player of the Year winner since Joe Mauer in 1993, was South’s starting shortstop for three seasons. He made a significant jump this season from a .263 average with six RBIs as a junior.

“This year, I didn’t play basketball, so I spent a lot of time in the cages with my travel program [Pro Player Hurricanes], and I got to work out with the high school team when practice started [in February],” Bright said. “I pretty much worked out every day for baseball this offseason.”

Bogda remembered a moment at the end of last season, after the Gators finished last in the FVC Valley, when Bright said, “We’re going to win next year, coach.”

South didn’t win the FVC Valley or a regional championship, but the Gators tied with Jacobs, three games behind C-G in the Valley, and their record marked an eight-win increase.

“He just took it upon himself to put the team on his shoulders and really dedicated himself to winning,” Bogda said. “He knew he needed to change some things in his swing. There were a lot of times when I just shook my head and couldn’t believe he’d come up with another RBI.”

Especially with two outs. Nineteen of Bright’s 40 RBIs came with two outs and he hit .521 with runners in scoring position.

“He had such a terrific approach and didn’t try to do a whole lot, he’d just drive the ball up the middle,” Bogda said. “He waited and drove the pitch on the outside to the right-center gap. Garrett got so good at waiting and not trying to do too much.”

Bright, who had 13 doubles and three home runs, was equally impressive on defense. He came to South as a catcher, but Bogda thought the Gators were well-stocked at that position, so Bright was moved to shortstop.

“Bogda’s helped me a lot with that since coming up my sophomore year,” Bright said. “He had to shape me into a shortstop. I didn’t used to get around the ball a lot, and he helped me with that and using my momentum to come through.”

Bogda correctly predicted that Bright’s skills behind the plate, along with his athleticism, would help him succeed at shortstop. Bright will move on and play at NAIA St. Xavier, on the southwest side of Chicago, next year.

“Garrett’s just a terrific all-around athlete,” Bogda said. “You could line him up at wide receiver [in football] and he’d do just fine. As a point guard in basketball, which he used to play, he’d do fine. I was grateful he was willing to trust me, I had a good feeling about him playing there. He gets around the ball very well and has a real strong and accurate arm.”

Gators’ pitchers certainly appreciated Bright’s glove work behind them.

“It meant the world,” said right-hander Matt Schingel, also a Northwest Herald All-Area first-team pick. “You always want to have a good defense behind you, and Garrett was by far the best in our conference, hands down. He made every single play, made great plays toward the end of games. He was great for us.”

One play that jumped out was Bright’s game-ending forceout to complete the sweep of Jacobs late in the regular season. Bright went to a knee to make the backhand snag, then threw to second baseman Andrew Swiatly to end the game with the bases loaded.

Bright remembers that play well, but also recalled something else about that game.

“Every time you make an error in the field, you remember the errors,” Bright said. “So it feels like more than seven. I can remember all seven. That was one of my worst fielding games, I had two errors against Jacobs. Then I stuck with it and made one of the better plays I made all year.”

Shining Bright

Here are some key numbers for Crystal Lake South shortstop Garrett Bright.

Avg.: .515-*

OPS: 1.295

Hits: 53

2B: 13

HR: 3

RBIs: 40-*

SB: 20 in 23 attempts.

Errors: 7

Fielding %: .944

DP: 14 *

-School record.