ESPN RISE

McCallum (Austin, Texas) baseball coach Russell Houston can't help but laugh when discussing the most common complaint scouts voice about his star player, Everett Williams.

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ESPN RISE Magazine

Cover boy Everett Williams was drafted by the Padres in the second round of the MLB Draft.

After watching the senior center fielder effortlessly glide underneath fly balls or swing free and easy during batting practice, scouts get it in their heads that Williams is a lazy player because he doesn't appear to be going all out. That's when Houston steps in and sets the record straight.

"You don't come across a player with his raw talent very often," Houston says. "He has every part of his game down to a science, so you don't see the wasted energy that other players have to use. A lot of scouts confuse that with laziness.

"But after they see him play a couple games they usually realize their mistake. It's funny, he makes it look so easy that it almost hides how good he really is."

Up-and-coming big league superstar B.J. Upton endured the same scrutiny the past couple years, despite piling up more than 30 home runs and 60 stolen bases in his first two full seasons in the majors. But Upton finally silenced his critics by helping the Tampa Bay Rays to the A.L. East title last year and then putting on a show in the postseason. Williams has similarly turned doubters into believers. He is rated the nation's No. 18 prospect in the ESPNU player rankings, No. 3 among Texans.

"Sometimes it's frustrating when they ask questions like, 'Are you ready to play pro ball?'" Williams says. "I know it's their job, but it's like, 'I've wanted to play pro ball all my life. I'm ready.'"

Judging by his statistics, it sure seems that way. The 5-foot-11, 205-pounder has more than 30 homers, 50 steals and 130 RBIs in his All-American high school career, and was taken by the San Diego Padres in the second round of the MLB Draft. Williams also has a scholarship to Texas waiting for him if he decides to put off the pros for a few years and go to college.

As a distant relative of former A.L. MVP Don Baylor and the cousin of three-year minor leaguer Cedric Allen, there's no doubt baseball runs in the family. But it's a different group of relatives who are most responsible for bringing out his natural talent on the diamond -- his mother and two of his aunts.

A trio of slow-pitch softball stars, Williams' mom and aunts traveled around Texas playing in tournaments when Everett was a kid, and he liked nothing more than going to their games and feeling like a part of the team. And we're not talking about your typical just-for-fun recreation squad; their team regularly competed for state and national titles. Both of his aunts, Glenda and Rosalind, are in the USSSA Texas Softball Hall of Fame, and his mom, Barbara, was a talented first baseman in her own right.

Williams enjoyed watching his family members on the field, but he spent more of his time off to the side trying to wrangle up a group of kids for an impromptu game of their own. If that failed, he'd just hit by himself. And if a bat and ball weren't available, he would make do by grabbing a stick and a rock. Once he got to be about 7 years old, Williams began shagging fly balls during batting practice, an impressive feat considering the balls flew much farther and higher than a typical Little League pop-up.

"You could see him developing his baseball instincts," Williams' mom says. "He loved being a part of the action, and it really got him started on the right track."

By the time he was 13, Williams was playing elite-level travel ball against kids a year older. He stepped onto the varsity at McCallum as a freshman and contributed right away, hitting .381 with 19 extra-base hits, 38 RBIs and 18 steals. He hit 13 home runs each of the next two seasons and reached at least 50 RBIs and 15 steals both years. He's also made a habit of hitting clutch home runs for the Knights, smacking key postseason dingers in each of the past two seasons to lead the team to the Region III-4A semifinals.

"I always take the same approach in every at-bat, but in big moments things really slow down for me and I feel like I have super powers at the plate," Williams says. "I just get in my zone and it's like slow motion."

He was certainly in his zone last summer during the home run derby portion of the Aflac All-American High School Baseball Game in Los Angeles. Williams popped three homers during the preliminary round at USC's Dedeaux Field to qualify for the final, which took place right before the All-American game at Dodger Stadium. He then drilled two long balls during the final, falling one short of the winner. Williams hit leadoff for the West during the game, going 0-for-3 with a walk. But he made sure to leave an impression on the scouts in his one time on base, stealing both second and third.

"He makes the most of every opportunity," Houston says. "When every eye is on him, he rises to the occasion." No scout would argue with that.

Matt Remsberg covers high school sports for ESPN RISE Magazine.