Bruton High will honor former baseball star and current New York Yankees prospect Mark Montgomery by retiring his No. 3 baseball jersey Wednesday night at the Panthers’ home basketball game vs. Smithfield.
Montgomery, who is regarded by many professional scouts as one of the top up-and-coming Major League prospects in the country, was a three-sport athlete in high school before earning a scholarship to play baseball for Longwood University. He earned all-state recognition his senior year in 2008 after shattering a school record by striking out 107 batters in 60 innings.
Bruton athletic director Richard Onesty said a brief ceremony will take place at center court between the Panthers’ JV contest, which begins at 5:30 p.m., and the varsity game, which starts at 7 p.m.
Onesty, who is in his first year serving as Bruton’s AD, has been an athletic fixture at the school for over a decade as the head golf coach while also spending time as a boys basketball and softball assistant. Onesty’s son, Nick, played baseball with Montgomery for three years at Bruton and also attended Longwood University where Onesty said he often watched Montgomery pitch.
“I made the decision about a month ago to go forward with [retiring Montgomery’s jersey] in light of the looming advance he may be making within the Yankees organization,” Onesty said. “What he’s accomplished with the Yankees was a motivating factor, but it wasn’t the sole factor. His work ethic and dedication to his craft, not only here at Bruton but at the collegiate and professional level as well, is something students should model themselves after.”
Following his graduation from Bruton in 2008, Montgomery went on to become Longwood’s all-time leader in saves before being tapped in the 11th round of the 2011 draft by the New York Yankees.
After a brief stint with the Yankees’ short season rookie-league team in which he posted eye-popping strikeout numbers, Montgomery received heavy attention from media and scouts after striking out five batters in a single inning during his debut with Low-Class A Charleston.
A dominant 2012 season in which he posted a 1.52 ERA and 15 saves while striking out nearly 14 batters per nine innings included stops at High-A Tampa and AA Trenton.
On Saturday, Montgomery leaves for Tampa, Fla. for mini camp where he’ll spend a month training before Major League camp opens February 16. Montgomery is expected to compete for a spot on the Yankees’ 40-man roster, and, who knows? At the rate he’s been going, Yankee fans may have forgotten all about legendary closer Mariano Rivera by season’s end.
“My dream has always been to play college baseball and work towards becoming a professional athlete, and God willing ,it’s happened,” Montgomery said. “I grew up walking these halls (at Bruton) admiring the jerseys of guys like Bryan Randall, so this is truly going to be a very special moment for me.
“Having a chance to play professional baseball is awesome, but an opportunity like this, having my jersey retired, is something I’ll definitely remember forever. I’m so fortunate to be in the position I’m in right now.”
