By Robert Wilson
Madison Central High School All-American, Stanford and Texas A&M All-American outfielder Braden Montgomery is on the verge of making Mississippi history this weekend.
Montgomery could become the first player to graduate from a Mississippi high school, play as a collegian and be taken as a Top 10 pick in the Major League Baseball Draft.
The first round of this year’s MLB Draft begins Sunday at 7 p.m., televised by mlb.com.
The latest mock draft by mlb.com has Montgomery as the No. 8 pick, taken by the Los Angeles Angels. Some publications have Montgomery going even higher.
The only other player who played Mississippi high school ball and was drafted as a collegian in the Top 10 was Paul Maholm, who played at Holly Springs and at Mississippi State and was the No. 8 pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2003. But Malcolm finished his high school career at Germantown, Tenn., High.
There have been three other players who finished at Mississippi high schools who were taken in the first 10 picks of the MLB draft: Laurel Oak Park High alumnus Ted Nicholson was the No. 3 pick by Chicago White Sox in 1969, Coldwater High alumnus Donny Castle was the No. 8 pick by the Washington Senators in 1968, and Tupelo High alumnus Kirk Presley was the No. 8 pick by New York Mets in 1993.
Jackson Prep’s Konnor Griffin could be the fourth this year and is projected as the No. 9 pick in the latest mock draft by mlb.com.
The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Montgomery has excelled at every level. He led Madison Central to a MHSAA Class 6A state championship and a No. 1 national ranking and was named the Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior in 2021, became an All-American and helped Stanford to back-to-back College World Series appearances as a freshman and sophomore in 2022 and 2023 and was named All-American for the third consecutive year and led Texas A&M to a CWS appearance as a junior this season.
Despite breaking his ankle in the Super Regionals and having surgery shortly afterward, Montgomery hasn’t dropped off any in the mock draft projections.
Madison Central coach Patrick Robey is proud of his former player and this achievement doesn’t surprise him.
“Braden never changed when he left Madison,” said Robey, who was named National Coach of the Year after the championship season in 2021. “He is still the same young man that plays the game with high energy and a smile on his face. We talk quite often, and he always wants to be filled in on our things going on with our program. He’s just a great person. I’m really proud of him.”
Here’s one example of Montgomery’s character and giving attitude. He gave part of his NIL money to the baseball programs at Madison Central and Germantown High – where he played as a freshman and sophomore.
And here is another example of his leadership and role model skills. When Texas A&M played at Ole Miss this spring in a three-game series, it was the first time Montgomery had played as a college player in Mississippi. There was a youth baseball team wearing Braden Montgomery jerseys at one of the games. Montgomery met the group. The son (Connor) of the coach (Jeremy Westfall of Madison) played with Montgomery about 10 years ago in travel ball. Montgomery invited the youth team back to hotel where Texas A&M was staying, and the kids got to hang out with the Aggie players. Westfall’s younger son was playing with this team.
“I want to spread love for this sport,” said Montgomery, who volunteered as a youth baseball coach in high school, in a story on mlb.com. “I remember how much I loved it at that age and how much I just wanted to be surrounded by it and how I looked up to those that were at the level that I’m playing out. It’s super cool.”
“God gifted him with incredible baseball skills and that shows,” Robey said. “He has always taken care of business. Braden is a young man who is invested, just not interested. He has invested in developing himself in all areas of his life. Braden does what he says he is going to do when he says he will do it. He is where he is supposed to be when he is supposed to be there. That is not always common with adults, especially young adults in 2024. Braden has always had a strong support system from parents to coaches. That support system is so critical. We see so many young athletes today that do not have strong support systems at home, and it makes the educational systems job a tremendous challenge. Braden has great communication skills, that is also a separator from most young adults. Leaders are great communicators, and they go about their work with a good attitude and a smile on their face. That’s Braden Montgomery. His goals are well thought out and his daily agenda mirrors those goals. He and his family’s journey has not been easy as some from outside might assume.”
Montgomery’s work ethic, persistence in excellence and dedication to his sport has paid off. Sunday night will begin a new chapter in his life. In addition to getting a chance to play pro baseball, the pay isn’t bad either. The slot value for this year’s No. 8 pick is $6.5 million.
Montgomery, who turned 21 in April, will be in Arlington, Texas, for the draft along with his mom, Gretchen Willock, stepfather, Richard Willock, father, Marcus Montgomery, grandmother, Linda Montgomery, sisters, Skylar Montgomery, and Marley Willock, brother, Mason Willock, and uncles Dre Hedgepeth, and Ray Lynch.
Braden Montgomery’s stepfather and father played football at the University of Iowa. Montgomery was born in Iowa and moved to Mississippi when he was two months old. At first, football was his favorite sport and didn’t start playing baseball until he was seven.
He continued to improve in baseball and became one of the best players in the country in high school.
Montgomery hit .479 and an 9-0 record with a 0.74 earned run average as a senior. In addition to being named the Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year, he was named the PriorityOne Bank/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Player of the Year.
He visited Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Missouri, and Stanford and committed to Stanford before cancelling a visit to LSU during his junior year at Madison Central. Although he was rated as the No. 66 best prospect in the 2021 MLB draft, his commitment to academics and to Stanford was strong and went to college after high school.
Montgomery hit .294 with 18 home runs and was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and a Freshman All-American at Stanford in 2022. He hit .336 with 17 home runs and was named an All-American and earned a spot on the Team USA Collegiate National Team as a sophomore at Stanford in 2023.
Montgomery wanted a new challenge and to play in the SEC and transferred to Texas A&M to play his junior season. Also, he wanted to be near his hitting instructor Jeremy Isenhower, who lives in the Houston area.
Montgomery hit a home run in his first at bat of the season and went on to become one of the top players in the best league in the country and was named first team All-SEC, and first team All-American. He hit .322 and led the SEC with 85 runs batted in and had 27 home runs. His RBIs were fifth best and home runs 10th best in the country.
“Braden is obviously incredibly talented. He’s elite, but he also has a great spirit and heartbeat, which I believe will serve him well in professional baseball,” said former Jackson Prep and Hartfield baseball coach Chuck Box, who was the Director of Player Development at Texas A&M this season and has now joined head coach Jim Schlossnagle at the University of Texas. “I am so happy for him to have this opportunity to pursue every young boy’s dream, to play major league baseball.”
Montgomery suffered his ankle injury in the first inning of Game 1 against Oregon in the Super Regional series. He was attempting to score and got tripped up near home plate and had an awkward fall and broke his ankle. Montgomery was helped to the dugout by the Texas A&M staff. He came back to the dugout with an air cast on his leg. Montgomery had successful surgery several days later.
He is expected to make a full recovery.
“Everything is healing up nicely,” said Montgomery said on an interview with texasags.com this week. “The doctors said everything is going really well, even maybe ahead of schedule. I have another checkup in two weeks when I will start walking in my boot and doing rehab and when things will start to speed up. As soon as my incisions start to close all the way, I will start getting in the pool and getting back to normal. I will be able to throw as soon as a I start walking. I will be able to hit in probably another a month and a half.”
