Matthew McLaughlin ‘12 Recruiting Profile

Personal Statement

            Hello, my name is Matthew McLaughlin.  I am a senior, class of 2012 at Niles High School, a class A school in Niles, MI.  I appreciate the opportunity to tell you about myself.  I love to play baseball and basketball and love all sports.  I have played Varsity baseball for Niles High School since my freshman year.  I have been the starting shortstop for Niles since my sophomore year while playing every inning of every game since then.  I also played 3^rd base, 2^nd base and outfield in addition to shortstop for my summer legion team.  I have also been the starting point guard for Niles’ basketball team since my sophomore year.  On the baseball field, defensively, I get a quick jump on the ball, have great range, I’m smooth, have quick hands and a quick release.  I have great knowledge of the game and I am able to make quick decisions. I had only 6 errors on the year my junior year with 129 chances.  I batted above .350 my sophomore year and .341 my junior year.  I have been lead off hitter my entire high school career including lead off hitter as a sophomore with a team of at least 5 or 6 starting seniors.  I am a patient hitter and will take a walk, as I understand my role as lead off man is to get on base and get things started.  I am fast on the bases and make good decisions offensively.  My coach gives me the green light to steal or run on passed balls.  I feel that I am a very aggressive base runner.  I consistently run the 60-yard dash in 6.8.  Being a shortstop, I am required to be team leader, which I take seriously.  My teammates look up to me to be their leader on the field and off.  My role as a point guard on the basketball floor carries over to the baseball field.  I feel that I handle this pressure very confidently as I do not want to let my teammates down.  I am a team player, a focused player and love to win.  I hate to lose but I can do so with dignity and learn from it.  I received awards of All Division 1^st team in baseball my sophomore and junior years and All District in baseball during my sophomore and junior years.  My team was Division champs my freshman year and District champs my junior year.  I received awards of 1^st team All Division in basketball my sophomore and junior years as well.  I was Academic All State in basketball and baseball during my sophomore and junior years.  I was also chosen to attend the Reaching Higher prospect camp by the Michigan High School Athletic Association for basketball and attended this camp in July of 2011.  This program chooses the top 100 boys basketball players in the state of Michigan to attend.  In addition to my sports accomplishments, I am an excellent role model as an exemplar student athlete. I have a GPA of 3.63 and I am ranked 32 out of 205 students.  I am a member of the National Honor Society.  I feel that I am a positive role model in school, on the baseball field and basketball court and in the community.  I volunteer for youth basketball camps and I’m a volunteer referee for boys and girls basketball leagues at the YMCA.  I have been an announcer for my community Little League baseball games.  I also participate as a volunteer at the Niles Haunted House, which raises money for charities and I have been an Acolyte at my church and take offerings during church. I am a confident, respectful, hard working person with a very strong faith.  My goal is to attend a college where I can play baseball and pursue a bachelors degree to prepare me for a degree in Physical Therapy, Physicians assistant or Athletic Training although I am not certain about my career path.  Thank you for the opportunity to share about myself.

Matthew McLaughlin