Evergreen's Hudson picked by Phillies

While he sat in the dugout during a summer league baseball game Tuesday, Kyrell Hudson learned he had been drafted by the Phillies. (Steven Lane/The Columbian)

Kyrell Hudson is one step closer to fulfilling his dream of being a major leaguer.

The Philadelphia Phillies selected Hudson, a recent Evergreen High School graduate, in the third round of Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft on Tuesday. Hudson was in the dugout of Propstra Stadium, playing for the Vancouver Cardinals, when he received a text message from his advisor relaying the news in the eighth inning.

"Wow. The Phillies. World Champions. That's a good opportunity," Hudson said.

It was a surprise, too, as least as to which team was going to draft him. Hudson, his family, and friends expected the call would come in the third or fourth round.

But Hudson and his advisor, Jim Lindell of Frontline Athlete Management, expected the Cubs to draft Hudson. Drafts, though, are unpredictable by nature, and the Phillies tabbed Hudson with the 106th selection overall.

Baseball people like Hudson's build, 6-foot-1, and ripped.

They like his arm, a rocket.

They like his speed, by most accounts one of the fastest high school baseball players in the nation.

And they love his potential as a defensive whiz in the outfield and a base-stealing threat on offense.

"Being drafted is a blessing," Hudson said. "I finally met my goal. Since I was 5 years old, I've wanted to be a professional baseball player, and it starts today."

Technically, he is not a professional yet. He must come to an agreement with the Phillies.

Negotiations could start as early as today. But until then, it is time for Hudson, his family and friends to celebrate.

"It's a wonderful day for him, an absolute wonderful day for the young man," said Craig Cusick, who along with his wife Karen have been Hudson's guardians through his days at Evergreen. "It's a start of a whole new career for him, a whole new life. I'm absolutely tickled pink for him, happy as hell."

While it was a relief for Hudson to be selected, the stress of a life-altering decision awaits him. Hudson is more than a baseball prospect. He is a standout wide receiver in football, as well. In February, Hudson signed a letter of intent to play football at Oregon State.

But baseball is his passion, his true love.

"I've been playing baseball since I was 5 years old. I wasn't a normal 5-year-old," Hudson said. "I told myself I was going to be a professional baseball player back then."

A lot of children dream of being a pro ballplayer, but Hudson actually went to work from that day forward. He did not just practice from time to time; he trained as much as he could.

"He lived at the Little League park," said Cusick, whose son, Kyle, has been friends with Kyrell since those Little League days.

Hudson said that he has an idea of what it will take for him to sign with the Phillies, but he will not negotiate through the media. In fact, baseball officials, unlike those in football and basketball, rarely release financial packages for its first-year signees outside of the first-round selections.

But before the draft, Craig Cusick figured Hudson would turn pro.

"We believe there should be enough money for him to have a very good start in life if he is drafted anywhere between (rounds) two and four," Cusick said. "That would probably be enough for him to forgo Oregon State. If not, he's a Beaver."

Many baseball players who do sign professional contracts also have college paid for them by the major league team if baseball does not pan out. Cusick said Hudson would require such a clause in his contract.

Oregon State officials surely will not be surprised if Hudson does not play football. Hudson has never kept his desire a secret.

Baseball has always been No. 1, even after he burst onto the football scene with a four-touchdown performance in his first varsity start on offense, the first game of his junior season. Hudson, with his speed and power, became the focal point of opposing defenses the past two football seasons.

An injury slowed him on the baseball field last spring, but he shined in several showcase events in the summer, playing in the Under Armour All-American Game, and the AFLAC All-American Game as well as the Mariners Cup and the Area Code Games.

It is in the summer when most scouts evaluate a baseball player's skills. The high school season can be a short one, just 20 games. In the summer, the athletes play almost every day, just like in the pros.

When he returned to Vancouver for his senior year of football, he reiterated that baseball was his favorite sport.

On Tuesday, baseball rewarded him for that loyalty.

Hudson lived in Vancouver up until the summer between sixth and seventh grade, when his mother Patricia Lucas moved her family to Florida. Kyrell and the Cusick family, always close, remained in contact. And after Kyrell found trouble in Florida, he and his mother decided to take up the Cusick family on their offer for Kyrell to return to Vancouver.

"Down there, it wasn't a place for me to be," Hudson said. "I got in the wrong crowd. I knew if I continued to stick with those people I was involved with, I wouldn't have gotten the chance to go for my goal in life, which would be to play Major League Baseball."

Hudson enrolled at Evergreen in the middle of his freshman year. That spring, in one varsity game, he went 4 for 4 on offense, robbed a potential home run by leaping for a catch over the fence, and he threw out two runners at the plate.

That day, a scout who was there to watch an older player, found Cusick and told him that Hudson would be a major league player one day.

When Hudson had his breakout day in football his junior year, his athletic reputation grew larger. But being one of the best in the region did not make him bulletproof. He was suspended for two football games his senior year for breaking team rules. It is something he said he will not forget.

"You always gotta think about what you're going to do, your decisions," he said. "I thought, me being Kyrell, I could get away with it. Life isn't like that. It caught up to me."

That, more than sports, is what brought Hudson back to Vancouver, to learn from his mistakes and to mature. He said he missed his mother and his two younger brothers, but it was the right decision for him.

"This was the best way for me to graduate, to get through high school," said Hudson, who walked with his class Monday.

He is grateful for all the support from the Cusicks.

"They've been in my corner since I was growing up," Hudson said. "They were there for me in the bad times. I really do appreciate them helping me throughout my life."

This week, with his mother in town to celebrate graduation and the draft, Kyrell Hudson got a text message that would change his life.

Fittingly, he got that message in a dugout, wearing a baseball uniform.