SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) – Springfield High School graduate Ben Hartl is gearing up for his first full season of professional baseball.

Hartl helped the Senators to their first ever state baseball title in 2021. From there, he went to Heartland Community College in Normal and played two seasons for the Hawks, earning All-American status twice.

After junior college, Hartl played one season for the University of Kansas. He appeared in 45 games for the Jayhawks, splitting time between catcher and first base, while batting .309 and hitting 11 home runs.

Hartl was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 14th round of the 2024 MLB Draft.

“I did not think I was going to get drafted,” he told WCIA. “I was literally ordering ice cream and I get the call like ‘Hey, you just got drafted.'”

He made a few different minor league stops throughout the 2024 summer, batting .333 on 42 at-bats.

Now, the Illinois kid is through his first professional spring training and excited for a full season in the Rangers organization.

He feels his high school and junior college baseball coaches prepared him to play at the next level.

“I played with a bunch of great teammates, a bunch of great coaches,” Hartl said. “I think that kind of shaped me to be the player that I am today. Coach Jim Steinwart at Springfield High, he’s been coaching for 30, 35, 40 years. He’s incredible. He won’t even talk to you about your swing or your mechanics or any of that but it’s like how you are as a person. I think they value that a lot more than being a baseball player.”

Hartl says he still keeps in touch regularly with his high school teammates.

The Springfield native will start the 2025 season in Low-Single-A with the Hickory Crawdads in North Carolina. He plans to play primarily catcher but adds he’ll play wherever the team wants him and has experience at both first and second base.