Crown Point’s Sean Dunlap wants to remain on an even keel.

The 6-foot-4, 215-pound junior is considered one of the state’s best players in his class and one of the best catching prospects nationally, he has committed to play at 2024 NCAA Division I national champion Tennessee, and he has visions of playing professionally.

But even at a relatively young age, Dunlap realizes there are ups and downs, that circumstances can pivot quickly. He missed almost all of last season with a break in his right femur near his knee that required two surgeries. In middle school, he was undersized. In elementary school, he thought his baseball career was pretty much over before it even started.

“If you told me where I am now compared to where I was a year ago, I’d say you’re lying,” Dunlap said. “That’s crazy. Your life can change so much in a year or even a few weeks.

“I’m just trying to stay levelheaded, with my background and expectations. I’m just trying to cut it all out and play baseball and have fun, make everyone feel welcome.”

Not that Dunlap is satisfied with his production so far this season, even though he’s hitting .324 with the Bulldogs’ lone home run, a team-high five doubles, six RBIs, 11 runs scored and a team-high six stolen bases.

“I can do better,” he said. “I’ve been taking hitting for granted. I don’t know why. I should be locking in. I’m just trying to do too much in the leadoff spot. But this team, knock on wood, we’re going to be really good this year.”

Crown Point (9-1, 4-0) has posted a pair of wins against Valparaiso, one of the other talented teams in the Duneland Athletic Conference.

“We’re together as a team, like a family,” Dunlap said. “It’s amazing. We’re really close with each other, and everyone has each other’s back. It’s really cool being with the same guys from a young age, your whole career.

“We just want to win. No matter what it takes, we want to win. Our confidence is high. We want to go all the way, win state, take it down to Victory Field.”

Dunlap should be a significant part of that effort.

“Sean is so talented,” Crown Point coach Steve Strayer said. “He has so much confidence but yet is grounded.

“Sean still has some things to work on. If he figures them out, the sky is the limit with him.”

Versatile senior Noah Ehrlich, a Miami of Ohio football recruit, is happy Dunlap is back with the Bulldogs.

“Sean is a one-of-a-kind athlete,” Ehrlich said. “He’s the definition of a five-tool athlete. The best thing about him is the way he carries himself on and off the field. He’s a team-first guy and an amazing competitor. I’m very happy he’s on our team because I would hate to have to go against him.”

Senior pitcher Logan Cotton, an Indiana recruit, also praised Dunlap’s impact.

“He’s a great teammate,” Cotton said. “He brings energy. He’s always hitting. He’s always there for everyone if we ever need anything.”

Dunlap said he remembers kicking a soccer ball on Feb. 11, 2023, and feeling “excruciating pain” in his right leg. He went to physical therapy for four weeks, and he felt better, although he still experienced clicking and swelling in his knee.

Dunlap wound up playing his freshman season and summer ball. But he still wasn’t feeling right, and he had his leg checked out further that fall.

Examinations and imaging revealed he was suffering from a lack of blood flow to his femur, and a “chunk” of it had broken off, necessitating surgery sooner rather than later.

“It turned out to be really bad,” he said. “I was really upset about it. It turned out I played a whole season on a broken femur.”Dunlap had screws inserted during surgery Dec. 20, 2023, and he needed a second procedure to have the hardware removed March 26, 2024.

“It was horrible,” he said. “It was a lot mentally. I couldn’t do anything. I just sat in my room, playing video games, and hung out with my friends.”

Dunlap did go to physical therapy from December through early June.

“I was working out with a bunch of old people, sweating my butt off,” he said. “It was funny. Everyone was looking at me crazy. I worked really hard in physical therapy. I got faster, a lot faster, since my injury. It doesn’t make sense, but it happened.

“My right leg is still smaller than my left leg, and it will always be like that. It’s crazy. I lost so much muscle mass in my right leg. It’s weird. They’re the same strength. But the size of my right leg to my left leg, the muscle tone, it’s a big difference.”

Dunlap was limited to three junior varsity games last season. But he took off during the travel season, starring at various events and showcases.

“I did really well in travel ball,” he said. “I really showed out, proved a lot of people wrong. It’s been a lot the last eight months — life-changing, really.”

Dunlap, whose sister Samantha is a senior on Crown Point’s softball team, recalled earlier experiences with travel ball.

“I tried out for a travel team three years in a row, and I got cut every time,” he said. “The fourth year, I said, ‘I’m done.’ So we went camping instead of the tryout, and then the tryout got rained out, and my dad said, ‘You have to try out.’ Then I made the team.

“From there, it just sprouted up. So I wasn’t even supposed to play baseball. I didn’t even want to play. I just wanted to fish and ride four-wheelers.”

Dunlap said he was 5-8 and 120 pounds in eighth grade, grew to 6-1 and 150 as a freshman and was 6-3 and 205 last season.

“I used to be the small, little kid, but it turned around,” he said.

Now Dunlap has big dreams.

“It’s been a lot of hard work, sacrificing time with your friends and doing other things like lifting, hitting, fielding,” he said. “I didn’t have a social life for two years. I just played baseball.

“I just wanted to make it to the Division I level, and I did, and the next goal is the draft. That’s the big goal a year from now — try to stay healthy and get drafted.”