When Dillon Souvignier came out for Fairview’s baseball team as a freshman, Knights coach David Castillo immediately took note of the kid’s slight build. “He was so tiny,” Castillo recalled with a chuckle this past week.

But it wasn’t long after when the coach said he also saw great potential.

Souvignier couldn’t have been 100 pounds, Castillo thought. He had a “below-average arm” and “could barely hit it out of the infield.” But the coach was sold on his defensive instincts in the outfield and was drawn to his unwavering passion for the game. And he awarded the freshman a starting spot in the outfield during that 2018 season.

“I definitely got a lot of heat from other parents,” Castillo said, looking back. “They were like, ‘What are you doing? You’re crazy.’ And I was like, ‘You don’t see what I see. This kid, at heart, this kid’s 10 feet tall. He won’t back down from anybody.”

Anybody or any challenge for that matter.

Souvignier, now 21, is still chasing big-league dreams.

After blossoming into a star at Fairview, Souvignier went on to play at John Hopkins University, where he was named to the Division-III All-American Team after his senior season this past spring.

And today, he’s playing in the MLB Draft League, an amateur-professional league featuring six teams, all filled with players hoping to build their stock for a chance to be drafted or signed to play at the next level.

“After John Hopkins, I was wondering, like, is my baseball career fully over?” Souvignier said late Thursday night, just after his Frederick (Md.) Keys were walked off by the Mahoney Valley (Ohio) Scrappers. “I had a job lined up and was supposed to start the following Monday when I got the official offer to play (in the MLB Draft League). So, I bailed on the job.”

It was a nice job, too — at a Washington D.C. consulting firm. Not enough for Souvignier to leave baseball, though.

Souvignier is relentless when it comes to extending his baseball life.

When first he wanted to attend and play at John Hopkins, he wasn’t even wanted by the baseball program.

“I went to a showcase there, and it didn’t go well,” he said. “Basically, the head coach didn’t see me there. It was one of the assistant coaches, and they essentially told me, ‘You’re not good enough to play here.’”

Instead, he was accepted to the university on academics and walked on to the team.

He went on to be a three-plus-year starter and finished with a career hitting mark of .364. As an All-American as a senior, he hit a blistering .421 with 16 home runs and 62 RBIs.

“He got overlooked,” Castillo said. “But, you know, it didn’t faze him.”

Before joining the MLB Draft League, Souvignier spent part of this past summer back in Colorado working on his game with Castillo on the Knights’ field.

Souvignier and his former coach have kept a strong friendship following his graduation in 2021, the year Fairview’s baseball team finished third in Class 5A.

On graduation day, Castillo said he sent Souvignier a photo he had of him as a freshman playing for him on his summer baseball club team, the Old School Dirtbags.

It was of Souvignier after he had been hit in the face with a baseball. Blood dripped from his nose, staining his brace-faced smile red.

“Those are some of the best days,” Castillo said.

By phone, Souvignier laughed when reminded of the photo his coach sent him. He can look back on his baseball journey and reminisce with joy.

But he clear about this: he’s not done with it yet.

With the Keys, Souvignier has hits in his past three games. On Friday night, he had two hits, drove in two runs and stole three bases in a 19-6 win.

“I want to keep improving and keep moving up,” he said. “Obviously, my goal is to play at the highest level possible.”