Mount Carmel’s Thomas helps Team USA bring home gold medal
Mount Carmel’s Alek Thomas had a busy summer.
It was one that further cemented the senior outfielder’s stock as one of the most talented high school baseball players in the country.
Just take a look at the list of events he participated in:
Oh, and he also found time for Mount Carmel’s summer-league team and making it to a few football practices for the Caravan as well.
“It’s been pretty crazy,” Thomas said. “There’s never been a time when I wish I wasn’t playing. I could have said no, and not did some of this stuff. But I knew those games would put me on a pedestal for the future.”
It’s a future that has all the makings to be special for Thomas, a center fielder who hits and throws left-handed.
Thomas was on a flight home Monday morning from Canada after helping Team USA win a gold medal. He was the only one from Illinois chosen for the 20-player roster.
Thomas supplied some additional thunder to the host town of Thunder Bay, hitting .361 with a double and a team-high eight RBIs in eight games. He was 5-for-5 in stolen bases. His batting average was second best on the team.
“It was a good experience, like no other,” Thomas said. “I experienced some ups and downs. You have to make adjustments. You have to blow out all the negative stuff and focus on the positives.
“It was an awesome feeling to win the gold medal. One of the best experiences of my life.”
Few players, high school or college level, possess the skills to be regarded as a “five-tool” talent: hit for power, hit for average, excel in fielding, powerful throwing arm and tremendous speed.
Thomas does. That’s why he was crisscrossing the country all summer, competing in numerous elite amateur showcases and tourneys.
Additionally, his baseball IQ and instincts are off the charts. Much of that can be attributed to his father, Allen Thomas, the White Sox director of conditioning and a former minor-league baseball player.
Consider this: Alek Thomas has hit 30 homers in three seasons on the varsity while maintaining a .400 batting average. Much of it competing in the Catholic League Blue.
“Alek is special,” Mount Carmel coach Brian Hurry said. “He can do it all and do it a high level.”
Now it’s time for Thomas to put away his baseball bat and glove, unpack his school books and, yes, football cleats.
“I can’t wait to get out and play football,” said Thomas, who’s a quarterback. “I’m excited to help Mount Carmel win a state championship.”
Thomas’s commitment to Team USA prevented him from attending school until Monday, even though classes officially began Aug. 21. His academic success, however, pretty much mirrors that of his baseball achievements.
He has a 3.84 GPA.
“I’m going to be ambushed with school work,” Thomas said.
We can speculate for hours about Thomas’ future. Will he honor his verbal commitment to Texas Christian, where he’s committed to play baseball and football? Or will he jump-start a professional baseball career if he’s drafted next June?
“I have time to decide on all that,” he said.
A professional scout who wishes to remain anonymous told me Thomas won’t last beyond the third round.
I played in the minor leagues with former first-round draft picks Albert Belle and Todd Hundley. I’ve covered former local first-rounders Cliff Floyd of Thornwood, Nick Trzesniak of Andrew and Kris Honel of Providence.
Thomas is a more complete player than any of them at a similar age.
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