One game during Colin Barczi’s senior season at Naperville Central still exemplifies his approach to hitting more than two years later.

Twice during that game, Barczi hit an umpire with a line drive up the middle.

“He just hit the ball so hard, and the umpires could not get out of the way,” Naperville Central coach Mike Stock recalled.

As Barczi came to the plate for his third at-bat, the umpires repositioned themselves.

“The one guy went behind the infield, which wasn’t the proper position,” Stock said. “But he had already been tagged by Colin, and he wasn’t going to let that happen again.”

Barcz hasn’t changed. As a sophomore at Vanderbilt (43-18) this season, his first as the starting catcher, he hit .253 with 11 doubles, eight home runs, 39 RBIs and 30 runs scored.

“Going up the middle has always been like my approach, so I guess they kind of figured that out,” he said. “My mindset has always been to do damage. I’ve always been a power hitter first, so I’m always trying to hit home runs and doubles in the gaps. That’s just my identity.”

His family is part of that identity too. Barczi’s father, Scott, played four years in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ system after graduating from Northwestern.

“My maturity comes from good preparation, which comes from just great coaching all my life,” Barczi said. “My dad, who has been around the game for a very long time, knows his stuff. He was my coach every year growing up. So just having that pitch preparation and support that he brought really helped me with my confidence.”

That coaching worked similar wonders for Barczi’s older brother, Christian, who played at Valparaiso for four seasons.

“(Christian) was the hardest worker I’ve ever seen,” Barczi said. “There wasn’t an ounce of quit in him throughout his college career. He taught me to always work your butt off and never feel sorry for yourself.”

With that background, Barczi turned into a force at the plate. He was the DuPage Valley Conference’s first three-time player of the year, hitting over .415 each season.

“He’s the best hitter I’ve coached,” Stock said. “He was at a different level than anyone I had coached before.”

That meant a lot of interest from college coaches. But from early childhood, Barczi’s favorite college team was Vanderbilt, which won the Men’s College World Series in 2014 and 2019 and was the runner-up in 2015 and 2021.

“They were always on TV growing up,” Barczi said. “I was like 10 years old in 2014 when they won the World Series. I remember walking around as a kid with my Vanderbilt shirt on.

“I was like, ‘This is like my dream to play here.’”

But eight years after that title, during the summer between Barczi’s sophomore and junior years at Naperville Central, all was quiet on the Vanderbilt front as other Division I offers arrived.

“I didn’t want to give up on the dream that I’d had ever since I was a kid,” he said.

So before committing to play elsewhere, Barczi texted his travel coach, Tyler Thompson, pleading with him to reach out to Vanderbilt.

“It was a little last shot in the dark,” Barczi said.

He nervously waited for a response. Only a few minutes later, Thompson texted back, saying Vanderbilt was actually keeping tabs on Barczi. In fact, the coaches wanted to see him play, and they did.

But Barczi kept waiting.

Later that summer, Barczi was walking on a beach in Alabama between games in a travel tournament when his phone rang. Vanderbilt assistant Mike Baxter was on the line. Barczi picked up instantly.

“We’d love to have you here,” Barczi recalled Baxter saying.

Barczi accepted on the spot. At last, he was Vanderbilt-bound.

“It was a little surreal,” he said.

As a freshman for the Commodores, Barczi backed up Alan Espinal, one of the nation’s top catchers at the time. Then the Colorado Rockies selected Espinal in the 11th round of the 2024 MLB draft, and Barczi became the starting catcher.

“Barz has a very even disposition for the game and is a very respected teammate,” Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin said. “He possesses all the physical tools that you would look for in a catcher.

“Colin became a very important piece of our lineup toward the end of last year.”

But the Commodores’ season ended in the regionals of the NCAA Tournament with losses to Louisville and Wright State.

It’s not enough for Barczi to play at his dream college. He wants to win there.

“We have to make it to Omaha now,” he said. “We’ve got to bring home a national championship.”

Sam Brief is a freelance reporter.