For George Bilecki, the road to becoming an MLB draft pick was far from typical.

Bilecki nearly gave up baseball after his high school career at Marist but landed in an NCAA Division II program at Lewis. Now, he hopes he has given hope to all the young players who don’t have Division I schools knocking down their doors.

“When you’re a kid from the South Side of Chicago, you take that everywhere with you,” Bilecki said. “That’s a chip on your shoulder and it’s an attitude. Just to be a story for these kids growing up on the South Side and for anyone that has that ‘Division I or bust’ mentality and show them it’s possible, man.

“I’m beyond blessed that for the rest of my life I can preach it and I can tell kids, ‘Keep your head down and work really hard and anything is possible.’ ”

Bilecki was selected Monday by the San Diego Padres in the 12th round with the 370th overall pick. He’s the first Lewis player to be drafted in 25 years.

Earlier this summer, Bilecki entered the transfer portal and committed to Arizona State. But he plans on signing with the Padres.

“Obviously, a huge decision had to be made and I can’t thank the Arizona State coaching staff enough,” Bilecki said. “They told me they wanted me and they weren’t going to go down without a fight, but I called them (Wednesday) morning and told them I’m going to bet on myself like I have my entire life and I’m going to pursue the dream.”

Bilecki has certainly felt like he’s been living in a dream world all week, beginning when the Padres made the pick.

“It’s what every little kid who’s picked up a baseball dreams of,” Bilecki said. “It’s a feeling like no other. It was really special to be with my whole family for that moment and it was just an unbelievable feeling. Words can’t describe it.”

Bilecki is coming off a huge junior season this spring as he hit .361 with 22 homers and 66 RBIs and led Lewis to the NCAA Division II National Tournament.

Although he felt way off the MLB radar before the season began, that started to change as his success continued.

“I still wake up and I feel like I’m a Division II baseball player,” Bilecki said. “I didn’t think this was going to be a reality. But you hit your 15th home run and then there’s a scout at every game the rest of the season. You’re seeing logos from all the teams you grew up watching.

“It was pretty unreal.”

It’s something Bilecki predicted a few years ago, however, according to Lewis coach Mike Vucsko.

“We are really happy for George and his family,” Vucsko said in a press release. “When we recruited George in the summer of 2021, he committed shortly after that. In the fall, him and his fellow classmate Collin Amsden came to watch a practice.

“When I was sitting with George, he asked me, ‘When was the last player drafted out of Lewis?’ Followed with, ‘I am going to be the next.’ Here we are four years later. He earned every bit of this and we are excited to watch his future.”

Before connecting with Lewis, Bilecki didn’t know if he would find a college baseball home. He credits Marist coach Kevin Sefcik with helping him continue his journey.

“I can’t thank coach Kevin Sefcik and coach Mike Vuscko enough,” Bilecki said. “Coach Sefcik was like, ‘I think you should play, and if you want to, I can find a spot for you.’ Then I met coach Vuscko.

“I wouldn’t be anywhere without the teammates I’ve played with. They’ve shaped me into the man and baseball player I am today.”

A pro baseball player, that is.

“I think at any point in my life, up until when it happened, if you would have told me I was going to get drafted, I would have called you crazy,” Bilecki said. “It’s insane.”