Andre Beltran is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Hamilton High School for AZPreps365.com

Baseball came naturally to Hamilton star catcher Tyler Wilson when he moved to the Valley as an 8-year-old from his native Taiwan in 2012.

 “I know how hard baseball is, so I just work hard and try to be the best at what I am doing every day.”

Going into his senior year, Wilson has evolved into one of the best in the country.

He has his eye on another state title and a career at Grand Canyon University and professional ball.

“Going back-to-back would prove to people and ourselves that we are better than past teams and keep the legacy going for the young guys,” said Wilson.

Wilson has been a leader the three years he has been on varsity.

“He is one of our leaders in the dugout and obviously his bat is crucial to our lineup along with his pitch calling and catching ability behind the plate and helps our pitching staff a lot,” said Michael Brueser, Wilson’s teammate and good friend.

Being such an integral part of the team for three years now and having an abundance of success, Wilson will miss his time at Hamilton.

“Being on the field and just hanging with the guys during practice and competing is what I will miss the most.”

Like many of his teammates, Wilson will be playing at the next level after committing to play at Grand Canyon University earlier in the year

“I picked GCU because of the coaching staff, the atmosphere and the location,” said Wilson.

Wilson has a good chance to be drafted this year.

Coach Mike Woods believes he has what it takes to one day play in the majors.

“Tyler has a very good chance of being drafted, good switch-hitting catcher and above all just a great kid,” said Woods.

When it came time to decide where he would be playing high school ball, Wilson had a couple of schools in mind but decided to play for Woods.

“In the end I felt like Hamilton was the best fit for me just to get better every day.”

 Playing for Woods is something Wilson will be always be grateful for and something he will never forgot.

“It’s been amazing playing for such a great coach and a great team, he’s been in the game for a long time so I am just trying to be a sponge and soak up all the information that he teaches us,” said Wilson.