Saguaro baseball star Cam Caminiti's rapid rise leads to LSU signing, sights on MLB draft
Scottsdale Saguaro had three seniors sign their national baseball letters of intent on Wednesday morning: Billy Gregory (Grand Canyon), Cade Shumard (New Mexico State) and Cam Caminiti (LSU).
It was Caminiti who has drawn much of the attention to Saguaro, how he's accelerated his academics load to reclassify for the 2024 class, how he's received visits from all of the Major League Baseball teams, how the summer showcases that had the left-hander's fastball clocked at 97 mph, while settling in at 96, accelerated his path.
He wants to be a two-way player for as long as possible, which would be more of a reality if he elects to play college baseball at reigning national champion LSU.
"My freshman year, I visited LSU, I met Coach Jay (Johnson), he's a great guy, he works with two-way lefties," Caminiti said. "That's what I want to do. I was really bought into that."
But the MLB draft could be something that might be too appealing as he fast-tracks his baseball journey, hitting levels that come from God-given talent, a treasured baseball ancestry (his late cousin was former MLB star Ken Caminiti), and his own drive and desires.
He gave thrills on the baseball field last season as a sophomore, making All-Arizona as an outfielder. But with great Perfect Game performances, showing off nasty stuff on the mound, he decided to go from a sophomore to a senior this year, doubling up his academic workload in order to graduate in May.
"I was normal-aged, so I classed up," the 6-foot-2 Caminiti said. "I think that was the hardest decision I had to make for me. I'm battling through schoolwork right now. I think that will help my development with my long-term goals."
Dominic Caminiti, Cam's dad, said that the family is trying to take it "one day at a time," with all of this fast-tracking.
On Wednesday, it was all about LSU and being excited to sign his letter. This was a place he wanted to be since he was a freshman at Saguaro.
"He's worked hard," Dominic said.
Gregory said Caminiti's ready now to hit the big stage.
"I'm excited to see what he does," he said.
This was the biggest class of seniors Saguaro has had to sign in November since Matt Harris has worked at the school as athletic director. Besides the three baseball players, golfer Elina Beyer (Fort Lewis College), swimmer Emily Sheldon (Biola University) and volleyball player Mahealani Ikei (Utah Tech) also signed college letters Wednesday.
Caminiti is best known for his pitching arm, but last season when the Sabercats made a run to the 4A championship game, coach Joe Muecke preserved Caminiti's arm. He played outfield and led the team with a .495 batting average and was the region's Offensive Player of the Year, and made The Arizona Republic's All-Arizona team.
On the mound, Caminiti threw just one inning in the regular season, facing four batters.
"We kind of had a different plan of attack," Muecke said. "It was more of just get him ready for the summer. Offensively, it was his focus. When you focus on that, you hit .495 and become the Offensive All-Region Player of the Year, it speaks volumes about the type of athlete that he is."
Major League Baseball teams love him more for what he can potentially do as a pitcher. Muecke plans to show off that arm in the spring during the high school baseball season.
"We'll sit down with the team and just say what games we're going to slate him in, and make sure we're ready for the postseason, too," Muecke said. "It's exciting."
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