A few years ago, when my oldest son Josh was playing soccer and baseball at Oakmont High, I noticed a young boy hanging around on the sidelines at a few of his games.

I noticed this kid because he always seemed to be doing something with a glove and a ball. He was maybe 11 or 12 years old at the time, and as it turns out he was the younger brother of my son’s good friend and teammate, Tyson Kuresa.

As the years went by, my second son Jordan came to play the same sports for the Vikings, and along came this same young man as an early arrival at the varsity level in both sports. He was great at soccer, but you could always tell that baseball was his first love.

As I sit here writing this, the Major League Baseball draft is in its early rounds, and Tyler Kuresa, fresh off his senior season at Oakmont, is expected to be selected any time now.

The first baseman with the great glove and sweet left-handed stroke has moved from the youngster tossing balls off the back of the dugout to a dominant player.

One of the interesting things about the baseball draft for high school players is that most of them already have another option, in Tyler’s case a scholarship to play baseball at the University of Oregon.

On one hand, he signs a professional baseball contract or on the other his education is all-but completely paid for while he plays Pac 10 baseball and works towards being drafted again in a few years.  Amazing what hard work at something you love can do for you.

No matter which road Tyler takes, his game and his attitude would seem to have him set up for success.

Editor’s note: Soon after the completion of this column, Tyler Kuresa was drafted in the 11^th round by the Minnesota Twins. See our other stories on Tyler’s selection and his next steps.

Also drafted today in the 14^th round were a pair of former Woodcreek Timberwolves. Daniel Wolford, a senior at Cal, was taken by the Cincinnati Reds and Danny Black, a junior at Oklahoma who is currently in the NCAA Super Regionals, was taken by the Florida Marlins.