Could Hough High’s Tyler Baird become an MLB draft pick? His coach thinks he’s got a chance

Over his long coaching career, Hough High baseball coach Pete Jenkins has coached more than 50 eventual professional baseball players, including two as an assistant coach at Hough.

He’s convinced he’ll add another one in highly acclaimed pitcher Tyler Baird as soon as this summer’s major league draft.

“He’s probably the best high school pitcher I’ve seen in a long time,” said Jenkins, in his 12th year at Hough (third as head coach) after 16 years coaching at Florida State and Ohio State. “And I’ve been blessed to see a lot of really good arms.

“But I see him every day. I see the work he puts in every day. I know the strength and conditioning program and throwing program he does.”

Baird, a 6-foot-4, 190-pound right-hander, was ranked No. 6 in the N.C. high school class of 2025 after the fall of 2024. A signee for the Vanderbilt, Baird is expected to be drafted in the first five rounds of the MLB Draft in virtually all projections.

“It’s great to hear that,” Baird said of hearing his head coach’s comments. “But you have to go out there and prove it and work day in and day out to keep that dream alive.

‘When I was a freshman, I got ranked No. 20 overall player in the country and No. 5 overall pitcher. So ever since then, I’ve had expectations to be one of the best.”

Baird is part of a loaded Hough roster eager to add to the 15-year-old school’s rich baseball tradition. A state runner-up in its second year of 2012, the Huskies have won eight conference titles and made the state playoffs 13 straight seasons.

“When you come from a program like Hough with players like (San Francisco Giants minor league pitcher) Nick Swiney and (New York Yankees minor league pitcher) Bailey Dees it lets me know that it’s possible to get that far.”

Baird is one of several talented returnees that include three other college commitments in center fielder Jaxon Matthews (Clemson), third baseman Jaxon Keeling (Queens) and utility player Thomas Bass (Concord, West Virginia.).

Other top returnees are right fielder Daniel Eber, left fielder Jamison Funderburk, pitcher-utility player Matthew Nesta, second baseman-utility player Harrison Sheets, left-handed pitcher Lochlan Robins, right-handed pitcher Michael Connolly and outfielder R.J. Nightengale.

Hough went 18-9 last season in which it finished 12-2 in the Queen City 3A/4A Conference (behind unbeaten champion Hopewell) and lost in the first round of the N.C. 4A playoffs.

Jenkins and Baird are hopeful for more this season and Jenkins says Baird is a huge reason why.

“Work ethic first and foremost is what sets him apart,” Jenkins said of Baird. ““He gets after it. He has a passion for the game, he’s obsessed with being good and he throws bullets. He has command of three pitches for strikes at 94 mph.

“He’s just an unbelievable worker and an unbelievable teammate. He’s the first one in of the dugout and the last one cleaning everything up.”

Baird’s high rankings and the fact that major league scouts are showing up for practices and games to see him pitch makes its a virtual certainty the senior pitcher will have to a make a decision about his future this summer after the 2025 major league draft in Atlanta July 13-15.

“It’s going to be a really hard decision for me,” Baird said. “I think Vanderbilt’s a great program and coach (Tim) Corbin is one of the best coaches if not the best coach ever in college baseball. But the goal is to play professional baseball and if you can get a head start on that, why not?

“I’m going to have a have a tough talk with people that I know, especially my parents. Whatever’s right will happen and I’ll go down that path when it gets here.”

The difficulty of that upcoming choice isn’t lost on Jenkins.

“That’s a great question,” Jenkins said when asked what he thinks Baird will choose. “I don’t have that magic dust so I don’t know.

“All I know is that every time he throws a bullpen session, there’s professional scouts at our field so I know he’s in high consideration for an early-round pick.

“And I know he has the talent, passion and drive to be a major leaguer.”