The Ultimate Gamer

At the age of 12, Maryland’s star shortstop Matt Shaw could envision it: he was going to be a professional baseball player. And to realize his dreams, he was willing to do whatever it took.

Shaw developed routines for how he was going to live his life in rhythm and become the best version of himself that he could. Before he reached high school ball, he came up with plans on and off the field to get himself for the next level through training, eating habits and sleep

“In pretty much every facet of my life, there's some sort of routine to keep me in check,” Shaw said. “You don't want to leave any stones unturned. You want to do everything you can to be successful, and there's a lot of ways you can get that advantage on other people.”

From then on, the dream of becoming a professional baseball player was no longer a far-off dream for Shaw. It became his destiny, that if he put in the work and made baseball his life, that he would become a college baseball player, go pro and become a big-league ballplayer. 

“I started realizing I really want to do this and this is something I absolutely believe in,” Shaw said. “I might not be the biggest or tallest or strongest, whatever it may be, but I'm going to do everything I can to be the best I can be.”

Nine years later, people around the baseball world have fully realized what Shaw knew all along: that he has what it takes to play pro ball. Scouts and pundits alike have been put on notice by the 2023 Big Ten Player of the Year and Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist in his meteoric rise from underrated and under-recruited to undeniable during his three years in College Park. As Shaw is nearing his final days in a Maryland jersey, the program’s all-time home run leader is projected to become the first Terrapin to be drafted in the first round since Brett Cecil in 2007.

His rise to success didn’t come overnight. As a native of Brimfield, Massachusetts, a town of less than 4,000 in the western part of the state, Shaw grew up with humble roots as a fan of the Boston Red Sox who spent hours toiling in the batting facility his dad, James, had built. In high school, the up-and-coming ballplayer received hitting pointers from Peter Fatse, now the hitting coach for Shaw’s Red Sox, and current Arizona Diamondbacks Gold Glove shortstop Nick Ahmed.

Shaw initially played high school ball at Wilbraham & Monson Academy roughly 25 minutes away from his hometown, but transferred to the elite Worcester Academy a bit further away to improve his collegiate prospects. Even though Shaw flourished at Worcester and became a top-10 Perfect Game prospect in the state of Massachusetts, the shortstop only had two Division I offers on the table, Northeastern and Maryland. 

Even though Shaw received little college interest, his confidence level still remained sky high. Before joining the Terps in the fall of 2020, Maryland baseball head coach Rob Vaughn gathered his team on Zoom to discuss the goals and expectations for the program. When it was Shaw’s turn to talk, he believed that his team’s goal should be as ambitious as his own personal goals.

“Matt Shaw, as a freshman, was the first one to speak up when some older guys on that team were saying getting to a regionals is a goal and some of these things,” Vaughn said. “Matt Shaw has been here for two weeks and literally said, ‘Win a national championship,’ and didn't blink.”

Shaw’s moxie carried onto the playing field as he was getting his first crack at collegiate ball. Penciled in as Maryland’s starting second baseman as a freshman, associate head coach Matt Swope tried to get Shaw to lay off breaking balls away that were falling out of the zone. Even when his hitting coach tried to tell him differently, Shaw felt that he was able to reach out and take those pitches the opposite way.

“He said, ‘I just see it so well and I can hit it,’” Swope said. “He's so confident and really, truly thinks he can hit everything.”

With his first-year confidence, Shaw led the Terps with a .332 batting average while playing in 45 of 48 contests in 2021, earning Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors while receiving recognition as a Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game Freshman All-American.

As a natural shortstop, Shaw played the role of utility man for the first half of his debut season, playing second base, third base and even left field, before settling in as the Terps’ everyday second baseman. It didn’t matter where they put the freshman, as his bat played well regardless of where he played on the field. 

But entering his sophomore year, Shaw was dead set on becoming Maryland’s starting shortstop. And he had the confidence that he would win the offseason battle to take his preferred position.

“He told me was going to be a shortstop, and no one, none of us believed he was going to be a shortstop,” Vaughn said. “He just worked so hard that he couldn't be denied. Not only has he become our starting shortstop, but he's become one of the best shortstops in the country. And that's not some secret recipe. That's a kid that’s come in with some ability, but he just put his nose down and he's never once gotten caught up in this stuff that lots of young people get caught up in.”

In addition to a change in position, Shaw saw a positive change in his ability to hit for power. In his freshman season, Shaw launched seven home runs, but as a sophomore, he tripled his home run total to 22 big flies, which ranked as the third-most in the history of Maryland baseball.

Shaw flexed his power during the Futures Collegiate Baseball League, where he batted .341 and hit eight home runs in 11 contests, which gave the Maryland coaching staff hope that the power would translate at the next level. 

“I think when you're recruiting high school kids, you truly don't ever really know how the power tool is going to come out,” Swope said. “I think I was kind of surprised the summer before he came here when he actually hit eight home runs in the Futures League in a matter of like a month and a half. So that was the first time where I think I paused and was like, ‘Oh, wow. Does he really have that kind of juice or can he really turn it on?’”

Shaw’s personal growth coincided with the budding Maryland baseball program as a national powerhouse in 2022. As a part of the Terps’ first run to a Big Ten championship, Shaw garnered 2022 First Team All-Big Ten recognition while being a key figure in Maryland hosting its first-ever NCAA Regional.

But the transformation of Shaw from just a great college shortstop into a bonafide first-round MLB Draft selection was only beginning in 2022. The Massachusetts native returned to his home state for summer ball, competing in the Cape Cod League, where many MLB All-Stars and Hall of Famers saw their draft stock rise prior to their draft year. 

Shaw was excited to return to compete with many prospects vying for the same opportunities as him, and made the most of the opportunity to play less than two hours away from his hometown.

“It was a great summer and it's something I'll definitely appreciate down the road,” Shaw said. “Being from Massachusetts, it's obviously very cool to be there and meet a lot of great people there. The cape is pretty much known as the best league to play summer baseball in, and so if you want to be playing against the best, you want to be playing in The Cape.”

Back in his home state, Shaw didn’t just play in the Cape Cod League, but starred as the Cape Cod Summer Player of the Year. He led the league with a .360 batting average while hitting five home runs and stealing 21 bases. Maryland’s shortstop found himself listed at No. 70 on Baseball America’s 2023 draft prospect rankings before Cape Cod League play began, but after a summer season to remember, Shaw saw his name skyrocket in draft big boards.

Even as his name has been spoken about as a potential first-round pick in July’s draft, Shaw has put up his best season in every metric. His batting average soared to .347. He one-upped his home run total to 23. He’s walked more than he’s struck out. He’s on the borderline of stealing 20 bases. He’s put up his best fielding numbers in a notoriously tricky defensive position.

His season totals are just the tip of the iceberg for his junior season. In Maryland’s April 26 matchup against Georgetown, Shaw launched his 44th career home run, breaking Paul Schager’s (1984-87) 36-year old record for most home runs in Maryland program history. Three weeks later against Minnesota, he broke Scott Patterson’s (1985-88) program record for career RBI. 

All of his accomplishments warranted the 2023 B1G Player of the Year honor, confirming the hype around his stellar summer and cementing his name among the top prospects for the 2023 MLB Draft and ranking as a consensus first-round pick.

With the expectations for both him and the Terps at an all-time high entering the 2023 season, Shaw had the outside pressure to deliver personal and team results to Maryland, who entered the campaign ranked in the top 25. But as it had for his entire baseball journey, Shaw’s confidence and enjoyment of the game persevered over the external noise.

“When you're playing baseball, you deal with so much failure anyways, so you better be able to tune out all the pressure that the game brings,” Shaw said. “If you want to be a successful player, no matter whether you're playing in high school, playing in college, playing professionally, there's just so much failure you deal with as a hitter. And as an offensive player, you just need to be able to go out there every day and have a lot of fun and enjoy the moment and do the little things right.”

While all of the gaudy statistics Shaw has put up in his three seasons with the Terps are a big sticking point for his status as one of the best shortstops in this year’s class, the little things are just as important. 

“Something really small that nobody would ever say he's the best fly ball infield catcher I've ever seen in my life,” Swope said. “I've never seen anything like it. If the ball is in the air, he will catch it at home, he will catch it in the outfield. He's the best I've ever seen.” 

Shaw’s defensive instincts made the national rounds during Maryland’s win over Michigan State in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament, when he tracked a soft fly ball into shallow center and made a full extension grab while falling backwards to rob a base hit then doubling off a Spartan runner at second base to get the Terps out of the jam. The grab earned Shaw the Top Play spot on the next day’s SportsCenter Top 10.

“Again, nobody talks about that, but then he makes that double play in the Big Ten Tournament, and that's a huge part of that game that gets us a win.”

All of the facets of Shaw’s game — both big and small — have contributed to him being a Maryland great. But above all, it is his love of the game and his dedication to being great that has put him on the radar of scouts across the country. Baseball is life for Matt Shaw, and his entire life is tailored accordingly.

“As a competitor, you want to get any edge you can on your opponent, and that means 24/7 you're finding ways to get better,” Shaw said. “If you don't tailor your life around it, then the chances are you're probably not going to be as good as you want to be.”

With the start of NCAA regional play marking the beginning of the end for Shaw’s college career, Vaughn believes that Shaw is one of the many members of the team that showed the true spirit of Maryland baseball as a place to develop into a professional prospect.

“I think he just showed you what everybody is capable of,” Vaughn said. “This is a kid that had two Division I schools talking to him out of high school and wasn't a big scholarship guy. He came in here and worked his tail off. Matt Shaw here you're gonna look back as one of those guys that elevated this program’s identity from a group of gritty, tough, hard-working kids to being gritty, tough, hard-working kids who can also make every one of their dreams come true and play Major League Baseball. I think that's one thing that he has shown these young players is what it looks like, if you want to play at this level, this is what the behavior looks like. And gosh dang, I'm excited and really thrilled that we had the opportunity to coach him for three years.”