Forasmuch influence as the country of England has had on America, one thing it has not produced over the years is an abundance of baseball talent. Perhaps Mountain Brook’s Caleb Barnett can change that.
When you first meet Caleb, you wouldn’t think behind his 6-foot-6, 210-lb. frame and Over-the-Mountain dialect (mixed with a hint of Philadelphia…more on that in a minute) that he has English roots. Yet he was born in England and grew up hitting Wiffle ball with his father in the backyard their family home in the cathedral city of Oxford. At the time, Caleb’s dad was getting his doctorate in theology at Oxford University, an upper echelon institution of higher education located approximately 50 miles northwest of London, so he could one day return stateside and become a college professor. The family eventually returned to Alabama (Caleb’s mother and father are Homewood, Ala., natives) before moving to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when Caleb’s dad took a job as a professor at Villanova University.
The top overall baseball prospect in the state of Alabama according to Prep Baseball Report, Caleb, a third baseman and pitcher for the Spartans, spent a large portion of his formative years in the city of Philadelphia, where he would slowly cobble together the desire to become a college player through the robust baseball culture in eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He remembers going to baseball games at Villanova with his dad and getting in for free, and it was in that experience that the dreams of a boy began to materialize. At age 11 or 12, he began to take lessons at a comprehensive baseball training facility called Player Development Systems (PDS) in Conshohocken, PA, under the tutelage of coaches Chez Angeloni and Dan Williams—Angeloni handling the hitting instruction while Williams taught pitching.
“I went to them every single day, even on Christmas sometimes, for about…four or five years,” Caleb says. “There were some guys there who got drafted and hanging out with those guys and Chez in a very professional environment, I sort of picked up the ability to copy what they were doing. I saw what they did and I wanted to be like them.”
Around that time, Caleb started on the travel baseball circuit and the seriousness of the sport picked up. The action was not limited to just Pennsylvania and surrounding states, however. When he was 12, Caleb got to participate in the massive, 100-plus team Cooperstown Dreams Park tournament in Cooperstown, New York, the epicenter of baseball lore and home to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. That experience lit a spark—being able to spend time around talented players from all over the country provided the fuel—and Caleb went home with extra motivation to get better at the sport he loved.
For the next few years, if there was a park in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, chances were The Barnetts of Philadelphia were there on the weekends. “I’ve probably been around every single baseball field in Pennsylvania,” Caleb laughs. “New Jersey is a big baseball state and I’ve probably seen every baseball field in New Jersey too.”
Caleb possessed all the tools—size, speed, and desire—and eventually college programs began to take notice. Phone calls and game visits by coaches became commonplace, and several schools were desirous of his services.
But the recruiting process would not last long, as Caleb committed to the University of Alabama baseball his ninth-grade year. The decision was not much of a surprise for those who knew Caleb (he grew up an Alabama football fan), and though perhaps there were more storied programs in the mix, playing for the Crimson Tide seemed checked all the boxes: he loved the coaches, the players, the discipline, the fun, the facilities, the city, the campus—not to mention, you get the spoils of being around the football program, which always has its benefits.
As Providence had it, Caleb’s life was to take another twist in 2022 when he and his family moved back to Alabama. And though he would don the Spartan hunter green and gold as a member of the Mountain Brook High School baseball team, he continued to tour the country on the travel circuit with USA Prime National. Commenting on all the places he has been throughout his career, Caleb seems to rattle off more states than a retired couple enjoying the camper life. “So yeah, I’ve been to Arizona, California, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Illinois. I’ve played in a lot of states,” he says.
But it wasn’t just all about the luxury of hotels and facing the cream-of-the-crop in travel tournaments. It was the weekly grind and commitment to taking his game to another level. Enter Casey Smith at Out Front Hitting in Chelsea, Ala., another game-changer for Caleb when he came back to Alabama. Like his experience with Chez and Dan Williams in Philadelphia, Caleb’s extra work with Casey was critical to improving Caleb’s overall baseball I.Q.
“He’s been vital in my development, honestly,” Caleb says of Smith. “He’s helped me a ton, really helped tap into that extra power, working on the consistency of my swing and getting the same swing off every time.”
Now Caleb is staring down his last full season in a Mountain Brook uniform. He’ll look to improve on his eye-popping stats from spring of 2024 (.383 BA/8 HR/.716 SLG; 1.04 ERA with 73K) and lead the Spartans to a deeper run in the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) state baseball tournament despite returning only four starters from a 30-8 team that lost to Oxford in the state 6A quarterfinals.
“As one of the best players in the state this year, Caleb has been a huge part of our success the past two seasons. He is a very talented player that can do so many things for our team,” Mountain Brook head baseball coach Lee Gann told Talegate.
Because of his superb skill, Caleb has also been able to experience some cool events that are not part of his high school or even travel ball biosphere. The month of August 2024 was chock-full of national activities in exotic locales: he was selected as a participant in the MLB High School All-American Game, held at Petco Park in San Diego, as well as the Perfect Game All-American Classic, held at Chase Field in Phoenix. He describes San Diego thusly:
Me and dad went and ate at a nice restaurant in California. The weather was perfect. I got to walk on the beach a little bit. We saw the Navy pier, which was super cool. And the baseball was just amazing. You get to see kids out there chucking like 98,99 and hitting balls like 115 off the bat.
At both events, Caleb got to hang out with former and current MLB stars, including MLB Network’s Harold Reynolds and former Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg.
Then, on November 13, Caleb made it official by signing with Alabama. He posted via X, I’m happy to announce that I have signed to play baseball at the @UofAlabama. This is a lifelong dream, and I’m grateful to @rvaughnBAMA and everyone associated with @AlabamaBSB for the opportunity to join such a great program. #RollTide
With all the amusements and euphoric experiences in Caleb’s life, he says he remains grounded by pressing into his faith. He shares a bible verse, Psalm 46:1, on his X profile, which reads, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
Caleb draws inspiration from other athletes like Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, who has been vocal about his Christian faith. And though he has put in the work and spent a great deal of his discretionary time in baseball facilities across the U.S., Caleb understands he wouldn’t be where he is if it were not for the abilities given to him by his Creator.
“I think that thanking the Lord and staying with your faith is extremely important. He’s blessed me with the abilities I couldn’t imagine I would have. I’ve been so blessed my whole life.” TG
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