St. Elizabeth's Lucas signs with Missouri baseball team

In this June 1 file photo, St. Elizabeth shortstop Brock Lucas makes a throw to first base during the Class 1 state championship game against Oran at U.S. Baseball Park in Ozark.
In this June 1 file photo, St. Elizabeth shortstop Brock Lucas makes a throw to first base during the Class 1 state championship game against Oran at U.S. Baseball Park in Ozark.

ST. ELIZABETH - St. Elizabeth senior Brock Lucas always wanted to play baseball at the University of Missouri.

Many kids in Mid-Missouri start out with the dream. Very few get to go on and fulfill it.

"I've been an MU fan my whole life, so once they came into contact with me, they were definitely at the top of the list," said Lucas, who signed a letter of intent Friday afternoon to play baseball for the Tigers.

"It's a huge accomplishment. I'm very grateful for my family and friends."

Lucas is the first male athlete from St. Elizabeth High School to sign a Division I athletic scholarship.

"That's a pretty awesome feeling for this program," St. Elizabeth baseball coach Caleb Heckemeyer said. "A kid like that is coming out of here, he's going D-I and playing for a good school in Mizzou. Hopefully he gets our program more recognition and we can get more players in the future that can get that opportunity."

Lucas, a right-handed pitcher, said Missouri first expressed interest in him in June, and by the following month, he announced his commitment to sign with the Tigers.

"(Coach Steve Bieser) gave me an outlook of what my four years would be at Mizzou," Lucas said. "Hopefully, it will be pretty exciting."

When Lucas was 13 years old, he fractured a growth plate in his pitching shoulder, which set his progress back a bit.

"I didn't get to play that whole summer," he said. "It took some time to get over, definitely a year or two. I went from being high up in the rotation to working my way back there."

Lucas showed plenty of promise early in his high school career. In the 2019 Class 1 state title game, Lucas - then a freshman - came in to pitch the seventh inning, with the Hornets holding onto a 2-1 lead against La Plata.

A pair of walks and a single loaded the bases with no outs, but Lucas escaped the jam by inducing a 1-2-3 double play, then struck out the next batter to seal St. Elizabeth's first baseball state title since 1997.

"When I put him in that tough situation in a state championship game, I had a lot of trust in him that year to come in and close it down," Heckemeyer said. "Since then, I've trusted him with anything he's going to do."

COVID-19 wiped out St. Elizabeth's chance at repeating as state champs in 2020, but the Hornets returned to the Final Four last season, finishing runner-up to Oran in Class 1.

Lucas pitched a three-hit shutout against Leeton in the state semifinals in May to get the Hornets back to the championship game.

"It helped get me experience and keep my cool in big situations," Lucas said.

During the summer, Lucas has played for the Warriors Baseball Club alongside several top players from the Mid-Missouri area.

"Coaches Danny Hill and Drew Sims, they're the ones who got me in contact with every college that reached out to me," Lucas said.

In four fall seasons and two spring seasons as a pitcher at St. Elizabeth, Lucas has never been the losing pitcher of record.

"He's just an amazing athlete," Heckemeyer said of Lucas, who was also an all-state basketball player last season.