ST PETERSBURG, Fla. — Hundreds of young baseball players’ dreams came true earlier this month when they heard their names called in the Major League Baseball Draft. That includes Andrew Williamson, whose rise from local ballplayer to MLB prospect happened right here in the Sunshine State.
Before Williamson was hitting home runs at the University of Central Florida, he was hitting them at Northside Christian School in St. Petersburg.
“It helped me so much being able to go to an amazing school like this, a great education as well as a great baseball program. The amount of hours I’ve spent at this place has been a lot, especially with morning workouts, school and practices,” he said. “There were some really long days here. It means a lot.”
“Oh, I mean number one, just played the game hard, played the game the right way, respected the game of baseball, was a true captain, true teammate while he was here,” Northside Christian head baseball coach Robert Rodriguez said.
Williamson played on varsity as an eighth-grader. He hit over .400 his senior year with the Mustangs and then played at the D-I level.
He went up to Orlando and ripped 34 home runs in his three seasons with the Knights, hitting .317 with an OPS of over .1000 last season.
“That was also a big milestone, being able to commit to a school like that and go there and play for three years. They also changed my life forever as well, and the friendships I have there, they’re going to last forever,” Williamson said.
The 6-foot outfielder helped UCF make the NCAA tournament in 2026. Once they lost in the Auburn Regional, he turned his attention to the MLB Draft. He knew he was going to get picked, but did not know how high.
As the suspense kept building, he came back home to train at The Yard in Largo while waiting for the big day.
“I would say thankfully pretty calm, obviously looking forward to it, but at the same enjoying time with my family, enjoying being here, being able to train and then trusting my Lord Jesus really that he’s got a plan for it,” Williamson said. “So definitely tried to embrace the moment for now but also being aware for what’s coming ahead.”
When asked about getting much sleep the night before, he said, “Not really.”
On the day of the MLB Draft, he had a watch party at his uncle’s house with lots of family and friends, which had to have built even more suspense.
“That definitely got me nervous as well, with the amount of people that were there. It’s kinda nerve-wracking like, ‘Oh man, I don’t want to keep these people waiting,’” he said.
Williamson was picked in the second round, 68th overall (Competitive Balance Round B) by the St. Louis Cardinals. His signing bonus was $1.29 million.
“I’m very thankful for being able to go to the Cardinals. I love their organization; if I could have picked, that would have been one of the ones that I would have picked, so I’m super thankful and it was worth the wait,” Williamson said.
“True blessing, true honor to see one of my former players get the call,” Rodriguez said of Williamson. “It’s hard work that he’s put in throughout his entire playing career ever since he was playing tee-ball, coach, pitch, etc.”
Williamson will start his pro career pretty close to home, getting assigned to the Florida Complex League Cardinals rookie ball team in Jupiter.
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it and looking forward to being with a great group of guys; obviously so much talent, so being able to build relationships with them and being able to pour into them like they will pour into me, I’m looking forward to that and having some fun,” Williamson said.
A dream that started in St. Pete will hopefully one day take him all the way up to The Show in St. Louis.