GLENDALE, Ariz. -- As a two-sport standout hailing from Indiana, Colson Montgomery did what amounted to the unthinkable in his state: He gave up basketball to pursue a baseball career with the White Sox.

“It was kind of like a little disgrace for me to pick baseball over basketball,” Montgomery said with a laugh during a Wednesday interview at White Sox Minor League camp at Camelback Ranch. “I look at my basketball days were in my younger years and then baseball just came out of nowhere and took over my life. I kind of just went with it and I didn’t look back.”

Montgomery, ranked as the club's top prospect by MLB Pipeline, is in the middle of his first professional Spring Training after being selected No. 22 overall by the White Sox in the 2021 Draft. He hit .287 with seven doubles and seven RBIs as part of the Arizona Rookie League squad last season and is ticketed for Low-A Kannapolis in his first full Minor League campaign.

But basketball still isn’t a completely distant memory for Montgomery, who shoots around every so often with his family, but otherwise stays baseball focused. He spoke Wednesday of having an arrangement at Indiana University where the left-handed-hitting shortstop and left-handed shooting guard would play baseball on scholarship and then be a walk-on for the basketball team.

That deal was arranged with Indiana men’s basketball coach Archie Miller and agreed upon by Mike Woodson, who replaced Miller.

“I would have done it for one year, and then I would have had to pick,” the 6-foot-4 Montgomery said. “I probably would have picked baseball.”

According to MaxPreps.com, Montgomery averaged 24.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2 steals and 2.1 blocks over 23 games for Southridge High School in Huntingburg, Ind., as a senior. He averaged 20.9 points and 7.1 rebounds over 94 career games.

A little bravado comes with that success on the hardwood courts and the baseball diamonds. It’s also a demeanor sort of built into being a first-round pick, but Montgomery carries himself more with a good-natured confidence than an arrogant cockiness.

“I’m coming with my own kind of swagger and just not really trying to be arrogant about it. Just kind of have a high level of confidence,” Montgomery said. “I think my first days last year kind of got that all out of the way. Everybody found out I’m kind of not like everybody else in that way.”

“You watch him play basketball, now you watch him play baseball and his shoulders are coming back a little bit,” White Sox hitting coordinator Andy Barkett said. “Played basketball with a lot of attitude, and now we’re seeing it on the baseball field, not in a bad way at all but like, ‘I’m going to come get you.’”

When asked for his single-game high as a basketball player, Montgomery smiled and questioned if that total was in life or at the high school level. He listed a personal high of 50 points somewhere around sixth grade and 41 points for his high school days. As for whether he had more game-winning shots or walk-off hits during his high school careers, Montgomery laughed and went with the game-winning shots because he usually was intentionally walked when teams faced him in game-deciding situations.

Those two-sport accomplishments work hand in hand, and in more ways than the confidence gained from Montgomery’s success. He has developed mental toughness through playing around a string of missed shots or an 0-for-10 stretch at the plate, knowing he can find his way back. Montgomery also understands going from one collegiate season to the NBA is more likely than the very small chance of jumping from one Minor League campaign to the Majors.

“It’s a process and you have to trust it, and you can’t really set a timeline on when you want to get there,” Montgomery said of his baseball career. “It’s just how you play. If you put a timeline to get there earlier, you are putting a lot of pressure on yourself. If you say late, you are underestimating yourself. When time’s right, I guess.”

So, Montgomery won’t be the next homegrown hoops star from Indiana. But those basketball skills might help him as a shortstop in baseball.

“Also, with my height. Especially it seems like a lot of guys that are 6-4 or whatever, they’re kind of on the corners and they’re really not lateral movements,” Montgomery said. “But I’d say me playing multiple sports, especially basketball, playing defense is pretty much like that, with the go lateral.”