GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Colson Montgomery was named Indiana's 2020-21 male high school athlete of the year after setting Southridge High's (Huntingburg) career basketball scoring record and leading the Raiders to their first state 3A baseball championship. The second-highest prep position player pick in Hoosier State history, he went 22nd overall in the 2021 MLB Draft to the White Sox and signed for $3,027,000. The club's No. 1 prospect slashed .287/.396/.362 in his 26-game debut in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League.

Jim Callis: You won a state title last year in baseball at Southridge. You set the school scoring record in basketball. Obviously, you've committed to baseball. How much do you miss basketball, especially now with the NCAA tournament going on?

Colson Montgomery: Especially with the tournament going on, it makes me miss it a little more just seeing it played every day. But I made the right decision coming out here and playing baseball. My senior year, I was playing more baseball than usual, so that kind of just took over.

Callis: When did you start to realize, 'Hey, I'm probably going down the baseball path?'

Montgomery: Going into my senior year, that summer, I was playing more baseball and I was getting a lot more interest in baseball. And the basketball interest was there, but I was getting more pro attention from baseball. So that kind of took off from there. And then going into my senior year and playing my senior year, it just kind of snowballed from there and here we are.

• White Sox Spring Training report

Callis: I know you were going to play baseball at Indiana if you got to college. And there were stories, but they were never really specific, that you might get an opportunity in basketball. Would you have had the opportunity to try to walk on there if you didn't turn pro?

Montgomery: The plan was with [former Hoosiers basketball coach] Archie Miller. I was going to do both basketball and baseball. But then Archie Miller left and we got Mike Woodson, so I kind of thought that was just going to be baseball. But then he was on board with doing the two-way [thing] too. I would have been a walk-on for basketball and on baseball scholarship. And then I would have to decide after the first year, so I probably would have picked baseball.

Callis: How would that work because of the overlap? If Indiana makes a deep run in the basketball tournament, you're missing a lot of baseball stuff.

Montgomery: I would have been basketball in the fall. Then as it kind of got more towards baseball season in the winter, late winter, then you kind of flip it over because I would have just been a walk-on.

Callis: With the inaugural Draft Combine last year, there weren't a lot of guys committing to attend early on. I want to say you were the first guy who had a pretty good chance to go in the first round who committed to go when a lot of guys weren't sure they wanted to risk their Draft status. What led to that decision?

Montgomery: I kind of knew that I was pushing late first round, maybe second round. But then it was the first Combine too, so just a good opportunity to say that you went to the first one, you got to experience a lot of that stuff and you got to see all these really good players. And I wanted to see where I compared to a lot of them.

• White Sox Top 30 Prospects list

Callis: I know you were going to play baseball at Indiana if you got to college. And there were stories, but they were never really specific, that you might get an opportunity in basketball. Would you have had the opportunity to try to walk on there if you didn't turn pro?

Montgomery: The plan was with [former Hoosiers basketball coach] Archie Miller. I was going to do both basketball and baseball. But then Archie Miller left and we got Mike Woodson, so I kind of thought that was just going to be baseball. But then he was on board with doing the two-way too. I would have been a walk-on for basketball and on baseball scholarship. And then I would have to decide after the first year, so I probably would have picked baseball.

Callis: How would that work because of the overlap? If Indiana makes a deep run in the basketball tournament, you're missing a lot of baseball stuff.

Montgomery: I would have been basketball in the fall. Then as it kind of got more towards baseball season in the winter, late winter, then you kind of flip it over because I would have just been a walk-on.

Callis: With the inaugural Draft Combine last year, there weren't a lot of guys committing to attend early on. I want to say you were the first guy who had a pretty good chance to go in the first round who committed to go when a lot of guys weren't sure they wanted to risk their Draft status. What led to that decision?

Montgomery: I kind of knew that I was pushing late first round, maybe second round. But then it was the first Combine too, so just a good opportunity to say that you went to the first one, you got to experience a lot of that stuff and you got to see all these really good players. And I wanted to see where I compared to a lot of them.

Callis: The guys I've talked to really enjoyed the experience. The teams and the players I've talked to thought the interview process was really helpful coming off the pandemic when you didn't have much face-to-face time. What were the interviews like?

Montgomery: It was a whole bunch of interviews in one day. And then the next day, you had a whole bunch of interviews in a hotel room. It was really beneficial. You got to talk one-on-one with a lot of them. They got to tell you a lot about the organization and ask personal questions about your family and your background. So I thought it was very beneficial.

Callis: Did you have a pretty good idea the White Sox were going to take you? Everybody always teases White Sox scouting director Mike Shirley about how much he likes Indiana players, but their interest was obvious.

Montgomery: Talking about it all, we didn't really know where I was going to go. But I knew the White Sox loved me and I really liked that pick, so I kind of had a pretty good idea. But as the Draft goes, you never know what's going to happen.

Callis: Then you sign and you come down here to Arizona and it's a lot hotter than playing in Indiana down here in the Fire League. How much did you learn facing pro competition on a daily basis?

Montgomery: You learn a lot, especially how it's totally different than high school ball. It was a big jump for a lot of us. I learned how fast the game speeds up, the pitching, guys get down line faster, guys hit the ball a lot harder. So I really worked on my infielding, my internal clock of when to get the ball out. And also with hitting and getting my timing down. It was very beneficial and then also instructionally to learn a lot with all these coaches.

Callis: From talking to the White Sox, it seems like the plan is going to be to have you playing side by side with 2021 second-round pick Wes Kath. You're the shortstop, he's the third baseman, moving up together. Last year Rookie ball, this year Low-A and go from there. Did you guys know each other much beforehand from the showcase circuit?

Montgomery: No, we really didn't know each other at all. And we were playing down in Jupiter, [Fla.], our senior year and me and him actually played against each other. And we had no clue that we played against each other. We were just talking [last summer] and we were talking about Jupiter. He's like, "Yeah, we lost to this one Indiana team, were you on it?" I was like, "Yeah, I was on that." So that's kind of how it all started.

Callis: I always like to ask guys to self-scout. If you were breaking down your tools, how would you describe yourself?

Montgomery: Hit for contact, hit for power too. Very fundamental, plays hard, really gritty and enjoys the game.

Callis: How about speed and defense, what you would you say?

Montgomery: I'd say above-average speed and then also a very solid defender.

Callis: I'm guilty of writing, he's 6-foot-4, he could outgrow the position. How much do you want to stay at shortstop? You went in the first round because you can hit, but how much does shortstop mean to you?

Montgomery: It means a lot to me, especially because I've been playing there my whole life. So it's really the only position I really know. And also my background with multiple sports, even being 6-foot-4, still helps me out with being athletic.

Callis: I'm sure you've heard this a million times because people love comps. Six-foot-4, left-handed hitter, shortstop ... you've probably heard the Corey Seager comps. Have you heard any other comps and what do you think when you hear stuff like that?

Montgomery: Really, the only comp that I've heard is Corey Seager because we’ve developed the same, we play the same. Player comps, they really can only go so far. I can only determine how I play. It's a good comp to look up to and resemble my game. That's what I do with him.