Wesleyan coach Michael Shaheen had his old high school baseball coach down to watch the Wolves practice. David Fouracre, who coached Shaheen at Brockton High School in Massachusetts before moving on to his current post as Bridgewater State's pitching coach, saw something in Connor Winn.

"I got to play with and coach some of the shortstops (Fouracre has) been around, and he said Connor was as good as any he'd seen," said Shaheen, who also coached at Brockton. "He told me [Winn] was going to be a big-time player."

Jason Getz/ AJC (ENLARGE)

Connor Winn's bat speed is so good, opposing coaches asked three times during Wesleyan's playoff run to this year's Class AA state title whether his bat was legal. Winn set the school's single-season home run mark this year with 15 and the career record with 42.

At the time, Winn was only a sophomore.

Not much has changed in two years. Winn is coming off a standout senior season that saw him break the school's single-season home run record (15), eclipse the all-time Wesleyan home run mark of 42 and hit a career high .495 for the Class AA state champion Wolves, earning him the AJC Gwinnett News county Player of the Year. His career totals, which include the school runs scored record (161) and the third-highest career average (.417), stack up with some of the best to come through the Norcross private school.

"I think Connor can outhit a lot of people," Shaheen said. "He's got the power and bat speed."

Several opposing coaches during Wesleyan's 10-1 playoff run figured Winn had a little too much bat speed, and Shaheen was asked three times during the playoffs whether the bats were legal. Winn's aluminum was found clean.

"I thought a great example of his talents as a hitter, he hit the ball so hard and so far that they thought he was using an illegal bat," Shaheen said. "Before the first game against Lovett [in the state finals], I took [Lovett coach Lance Oubs] to watch him bat before the game and said 'Take a look at it.' It's not the bat, I promise you."

Winn is no slouch with the glove, either. Blessed with great hands and the quick feet needed to handle a demanding position such as shortstop, the Georgia Tech-bound Winn solidified the middle of the Wolves' defense by making the most difficult plays look simple.

"All the easy plays he just takes care of," Shaheen said. "And then he makes some outstanding plays look easy. ... [His senior year] he was lights out at shortstop."