By Keith King 
Coming into the baseball season Calvin Mitchell had a lot of expectations on him for the Rancho Bernardo Broncos. In 2015 he was named to the All Under Class Honorable Mention team, then in 2016 he was named to the All Underclass 1st team, he helped lead his team to an undefeated record in the Area Code Games in Long Beach, Calif. He played a large role in Team USA’s U-18 win in the 2016 COPABE Pan American “AAA” Championships.
The 2017 season didn’t start off as strong as many expected for Mitchell, but he and his team experienced success from a winning standpoint. Mitchell experienced a slight slump at the beginning of the season where he went 0-22, but he then found his rhythm hitting .513, with eight home runs 23 RBIs over his next 12 games, displaying the kind of power that turned heads when he came in 2nd place in the Home Run Derby at the Perfect Game All-American Classic.
“I think at the beginning of the season, I was struggling to adjust to the different style of pitching I was seeing,” Mitchell said. “I think I turned it around the last couple of weeks. It took me about 10 games to find a good rhythm and I think I have it. We’re a playoff team and I’m looking to get a championship,” Mitchell told the USA Today.
Mitchell is now batting .369 with 11 home-runs, and 34 RBI’s while helping Rancho Bernardo to a 29-5 record. The 6”1 190 LBS outfielder will be taking his talents to the University of San Diego this fall. Mitchell is currently the 12th ranked player of his class, and has many thinking that he can be a for sure first-round draft pick.
“I try to stay away from reading articles about the draft or reading lists about who the top guys are,” he said. “I really want to focus on my expectations and what I want to do. Anybody who wants me to do other stuff that’s great. But when I’m on the field performing, I’m just thinking about what my goals are.”
With the CIF playoffs now underway Mitchell, and his team are in a position to contend for a title to put in exclamation mark on a very good high school career.
