Following in his dad's footsteps, Kamloops baseball player selected in MLB draft

It's been a big week for Tyrelle Chadwick. 

On Monday, he was drafted by the Colorado Rockies, giving him a taste of the big league. 

"It's a huge honour to have the opportunity to play at the next level," he told CBC's Daybreak Kamloops host Shelley Joyce. "It's something I've dreamed about for a really long time."

Chadwick, who grew up in Kamloops and recently celebrated his 22nd birthday, has played for the Illinois Sate Redbirds since 2023, making 14 appearances this past season.

According to Illinois State Athletics, he was third on the team with 43 strikeouts, threw one complete game and was named Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week in March following seven scoreless innings against Western Illinois University.

Chadwick's family is familiar with Major League Baseball; his dad, Ray Chadwick, played for the California Angels (now the Los Angeles Angels) for one season in 1986. 

The pair sat down for an interview on CBC Radio before Chadwick heads south to start training.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

How long have you been playing baseball, Tyrelle?

Essentially since I was born. I started playing organized baseball when I was four years old. But I mean, I was quite literally raised at the ballpark. So it's been a long time coming. 

There was a long time that I thought I was going to pursue basketball and thought I was going to try and play that at the collegiate level. It kind of flipped my later years of high school, especially with COVID, not having a senior basketball season. 

What happens next? 

So I will go down to Scottsdale, Ariz., actually. I'll have some medical procedures, like drug testing and a physical, to get cleared for everything. And then I'll sign my