2022 Notre Dame Signee Estevan Moreno Details Decision to Enroll in August
2022 Notre Dame shortstop signee Estevan Moreno has had a busy summer than many of his peers.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder graduated from high school and went directly into prepping for the MLB Draft and now Moreno is playing in the Northwoods League, a college wooden bat summer league.
"We're playing every day," Moreno told ISD. "It's kind of tough, but I'm getting the college experience. We travel every other day around Wisconsin, which is fun, but it's a lot."
Moreno has adjusted well as he's hitting .274 through 16 games. He's also added two home runs, 12 RBI and 17 hits.
"I'm playing pretty good," stated Moreno. "It was a tough adjustment to get to these college guys. You got most guys throwing upper 80s or low 90s, but I just had to adjust and the game is just faster at the college level. It's nice to get a feel for it before I get to Notre Dame."
The Montini Catholic (Ill.) alum has also played a few of his future teammates and Moreno was able to pick their brain on new head coach Shawn Stiffler.
"I've played against Joey Spence and Nick DeMarco," Moreno said. "I talked to Joey the day they had the Zoom call with Coach Stiffler. We talked about it and he said Stiffler seemed like a really good guy. Joey said the team felt Stiffler knew what he was talking about and he's just excited to get back on the field."
Spence's feelings towards Stiffler only confirmed Moreno's thoughts about the first-year Irish skipper. Stiffler has been in contact with Moreno quite a bit over the last two weeks, which has been appreciated.
"I love the guy already," laughed Moreno. "He's keeping up with me and texting almost daily to see how everything is going. He knows it's a big change for everyone and he wants to know if everyone is on the same page. I like him now and I think I'll keep liking him no matter what."
The Northwoods League has been an excellent opportunity for Moreno to grow his game, but he also gained a ton of confidence in June.
Moreno was invited to the MLB Draft Combine and he made his way out to San Diego to compete against the country's top players.
"That experience was awesome," Moreno stated. "You had guys playing there knowing they are first-round picks. To get around that competition and to know you're as good as them was awesome. Most kids don't get to do that stuff, so going out there was a cool experience."
The Illinois native also learned he stacked up well against his peers, which only gave him further confirmation that he was on the right path.
"I felt I was confident fielding and hitting," explained Moreno.
"There were a couple of college guys raking the ball to the opposite field and their pull side. They have a couple years of college under their belt, so you expected it.
"High school-wise, I felt I stacked up well with pretty much everyone else."
The draft process also allowed Moreno to live out a small piece of his childhood dreams. The dream isn't complete, but he got a taste of what could come in a few years and Moreno will be the first to admit he enjoyed seeing the positive momentum around his name following the combine.
"It was awesome because it's always been a dream to talk to scouts and have the possibility of getting drafted," Moreno stated. "Knowing I was there with everyone else, teams wanted to talk and this could be a possibility was great because the hard work I've put in was paying off. The work is still going on, so something better can happen after three years of college."
Moreno will enroll at Notre Dame in August and like his classmate RHP David Lally Jr., he could have easily taken his game to the professional ranks.
"I set a pretty high number at $1.2 million," explained Moreno. "Teams did offer $400-$600K around the fourth and fifth rounds, but I thought coming out with a Notre Dame education and hopefully being a first-rounder after three years was bigger.
"A couple of teams wanted me bad, but my advisor told me to be smart on this one and maybe I should bet on myself. I told my parents I didn't want to lowball myself into something where I know I'm worth more."
The degree at Notre Dame was a significant factor in his decision, along with the fact he completely fell in love with the university during a visit in the fall.
"The education at Notre Dame was huge," Moreno said. "You don't necessarily need the college experience, but having one is great. Going to Notre Dame helps a lot because the education is there. Notre Dame alums tell me I'll love it no matter what.
"Notre Dame is a special place to everybody and I'm ready to get there."
Moreno is also excited to get on campus to start working with his freshmen class as the goal is to get back to Omaha.
"I'm excited," said Moreno. "A lot of guys enrolled over the summer to do their classes. They always wanted me, David and Owen (Murphy) to come down to get the college experience with them. I'm excited to get with those guys and I know they work hard. They wouldn't be at Notre Dame if they didn't. I'm just ready to get on the field with them.
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