Oak Park-River Forest senior Ethan Moore has a lot on his plate these days.
First and foremost is his final season of high school baseball. But as the playoffs approach, much more competes for Moore’s attention. The switch-hitting shortstop has gained a national profile with his considerable skills.
“I’m just taking it one game at a time, trying to have fun and be a good leader for my team,” he said. “With me and the scouts and the opportunities I have, I’m enjoying the process. I realize I’m blessed to have these opportunities, and I know all of that stuff will take care of itself.”
“That stuff” includes Moore’s commitment to defending Men’s College World Series champion Tennessee and the 2025 MLB draft that begins July 13. The opportunity to play Division I baseball has been available to him for years — he committed to another national power, Louisville, as a freshman before switching in the fall — but the potential to play professionally sooner rather than later is a newer development.
Moore, who was batting .430 with four home runs, 31 RBIs, 38 runs scored, 22 stolen bases and just six strikeouts for West Suburban Silver Conference leader OPRF (23-9, 12-4) through May 14, made favorable impressions at several national showcase events last summer. He ranks No. 91 on MLB’s recently unveiled list of the top 150 draft prospects.
“In the years prior, I was always focused on developing mentally and physically,” he said. “Last summer was a lot of flying, traveling to face the best competition out there. It was pretty fun, and I had a pretty good summer with scouts watching me.”
One event in particular — the Area Code Games, held each August in Long Beach, California — was especially significant for Moore. He hit .357 without a strikeout in 16 plate appearances and returned home with a different level of evaluation being cast upon him.
“After that, I realized I had a pretty good shot and that other opportunities might be ahead,” he said.
Moore was right. A parade of professional scouts watched Moore work out individually in the fall, and he said representatives from “almost all” of the 30 MLB teams have come to his home.
“It was two or three months of scouts watching and visiting, and it was a lot,” he said. “After the first week, I got used to it, and it became a routine, meeting scouts and hearing all about their organizations.”
Moore’s entire family had to get adjusted to the attention. He’s the second of three boys — Ezra, a 2023 OPRF graduate, played with him for two years, and Ian is a freshman on OPRF’s varsity team — and their father Nate played at Southern University after a standout career at Chicago Vocational.
“When Ethan was younger, he did do some special things on the field, and when he got into playing for Team USA, you could see him separating himself,” Nate Moore said. “But it’s always been team-first, and he wants to not be the center of attention.”
That’s hard to do when your high school knows about you before you step foot on campus. OPRF baseball coach Kevin Campbell’s initial reports about Ethan Moore have been reinforced over four seasons.
“He looks like a Division I running back, definitely a generational player,” Campbell said. “But I’m most proud of how he’s handled himself because it’s definitely not easy. You would think a kid with the following he has would change, but there’s nothing different about how he acts or prepares. He’s so humble.”
When Moore got into the lineup at second base as a freshman, he “never flinched,” according to Campbell. The next season, Moore had an audience of MLB scouts when OPRF played Downers Grove North, which featured George Wolkow. The Chicago White Sox selected Wolkow in the seventh round of the draft that summer.
The 6-foot, 190-pound Moore and the 6-7, 240-pound Wolkow are very different physically, but Campbell remembers coming away from that game believing Moore compared favorably from a talent standpoint.
That was made more clear last season when the Huskies played York, whose pitcher Ryan Sloan was only weeks away from being selected in the second round of the 2024 draft by the Seattle Mariners.
“On the first pitch of the game, Ethan hit a ball right past Sloan’s head,” Campbell said. “We looked over at all of the scouts, and every one of them was writing in their notebooks.”
Moore also remembers that at-bat, which gave him an indication of how far he had come in his development.
“That was one of the games that put me on the map,” he said. “I didn’t have the best at-bats against him sophomore year, but I focused, like always, on being aggressive but patient. I felt like I was in my element.”
Moore is clearly in his element on a baseball field. He’s a natural right-handed batter who began switch-hitting in seventh grade. Moore bats leadoff for the Huskies, where his line-drive, gap-to-gap hitting is a perfect companion to his top-end speed.
“Hitting-wise, I know what my game is, which is hitting the ball on a line and using my speed to turn singles into doubles,” he said.
Moore is also a smooth fielder. He has mastered many of the little things that distinguish prospects of his caliber.
“When I was younger, my dad would hit us all ground balls for hours,” he said. “I’m constantly moving my feet, which allows me to create my own hops and not need that little stutter step to get lined up.”
Jaxon Clayton, a suburban Milwaukee native who played travel ball with Moore for several years, knows there’s more than natural ability in those steps.
“You won’t find anyone who works harder than Ethan, and that’s what separates him,” Clayton said. “There were times in the summer where we’d all be chilling in the hotel, and he’s in the weight room, putting in the reps that others haven’t.
“He sacrifices a lot, but there’s no doubt in my mind that he’ll achieve his goals and dreams.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.
