Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Cameron Saso during his Mack High playing days.

By Ray Hamill — Cameron Saso is enjoying a new challenge on the baseball field this summer, playing for the Nevada Griffons, a collegiate summer team in Missouri.

And it’s been a successful campaign so far for the former McKinleyville Panther, who is contributing on the mound and at the plate, where he is batting .313, second best on his team.

He also has three saves in four save opportunities and was recently selected to play in the MINK All-Star Game, where he was a starting third baseman for the South Division.

Saso finished the game with an RBI single and a HBP, while also making some big plays on defense and pitching the final out.

The experience this summer, he says, has been a good one.

“It’s definitely a new, fun experience being in Missouri,” he said. “I haven’t even been east of Arizona to play baseball before. It’s definitely fun and I’ve met a lot of people I would not have met, and I’ve seen a lot of places I would not have seen.”

The opportunity to play for the Griffons came about through his college coach at Folsom Lake College, where Saso red-shirted this past year.

The 2020 McKinleyville High graduate originally intended to play at Santa Rosa JC, but switched to Folsom Lake when head coach Rich Gregory convinced him to come play for the Falcons after seeing him play for the Humboldt Eagles last summer.

And it’s a move that appears to be paying off for Saso, who has grown as a player since his time at Mack High.

“It’s two entirely different players,” he said, comparing the 2020 player to who he is now. “I just think I’ve learned a lot.”

The long-term goal remains the same for Saso, who hopes to take his talents to a top Division-I program within the next couple of years, and hopes someday to be taken in the MLB Draft.

“That’s my ultimate goal,” he said. “I’d like to play somewhere in the SEC. They’re famous for having the best baseball programs year in and year out, and for getting a lot of guys drafted.”

The Humboldt Crabs expressed some interest in the local star for this summer and wanted him to join their pitching staff.

But their call came two weeks after he had accepted an offer from the Griffons, who were also offering him the opportunity to play both as a pitcher and in the field.

In the long term, Saso sees his future in the game as a position player.

He says the All-Star game was a memorable occasion.

“It was super cool,” he said. “Just meeting people from all the other teams I’ve played against, and just asking them where they’re from and being able to compare myself to D-I players out here.”

It wasn’t the first All-Star game for the talented Humboldt County native, who honed his skills playing for the McKinleyville Little League All-Stars before his impressive career at Mack High.

“That was definitely fun,” he said of his Little League experience, where he travelled to play in the Section tournament in Chico.

Saso will be keeping tabs on the Mack All-Stars again this week, with younger brother Tate playing for the 12-year-old McKinleyville All-Stars in this year’s Section tournament, which gets under way at Hiller Park on Friday.

A second brother, Jack, is also playing for the Humboldt Eagles this summer.