AURORA - Today is signing day for Mac Wainwright.

It is something the fourth-round pick of the Reds has dreamed about almost since birth.

“When I was one-years-old I told my dad I wanted to play pro ball and that’s been our goal since then,” Wainwright related. “He pushed me to be a better player and better person, to learn from your mistakes.”

There was no mistaking what the recent St. Edward graduate was going to decide if chosen in the five-round Major League Draft in early June.

“We’d made the decision before anything happened,” explained Wainwright about the resolution to turn pro or attend college at Ohio State where a commitment was made in late 2017. “They knew it was my dream. I sat with my parents and said if this happens, Ohio State is not in the picture. I wanted to be a pro player. I’ve always wanted to pursue it.”

It has St. Edward head baseball coach Matt Rosinski ecstatic.

“Our St. Edward baseball program and community is so incredibly proud of Mackenzie,” Rosinski said. “At just 14-years-old, Mac enrolled at St  Ed’s as a freshman and was an immediate starter on the baseball team from day one. Now, at just 17, Mackenzie is ready for the next chapter of his life - as a professional baseball player for the Cincinnati Reds.

“His growth and development over the past four years, as a fine young man and as a ballplayer, has truly been a pleasure to watch. Even with the draft being knocked down by 35 rounds, the Reds see what the St. Edward coaches see … a talent too high to pass up, whose ceiling and potential is simply scary to even think about. Mac absolutely loves the game of baseball, and we can’t wait to follow his career as he gives everything he has back to this great sport.”

The top-ranked 2020 player in Ohio was with family and friends when the June 10th draft took place.

“I’m not a big people’s person so I didn’t want anything big, I just wanted to enjoy it,” Wainwright reflected. “There was a lot of excitement and a lot of emotion, but it’s not that we weren’t prepared for it. We were prepared for college or pro ball … but pro ball was what we were thinking.”

The Indians, Padres, White Sox and Brewers were the main teams that Wainwright had heard from prior to the draft.

“We didn’t talk much to the Reds,” noted Wainwright . “I played on the Reds Scout Team in the fall in Jupiter and I had an in-home meeting with them, that was it.”

However, with the 113th selection of the draft the Reds took the 24th-ranked outfielder in the draft off the board as reality set in about his future as a pro player.

“I see myself as somebody people can look up to eventually, if not now,” Wainwright said about what it all means. “I set big goals and it’s been a dream for so long. I wanted an opportunity and I finally got it.”

Now it is a matter of continuing to work toward the biggest goal of all.

“There’s a lot for me to improve on, a lot for me to work on,” the 6-1 205-pound outfielder explained. “I don’t know what that is, but I hope to find out soon. I’ve not been in this situation to know that I’m good at this or bad at that. As of now, I’m learning about the consistency of my swing, that's what I’m working on now.”

Wainwright, who grew up as an Indians’ fan, will be going to Great American Ballpark for the first time when he signs his contract.

“Hopefully, I’ll find out what I’m doing in a couple of weeks,” Wainwright said about the uncertain future with MLB still working out plans for the 2020 season. “I don’t know anything yet.”

What is known is that the goal of being a professional baseball player has been reached and the next goal for Wainwright has already been established.

“I want to make the Big Leagues as fast as I can and then be the best ever,” Wainwright said.