Kickapoo star Mason Auer is going to bet on himself and start his collegiate baseball career at Missouri State.

Auer told the News-Leader on Saturday that he will pass on signing with the Chicago Cubs organization and will go to school.

"It'll be a good decision for me, I think," Auer said before a summer league game at U.S, Baseball Park in Ozark. "Missouri State was a great option for me and that's why I'm going to go there."

MISSOURI STATE BASEBALL

Auer was selected in the 39th round of the 2019 MLB Draft on June 5 with the 1,182nd overall pick by the Cubs. By choosing to go to college, he won't be eligible for the MLB Draft until 2022.

He signed with his hometown university during November's early signing period while coming off earning Class 5 All-State recognition as a utility player and leading Kickapoo to a district championship. Auer gave his verbal commitment to MSU during his sophomore year.

"They produce big leaguers," Auer said. "If you get a place like that in your hometown, have players who get drafted every year and have great coaches, you can't really turn that down."

Although it was tough to pass on starting his dream of playing professional baseball, Auer said the decision was easy because he didn't think he was going to receive the signing bonus he wanted.

He said he started to receive phone calls from teams around the 10th round of the draft, but they passed on him when they weren't going to meet the signing bonus he was looking for. He said it was going to take a "pretty big number" for him to sign.

Auer worked out with the Cubs at Wrigley Field in the pre-draft process. He's been a Cardinals fan his whole life, but that didn't make it any easier to turn down a big league team.

"It's pretty hard to say no to your dream," Auer said. "It'll hopefully happen again, so hopefully I made the right decision."

Auer said he will be both an outfielder and a pitcher at Missouri State — he was drafted to be an outfielder for the Cubs. He said his fastball has been around 96 mph.

After a vacation, Auer will soon begin a summer class at Missouri State — which will allow him to work out with the team.

The local star just finished a season in which he went 6-1 in 10 starts with a 0.79 ERA. He struck out 78 of the 204 batters he faced during the season.

Auer was ranked as the No. 444 draft prospect by Baseball America. The website projects Auer as an outfielder in college along with being a pitcher. He batted .321 with a pair of home runs and 15 RBI during his senior season as a Chief.

"I'm definitely betting on myself," Auer said. "Hopefully I can get there and raise my stock and go a lot higher."