Former Polk County High School outfielder Joel Booker

can light up a baseball field so well that just after he graduated from the University of Iowa this past May, the Chicago White Sox selected him in the 2016 Major League draft.

When he played for Polk County High School, he won NCBCA All-State Division 2-A honors in 2011 and 2012, and was considered one of the top outfielders in North Carolina by ESPN.com. As a junior, Booker hit .529 with a slugging average of 1.000, and a .625 on-base percentage, with 14 multiple-hit games.

For the Hawkeyes in 2016, Booker was named to the All Big Ten First Team, Iowa’s first outfielder to earn first-team honors since 2009. He led the Hawkeyes with a .370 batting average, and with 87 hits, including 19 doubles, two triples and five home runs. In addition, he stole 23 bases in 25 attempts, scored 47 runs, and drove in 37. During the 2016 Hawkeye season, Booker hit safely in 14 consecutive games.

Booker is now at White Sox training camp in Arizona. He graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in sociology. He’s the son of Clemon Booker Jr., and the late Rebecca Metcalf-Booker.