Kevin McGonigle could be a first-round MLB draft pick. What’s next for Bonner-Prendergast’s sweet-swinging star?

Come Sunday, Kevin McGonigle will be at his aunt’s house with a few close friends and family members, waiting to hear his name called in the MLB draft.

After that, he’s not sure.

The Aldan native and recent Bonner-Prendergast graduate is projected to be a first-round selection. McGonigle is 33rd on MLB.com’s draft rankings and 21st in The Athletic’s latest rankings.

“It’s a cool feeling,” McGonigle said. “I haven’t really let it settle, like I haven’t really took it all in yet. I haven’t really got to sit down and think about it.”

McGonigle committed to play college baseball at Auburn in 2020. Even as hype has built around his potential draft stock over his last two years of high school, he has maintained that at least for now, the Tigers are still his focus. He’s in regular contact with the Auburn coaching staff, and if you ask him, he intends to report to school in Alabama in the fall, although his answer could change after Sunday.

“That’s all I have right now. So I’m just focused on that,” McGonigle said. “I’m prepared for either way, but I’m really just focused on Auburn right now.”

Less than a week after playing his final high school baseball game, McGonigle was in Phoenix for the MLB Draft Combine. While he didn’t participate in any of the on-field performance assessments, he was able to meet with teams.

“It was an awesome experience. I got there and had nine meetings, so it was a long day at the stadium, but it was a good time. It was a great event. Watching some of those kids go out and playing on the field was great,” McGonigle said. “I was there to learn about organizations and stuff like that. So I use that as a learning point.”

The Pennsylvania Gatorade player of the year primarily plays shortstop and models his game after Chase Utley. He was bitten by the baseball bug early, and has memories of watching Utley and the 2008 Phillies win the World Series when he was 4 years old. It’s in his blood, too — McGonigle’s father played a little baseball in high school, for Penn Wood High.

“My dad played in high school, that’s about it, then he went to the army,” McGonigle said. “My dad’s pretty much like me, and growing up, he would help me a lot with the baseball side of it, but my mom was there for everything else as well. So I’m just very lucky to have two great parents, and brother and sister that were there for me.”

Scouts consider McGonigle to be a pure hitter with quick hands and a disciplined approach at the plate.

McGonigle hit .530 this past season for Bonner-Prendie, with six home runs, 22 RBIs, and 32 walks. Over his three-year prep career, he had a .498 batting average.

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In the first round of the PIAA Class 5A playoffs this year, McGonigle was intentionally walked with the bases loaded, when the West Chester Rustin coach traded a run for the threat of a grand slam off McGonigle’s bat. Bonner-Prendie went on to win that game and later advanced to the PIAA semifinals for the third straight year.

McGonigle struck out just twice throughout his entire senior season — and he can still recount exactly what went wrong during both at bats.

“My second strikeout was the last game of the year. I missed two hittable pitches and then I watched a slider inside that I thought was a ball and a half, two balls inside of the plate,” McGonigle said. “But that would never happen if I was aggressive and stuck to my approach, but it happens. I mean, I’m going to strike out plenty in my career, and I’ll just learn from it.”

McGonigle was intending on reporting to Auburn right after the combine ended for summer classes and workouts, but plans shifted after his mother ended up getting a vacation house for a week. He has been soaking up what is likely his last vacation for a while.

“I’m training still. Lifting, infield work, hitting, stuff like that, and getting some free time as well,” McGonigle said. “By myself, that’s how I’ve always been, pretty much. I have a few buddies that come out and we hit together.”

McGonigle knows whatever he decides after Sunday, it’ll be a different ballgame. Whether he ends up in Auburn or in a minor-league system somewhere, he’ll strike out far more than two times.

“I’m just going to play the game I’ve always played the same way,” he said. “When I’m told to do something, I’ll do it. Just be a nice, respectful kid as much as I can be. And just work very hard. And I feel like that’s going to take me a far way.

“I was always told it was a game of failure. So far, when I fail, I get better and better after that. So I’m ready for that. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s part of the game and I’m excited for it.”