Like the rest of his teammates, Mahoning Valley Scrappers infielder Carson Garner is playing in the MLB Draft League with the hopes that it will lead to a career at the professional level.

In fact, Garner recently graduated with a degree in finance, so his time with the Scrappers isn’t a bridge from one college season to the next. With his college eligibility exhausted, Garner is playing solely for the purpose of bettering his chances of hearing his name called in next week’s MLB Draft.

Playing professional baseball has always been a dream for Garner, and well, Garner says he is living proof that dreams do come true.

Garner recently completed his senior season at Murray State, where he played in 217 games during his career with the Racers. Garner was in the starting lineup in every Racers game since his sophomore year.

This past spring, Murray State shocked the baseball world and garnered national attention by advancing to the College World Series for the first time in program history. Since the NCAA Division I baseball tournament was expanded to 64 teams in 1999, Murray State was just the fourth No. 4 seed to make it to Omaha.

Murray State’s tournament run was one of the highest trending sports stories on social media leading up to the College World Series.

“By far, those four years at Murray State were the best four years of my life,” Garner said. “Then to cap off that experience with a trip to the College World Series, that’s something you can only dream about.

“I mean, I woke up every morning knowing I was going to go out and play baseball with my closest 40 friends. Then to finish it off with an improbable postseason run, how do you top that?”

Murray State raced off to a 7-0 start this season before losing at Mississippi 8-7 in extra innings. The Racers bounced back to win a school-record 44 games, including the Missouri Valley Conference championship. That led to a trip to the NCAA Regional Tournament, where the Racers drew Mississippi as their first opponent.

Murray State defeated Ole Miss and Georgia Tech to advance to the Super Regional.

“We felt good about playing Ole Miss because we were familiar with them and we played them tough early in the season,” Garner said. “By the time we got to the Super Regional, we were playing loose, having a blast. I like to say that we were playing with house money. We had already shocked the baseball world.”

In the Super Regional, MSU fell to Duke in the first game of a best-of-three series, then won two straight to advance to the CWS. The Racers eventually fell to UCLA and Arkansas, ending their memorable run.

“That series against Duke pretty much summed up what this team was all about,” Garner said. “We were on the national stage, and we lost the first game. I read somewhere that 80% of the teams which lose game one lose the series. We came out in game two and scored 19 runs.

“We were just a team of players and coaches who loved each other and who loved playing with each other,” Garner said. “It’s impossible to describe the bond we had. We were more than a team. We were and always will be family.”

As a junior, Garner batted .306 with 15 home runs and 56 RBI. He followed that up with a senior campaign that included 17 home runs and 60 RBI while batting .276. He finished his career with 47 homers and 189 RBI.

In the spring of 2022, the Racers’ freshmen class consisted of eight players. Of those, Garner was the only remaining player on the 2025 roster.

“I was very fortunate to find a place where I was able to play from day one,” Garner said. “A lot of people get caught up in the NIL, the bigger schools and the nicer facilities, but I found a place that felt like home. I found a place where I could play every day, and that was a huge priority.

“Along the way, I found a coach (Dan Skirka), who I could completely trust. I love that guy. And I found a group of teammates who will always be my brothers. It truly was a dream come true.”

Now, Garner is hoping that his dream continues with a career at the next level.