HATTIESBURG - Matt Wallner signed with Southern Miss earlier this month.
The Forest Lake (Minnesota) senior was a late addition to the Golden Eagles’ signing class after the school he was previously committed to, the University of North Dakota, shuttered its baseball program.
Shortly after signing with Southern Miss, though, the 6-foot-5, 220-pound pitcher/outfielder’s hometown team — the Minnesota Twins — came calling in the 32nd round of last week’s Major League Baseball draft.
So Wallner was faced with a choice. That’s about the time he received a phone call from an unexpected someone within the Twins’ organization — former Southern Miss star Brian Dozier, who is Minnesota’s All-Star second baseman.