Former Gridiron Star, Isaac Collins Put Himself Back on the Prospect Map in 2023

Isaac Collins grew up just miles from the Metrodome and from Target Field. He lists the likes of Justin Morneau, Denard Span, Jason Kubel, Nick Punto, and Joe Mauer among his favorite players to watch as he was growing up. 

If you’re looking for a fun piece of trivia to impress your friends about your knowledge of Minnesota High School sports trivia, here’s a good one. In 2015-16, Isaac Collins joined Joe Mauer as the only two players named a finalist for Mr. Football and Mr. Baseball in Minnesota. 

Collins had five letters in baseball, three in football, and one in basketball.  

At Maple Grove High School, Collins was a tremendous running back and defensive back. J.D. Spielman (who spent his first few college seasons at Nebraska) won the award. Several current and already former NFL players were among the other finalists. That includes Amani Hooker, Carter Coughlin, Dillon Radunz, and Tyler Johnson. 

Collins' father played college football at West Virginia, which remains the younger Collins’ favorite college team to watch. That said, he is most likely to be found in front of his television watching college football on Saturdays throughout the fall, from Gameday in the early morning until those late-night West Coast games are complete. 

However, as you might expect, since he spent most of the 2023 season with the Biloxi Shuckers, he was also an outstanding high school baseball player for the Crimson. 

As an eighth grader, Collins joined his brother Roman Collins on the Maple Grove High School team. He had spent previous years being the batboy on his big brother’s teams. “With our relationship, it was more of a lead-by-example thing. I just saw what he did, all the good things he did, and some of the mistakes along the way. He’s paving the way for me. This is how I have to do it. His biggest advice was to be yourself, stick to it, and work hard, and it will all work itself out in the end.” 

Roman Collins was the fifth-round pick of the Royals in 2015 out of Florida Atlantic. He spent the 2017 season at High-A, but that was his final year in affiliated ball.

As a senior, he hit .480. Other 2016 Minnesota Mr. Baseball finalists included infielder Michael Busch, pitcher Nick Hanson, and the eventual winner, outfielder and pitcher Matt Wallner. 

Upon graduation, Collins had several options for playing football at some smaller schools. He had several mid-major Division I offers. He acknowledged that his final two schools were Notre Dame and Creighton, but ultimately, Collins found his home after a visit to Omaha. 

Creighton has had a solid baseball history over the years. They are now in the Big East conference, where they have been quite dominant most years. They have had many players drafted, and Collins believed and set his goal of being drafted after three years at the school. 

He played in 46 of the team’s 49 games as a freshman. When he played for Duluth in the Northwoods League, he hit .287 against some strong college competition, which improved his confidence heading into his second season at Creighton. He played in all 50 games. 

That summer, he had the opportunity to play in the Cape Cod League. In 38 games that summer, he hit .308 and left feeling good about proving himself against that caliber of player. 

“That was definitely the best summer of my life.” Collins added, “Looking back, I had fun with it, and that’s why I did so well. I didn’t let it get too big and overwhelming. I have teammates from that summer that are in the major leagues right now.”

Future big leaguers like Cade Cavalli, Ryan Kreidler, Drew Millas, Andrew Vaughn, Bryson Stott, Easton Lucas, McKinley Moore, Ken Waldichuk, and Brendan White were on his Wareham team. In addition, one of the newest Brewers, Oliver Dunn, was on the same team. 

As a junior, he hit .293/.366/.479 (.846) with 13 doubles, seven triples, and six home runs in 54 games. 

Creighton’s season ended against Michigan in the regional. The next day was Day 2 of the draft. The team's flight back to Omaha took off as the draft began that day. When they landed, his teammate and roommate, Will Robertson, found out that the Blue Jays had selected him in the fourth round. 

When the team got back to their facilities, Collins and many of his teammates stayed around, watching the draft online. A couple of picks before it was announced, his advisor sent him a message to congratulate him. He knew he was about to be drafted but didn’t tell his teammates in the room. They were all thrilled for him when his name popped up, drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the ninth round. He accomplished a huge goal that he set when he went to Creighton. 

That summer, he signed quickly and played in 37 games for Boise. Like others, Collins did not play during the 2020 season. After 17 games in Low-A in 2021, he was promoted to High-A Spokane. In 78 games, he hit .312/.399/.495 (.895) with 22 doubles, four triples, and nine home runs. He also stole 20 bases. 

In 2022, he spent the summer with the Rockies Double-A affiliate, the Hartford Yard Goats. He loved playing in Hartford and the team’s name. “We loved it. The stadium in Hartford is arguably the nicest minor-league stadium. Being able to play our home games there every night, you felt like a big leaguer, really. The clubhouse was awesome. The staff there was great. The on-field promotions they did were amazing. Those Friday, Saturday, and Sunday games were always packed. It was about as close to a major-league atmosphere as you get in the minor leagues. That was fun.” 

However, he added, “It was a tough summer for me. I didn’t put up the numbers I wanted to, but it’s all a learning process. I was able to learn from it, and I kinda bounced back and put up better numbers this year. That jump from A-ball to Double-A is real. There is a very big difference.” 

Unfortunately, last year at this time, the Rockies had left him off the Triple-A roster. One door closes, another door opens. The Milwaukee Brewers selected him with a minor-league Rule 5 pick. Unlike the major-league Rule 5 draft, players selected as minor-league Rule 5 picks go to the new organization. There is no worry about potentially needing to send them back. Isaac Collins was instantly a Brewer. 

“Once I got over there, they made it clear that they were very excited to select me in that draft and happy to have me within their organization. It all ended up working out.” 

He returned to Double-A, this time in a new league. The numbers showed up again. In 93 games, he hit .269/.424/.431 (.855) with 13 doubles, two triples, and 10 homers. He also had 29 stolen bases. The most impressive part of his game was that he had 75 walks to go with 55 strikeouts. 

“Having gone through (the 2022 struggles), the results are just a byproduct of your dedication to the process. Going into this year, I knew that I wasn’t going to fight the game. I was going to let the game come to me. I’m going to take it one pitch at a time. If you can really hone that in and take it one pitch at a time, and understand that each pitch and each at bat is totally separate from the previous at bat or previous pitch or future at-bats. Then, you can really fulfill your potential. That’s obviously the main difference between the minor league and major league players.”  

In early May, he received a brief call-up to Triple-A Nashville. Instead of heading to Tennessee, he went home. Well, close to home. Nashville had a six-game series in St. Paul, Minnesota, very close to home. Friends and family would be able to see him play. He played in three games and had a couple of walks, but the experience was meaningful. 

“That was awesome. It was a full-circle moment for me. My last high school game was at CHS Field. We lost in the state championship game to Lakeville North. Fast-forward, seven years later, I’m playing against the St. Paul Saints. My high school coaches came. Friends came. My family came. I ended up proposing to my fiancé. That was a crazy week. It was kind of a dream come true for me. Obviously, now the next step would be to play at Target Field. That would be the ultimate dream. That was a really fun week!”     

Collins has played all over the field as a pro. However, primarily, he has played either second base (his college position) or left field. Collins feels most comfortable at second base but would be ready to play anywhere if given a chance to move up. He would like to play a little bit more at third base as that’s where he has played the least, but he wants to put himself in a good position to be an option when needed. 

Collins was left available after a difficult 2022 season at Double-A, and the Brewers took advantage. He responded with a terrific year. Now, he wants to be able to stay on the field more in 2024.

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