WANDA — A small-town kid with big league dreams saw a new chapter of his baseball career begin on Tuesday.

Nick Altermatt, a senior right-handed pitcher for the Minnesota State Mavericks, was drafted by the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday in the 17th round (521st overall) of the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft.

Altermatt is a native of Wanda, Minnesota, which currently carries a population of 70. Altermatt is also a 2018 Wabasso High School graduate.

The 6-foot, 225-pound pitcher finished his 2022 season of college ball with the Mavericks with a 10-1 record, a 2.93 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 58 1/3 innings pitched.

When not pitching this past season, Altermatt led the Mavericks at the plate with a .378 batting average, a .700 slugging percentage, 68 hits, 21 doubles, 11 home runs and 64 RBIs.

Altermatt, who also finished his senior year with the Wabasso Rabbits as the All-Journal Baseball Player of the Year in 2018, said that he knew there was prior interest in him heading into the draft.

But when the third-and-final day of the MLB Draft came around, he was left to wait in anticipation.

“Once I actually got to the day, I had a couple of texts and calls in the morning, and once the draft started I didn’t get anything,” Altermatt said. “It was around [rounds] 11-17, I didn’t hear anything from anyone. The funny part about it was that I think our TV was a little bit behind because I got a couple texts before saying, ‘Congratulations,’ and all the sudden, I was, like, ‘What’s going on?’ And then the phone call comes, and I was like, ‘Okay, this must be it.’ It was really exciting, a lot of emotions I’m going through. But, yeah, super exciting.”

Altermatt has shown versatility and an ability to play anywhere a coach wants to put him since his days with the Rabbits.

During his senior year with Wabasso, Altermatt had a .479 batting average, 34 hits, 28 RBIs, six homers, six triples, and a .958 slugging percentage. On the mound, he had a 6-1 record, a 0.92 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 53 1/3 innings. He also allowed just 16 walks and seven earned runs.

Altermatt quickly found success during his freshman year with the Mavericks in 2019 after transitioning to shortstop, where he started all 54 games that season. He finished that freshman season with a .372 batting average and 42 RBIs.

He pitched in two games during a shortened 2020 season with the Mavericks before starting nine games on the mound in 2021 and 11 in 2022.

Altermatt also played 12 games in the Northwoods League for the Mankato MoonDogs this summer. He most recently played in the Tomahawk East League for the Lamberton Long Sox.

Now, Altermatt will work to climb the ladder to the major leagues with a host of supporters rooting him on.

“All the support of these small towns is so great,” Altermatt said. “You don’t realize how many people support you until it happens. And then it all just comes through and all these people are contacting you and all these people are rooting for you and cheering for you and how many people have actually helped you get to where you are today.”