When Dallas Baptist's coaches scrutinized their Trackman data on junior lefthander Burl Carraway, they realized arm slot, four-seam fastball action and hammer curveball bear a striking similarity with another hard-throwing Texan.

"We were looking at it with somebody from a pro organization, and they said, 'Hey, this mirrors [Clayton] Kershaw almost exactly: the fastball's at 12, the breaking ball's at 6, and the gap between the two of them kind of mirrors Kershaw,'" DBU coach Dan Heefner said.

It just so happens, that was a particularly useful comparison for a pitcher at Dallas Baptist. Kershaw is a Dallas native, and the Patriots run a clinic with him in inner-city Dallas every offseason, which provided a perfect opportunity to Carraway to pick the three-time Cy Young Award winner's brain about his craft.

"This fall I pulled Kershaw aside and got them talking," Heefner said. "Burl was like, 'Hey, do you ever have trouble throwing your breaking ball for a strike?' [Kershaw] said, 'That's why I started throwing a slider.' So Burl started toying around with it, and he picked it up immediately. He's thrown it a few times in games, but that can be another weapon for him. The fastball is electric, he can beat you up in the zone with it. The breaking ball is so big, you're not gonna hit it, and now that he's got that slider he's got something else he can land in the zone."

The 85-88 mph slider is a useful addition to Carraway's arsenal, but it's his huge fastball and wipeout curve that make him one of the most dominant closers in college baseball. Last year, Carraway's electrifying stuff helped him rack up a ridiculous 72 strikeouts in just 41.2 innings, a ratio of 15.56 strikeouts per nine innings that would have led the nation had he pitched enough innings to qualify. He also went 4-2, 2.81 with six saves, and held opponents to a .195 batting average.

That strong 2019 performance, followed by a strong summer for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, helped Carraway earn first-team preseason All-America honors heading into 2020. And so far this spring, Carraway's been untouchable, going 1-0, 0.00 with two saves in four appearances, and eight strikeouts in 5.2 innings.

He played a key role in DBU's big road series win at North Carolina this past weekend, working a scoreless inning to save a 6-3 win in Game Two, then coming up huge in a tight spot on Sunday. With DBU clinging to a 2-0 lead in the eighth inning, Carraway entered with runners on second and third, and just one out. He induced a soft infield lineout, then froze UNC senior catalyst Dylan Harris on a nasty breaking ball to end the inning. Carraway came back and struck out the side in order in the ninth, starting by overmatching first-team preseason All-American Aaron Sabato with his fastball.

It's not easy to blow heaters past Sabato, one of the nation's most talented hitters - but Carraway has one of the nation's biggest fastballs. Heefner said he touched 100 mph in his second start of the year and has mostly sat comfortably at 95-98 with a high spin rate in the 2400-2500 rpm range. His 78-80 mph curveball is a true hammer, with an above-average spin rate of 2600-2700 rpm.

"And he also has really good extension, so he's throwing it almost a foot closer to the plate than the normal release point," Heefner said. "And he's got real good spin efficiency too, so the ball just jumps through the zone. … The other thing that's really unique about him, his slot, his delivery, it is over the top. So he's truly an over-the-top fastball with big-time ride, so he can pitch up in the zone with it, and then it's a 12-6 curveball too. So it's a really tough look, they tunnel really well. It doesn't matter if it's righthanded or lefthanded, it's really tough on both of them."

The Patriots always thought Carraway had intriguing potential on the mound when they recruited him out of College Station's A&M Consolidated High School, but he was undersized, and they actually recruited him as a two-way talent. A quick-twitch athlete who can run one of the fastest 60-yard dash times on the team and a 42-inch vertical leap, Carraway was expected to wind up as DBU's center fielder and a useful piece on the mound eventually, but he wasn't ready to contribute as a freshman, when he logged just two innings totaling less than an inning. The Patriots certainly didn't expect Carraway to become one of college baseball's premier power arms as his collegiate career unfolded.

"When he was in high school, he was so small. I bet when he got here in the fall, he was maybe 150 pounds as a freshman, but still had a lot of life in the body. He was upper 80s, low 90s when he came to us," Heefner said. "I think he was maybe up to 93-94 as a freshman, but command was a little tough for him. Last year he took a jump, and this year he's taken another one. So every year he's taken that kinda incremental jump. When I talk with scouts about him, I almost have to preface it like, 'I am not blowing smoke at you, he is truly one of the best guys we've ever had, from a work ethic standpoint, discipline, he is super smart.' When he's done playing he wants to get his law degree. He's the real deal."

Now listed at 6-foot, 173 pounds, Carraway's hard work off the field has translated to obvious strength gains, and his attention to his craft allowed his command to take the necessary jump forward. Now he's a legitimate top-three-rounds talent for the June draft, and he's an invaluable bullpen weapon for a DBU team that has designs on getting back to regionals for the seventh straight year and finally getting over the hump to Omaha. The Patriots might just have the arms to get to the promised land this year, and having Carraway looming in the late innings gives them a mental edge when games are tight.

"He is just the total package; really good guy, great student. He's not a real vocal team leader type of guy, but there's no question that guys are gonna follow him, just his presence, how he goes about his work, very intense and focused," Heefner said. "You feel good when he's coming in, that's for sure."

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