CLAREMORE, Okla. — A lifelong dream come true is how Matt Sample describes being drafted on day two of the MLB first-year player draft to the Diamondbacks.

Sample, 22, a 2007 graduate from Pea Ridge High School, played baseball for the Blackhawks his freshman and senior years of high school. Originally from Benton, Sample moved to Pea Ridge and began playing forcoach John King his freshman year.

Sample was a junior at Rogers State University in Claremore, Okla., when he got the word he was drafted.

“They called me on Tuesday and I had to be on the plane from Houston to Arizona by Thursday,” Sample said. He was in Benton with his family.

The son of Billy and Myka Sample, Matt is the middle of three children. His elder brother, Aaron graduated Pea Ridge in 2008 and his younger brother, Briar, attended PRHS, before moving back to central Arkansas.

“He was in the ninth grade when we first got him,” King said. “Coach (J.R.) Cooper, one of my volunteer coaches, took him down to the bull pen ... he said he had something special.

He had good velocity but needed to work on mechanics. He ended up starting for us the first day.”

King recalled that Sample broke his arm and didn’t play the rest of the year.

“He came back up here his senior year and we worked with him a bit. He went to camps and progressively got better throughout the year. We ended hooking him up with Crowder.

“They saw the same potential in him that we saw. He was kindof rough. They took him up there and did a good job on him ... He’s one of the top pitchers we’ve had,” King said, adding that the Blackhawks have been fortunate to have several good pitchers including Brett Reynolds, a 2003 graduate who went to Crowder, then the University of Missouri, and was drafted by the Diamondbacks, and Michael Easterling, who still holds the school record for 11 wins, 0 losses.

“Matt did a super job for us.

He was a kid that would soak up knowledge ... he respected his coaches,” King said.

Sample, who said he’s been playing baseball since he was 5, said: “I’ve worked my tail off for every bit of it. Hard work pays off. This has always been a dream of mine. I’ve always stuck to my dreams.”

Sample, who was in Arizona Monday with spring training, said he will be heading to Missoula, Montana, for short A ball - the rookie short season. He said he will play games every dayfrom now through September.

“It’s only a phone call away to work up to the majors,” Sample said.

For now, he’ll wake up at 5:30 and finish his day about 2 p.m.

Sample credits King with his success.

“He’s pretty much got me to where I am at now. Without him, I wouldn’t have got to college.

He’s helped me out.

Sample hopes to earn a degree in sports management and plans to earn the remainder of his hours on-line. After playing professional ball, he hopes to coach.

“It depends - if you do good enough, you can make a living out of it,” he said. “I’ve grown up around it my whole life.”

Sample said his mother played college basketball and still holds the high scoring records at Bauxite High School and was recently inducted into the High School Hall of Fame.

“If it hadn’t been for him and coach Cooper ... I wasn’t really a pitcher until my senior year.

I’ve always thrown hard and had velocity, but they helped my mechanics out to get me to next level,” he said.

Sample said his speed is 90 to 98 mph. “I’m a fastball command guy. I used to be wild like when I was in high school, but when I got to college and started working on it, I got command.”

Going into his junior year, Sample had Tommy John surgery in which the ligament in his elbow was replaced by a hamstringtaken out of his knee.

“The rehab is very tough, but if you do it right, you come back harder and stronger,” he said.

“Everything has happened so fast. I’ve barely had any breathing room,” Sample said, adding that he had received a text message from King and hoped to call him soon.

Sample’s childhood friend, Andy Ferguson, was drafted by the Kansas City Royals.

“We’ve played together since we were 5. I’ll actually get to play against him. He’ll be in Utah and in my conference. We’re both pitchers.”

Sports, Pages 7 on 06/15/2011