Waterloo High senior featured in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” section

Waterloo High senior outfielder Jordan McFarland, who recently named named National 17-under Player of the Year by Perefct Game USA, was featured in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” in the magazine’s latest edition.

During three Perfect Game showcase tournaments last summer in Atlanta, Phoenix and Jupiter, Fla., the University of Arkansas recruit hit .571 (24-for-51) with four doubles, two triples, two home runs and 13 RBIs. He also had a .627 on-base percentage and .905 slugging average.

McFarland was surprised when his father, David McFarland, texted him around noon to let him know he was in the magazine. One of McFarland’s coaches with the St. Louis Pirates summer travel team, Brett Huber, also linked a photo of the article on his Twitter account

“My dad was always a big Sports Illustrated guy and big sports guy in general,” said McFarland, whose wasn’t quite sure how to react to seeing his photo in one of the country’s leading sports magazines. “I guess you could say it's pretty strange. It’s something that I've been looking at since I was a little kid, but seeing me in there, it just seemed strange. At the same time it's a cool thing for me, too.

”That was my (Arkansas) signing day photo, but I’m not sure how they got it.”

Jordan McFarland named National Player of the Year

McFarland (6-foot-3, 225 pounds) hit .427 with eight home runs and 42 RBIs for Gibault as a junior last spring, later transferring to Waterloo High for his senior year.

The issue that includes McFarland inside has New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady on the cover being sacked by Von Miller of the Denver Broncos.

“I thought it was funny because Tom Brady was on the cover,” McFarland said. “For me to be remotely close to Tom Brady was pretty funny; Tom Brady is awesome.”

He also was a standout last summer for the St. Louis Pirates travel team.

This story was originally published January 28, 2016 at 2:50 PM with the headline "Waterloo High senior featured in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” section."