Springville Mayor William “Butch” Isley and Springville City Council Members held a Meet-and-Greet Appreciation event on Saturday, June 30 for Springville native and Major League Baseball top draft pick Casey Mize.

Mayor Isley declared June 30 as “Casey Mize Day” for the City of Springville. Mayor Isley opened the ceremony with a biography of Mize’s school tenures in baseball.

Local pastor Mike Ennis of Faith Community Church and Chairman of the Springville Parks and Recreation Board gave the invocation. Mize encouraged the crowd to work hard and dream big. 

“If you put in the time and effort, put in the hard work, anything is possible,” Mize said in his acceptance speech, “If you set your mind to anything you want to achieve, that it’s possible.” 

He encouraged the crowd to not be discouraged and to keep up the hard work, citing himself as proof. 

Mize was the number one draft pick for Major League Baseball this year and was selected to play as a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers. Mize was a star pitcher for the Springville Tigers Baseball Team and the Auburn University Tigers Baseball Team before becoming a Detroit Tiger. Mize has always donned a Tiger mascot for all three teams.

The crowd was much larger than expected with long lines to meet Mize. Mize signed autographs for the fans and was generous with his time.