Leo Felix, a senior at Douglas High School, poses for a portrait at 15th Street Park in Douglas. Felix is graduating in the top 10% of his class and plans to continue his baseball career in college.

 Rebecca Sasnett / Arizona Daily Star

The Star is profiling Southern Arizona high school athletes whose seasons were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Each high school was asked to nominate an exceptional spring sport athlete who exemplifies greatness on and off the field, court or track.

Leo Felix has been playing baseball his whole life. Ask him when he started playing, and he’ll say he can’t remember a time in which he wasn’t.

β€œEver since I could walk, honestly,” Felix, 17, said. β€œI grew up around it.”

Now, the Douglas High School senior’s baseball career is up in the air. His senior season was cut short due to the coronavirus and his college prospects are unclear at the moment.

β€œI had planned to find somewhere to play at, but with all this it just got really hard,” Felix said. β€œAnd every (college) senior got all their eligibility back.”

At the end of March, the NCAA extended the eligibility of college spring-sport seniors whose seasons were cut short due to the coronavirus, allowing them to return to their schools in 2020-21 should they choose.

For incoming freshmen who, like Felix, hope to continue their baseball careers in college, the NCAA’s decision has led to some uncertainty. It’s also unclear what role incoming freshmen who have already signed their national letters of intent will have on their teams.

But Felix remains hopeful, saying that he’s working on his plans for college.

β€œI’m definitely going to try to play somewhere, and I’m going to continue my studies in college,” said Felix, adding that he plans to major in business.

Felix said people are surprised to learn that he’s always enjoyed going to school and his classes, his favorite subject being math. Which makes sense, considering Felix is graduating in the top 10% of his class.

β€œLeo always strives for greatness, whether it be on the field or in the classroom,” said Douglas athletic director Angel Ortega, adding that Felix is a leader on campus and has been a great role model for younger student-athletes.

Leo Felix, a senior on Douglas High School’s baseball team, participated in the 2018 RBI World Series in Minnesota.

In addition to keeping up his grades, Felix has been an all-region outfielder for the Bulldogs for years while also thriving in club baseball. In 2018, he traveled to Minneapolis with his club team to play in the RBI World Series.

This year, Felix served as president of the school’s Student-Athlete Leadership Council. Members of the council are nominated by coaches and attend workshops that focus on leadership strategies, complete athletic service hours and school service projects.

β€œWe got to see how all the athletics work out,” Felix said of his time on the council. β€œWe got to put in some very school (processes) and change it up a little bit with the help of our director.”

Leo Felix is also a leader on campus at Douglas High School.

Before the end of the school year, the group completed its required project and hosted a ceremony honoring former DHS athletes who made a positive impact on the school.

But when schools shifted to home-study days later, Felix’s busy schedule quickly became much more relaxed.

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Still, he’s trying toΒ stay active.

β€œI’ve gone out to run at the parks,” Felix said. β€œSome of my friends have batting cages, so we go hit at their place or go throw at the park.”

He’s also been fortunate in that some of his friends have home gyms, allowing him to maintain some sense of normalcy in his workout routine.

And while Felix is making the best of it, he’s ready for the quarantine to be over. There’s still a chance that he’ll be able to play club ball this summer, but Felix isn’t ready to be done with the Bulldogs just yet.

β€œI’m just looking forward to having an actual practice with my team if that’s even possible, since our season got canceled,” Felix said. β€œWe have a group chat and still talk about it. Hopefully, we can just have one last practice.”

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Contact reporter Caitlin Schmidt at cschmidt@tucson.com or 573-4191. Twitter: @caitlincschmidt