Yet when Connaughton is asked if baseball is his favorite sport, he gives people his honest answer.

"I get that question all the time," said Connaughton, 16, who is a pitcher, third baseman and shortstop for the Eagles. "To tell you the truth, I like basketball better. I really love basketball the most."

His basketball performances compare favorably to his baseball feats. The 6-foot-4 standout, who can play guard, forward on even center in a pinch, averaged 22 points and 17 rebounds last season. Connaughton had a particularly memorable game against Methuen when he finished with 35 points, 20 rebounds and eight assists.

St. John's Prep coach Sean Connolly knows exactly what he's got in Connaughton.

"I think he's one of the best players in the state," said Connolly, who doesn't toss out compliments that easily. "A lot of games we play, he's the best player on the court."

The wonderful thing for Connolly and the Eagles is that Connaughton is still a work in progress who isn't content with where he is right now.

For the first time in his career last summer, Connaughton traveled the AAU circuit with the Middlesex Magic to the nationals in Orlando, where his play drew the attention of Division 1 coaches. Harvard, Lafayette and Princeton spent extra time checking him out — and let's remember that this is just the beginning of the process.

"I probably should've gone (to nationals) the summer that I was 15 years old," said Connaughton. "Still, I think it helped me a lot to go this year."

There's absolutely nothing wrong with going Ivy League or to some other prestigious academic institution — Connolly himself could've gone that route coming out of Bishop Fenwick, but ended up going to Ohio State — but the bigger schools may soon want to get involved with Connaughton.

"He's just starting to get the exposure," said Connolly. "I think he can go higher (than the schools that are already expressing interest in him)."

Connaughton, who lives in Arlington, can think about that stuff later. For now, he's concentrating on becoming the best player he can be at St. John's Prep.

He spent countless hours in the offseason at Athletic Evolution in Woburn, working on his strength and conditioning as well as his overall game. On many occasions, he was accompanied by teammate Conor Macomber of Beverly, the Eagles' point guard.

The bottom line is that it's helped both players. Connolly says that Macomber has made tremendous strides. Meanwhile, Connaughton has bulked up to 190-195 pounds (he played at 175 last season) and has increased his shooting range.

"I needed to get stronger and to play faster," said Connaughton. "I want to shoot better and it's coming along. If I get 35 points in a game, that's fine, but if I get 15 points and 10 assists and we win, that's even better."

Connaughton and his teammates will be severely tested this season. The Catholic Conference games are always difficult for St. John's Prep, and its non-conference foes include Charlestown (twice), Lynn Classical (twice), Wareham (which has one of the top 100 prospects in the nation) and old nemesis Central Catholic, which still has Wake Forest-bound 6-11 center Carson Desrosiers. The Eagles will be dealing with some big boys, and they'll do it without 6-7 Ryan Canty, who transferred to the Tilton School in the offseason.

"I think we'll play more of a running game and will have to be hard-nosed on defense," said Connaughton. "We had all the height last season, but we didn't always have the will to win. This season I think we have the will to win."