Meet Martin Shelar, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound outfielder from Marist School. Shelar is a member of the Metro Atlanta Big 10 cover for the 2026 Georgia Dugout Preview Magazine. Here are 10 questions with him.

Q: What in-game rituals do you have?

A: Before every at bat, I draw a cross in the dirt and I take a look at my bat choked up and take a deep breath.

Q: Who is your favorite professional sports team?

A: Atlanta Braves.

Q: What is your favorite food to eat?

A: Bone-In ribeye cooked medium rare.

Q: Name one thing people may be surprised to learn about you?

A: I am a very good cook, and I can cook a perfect steak.

Q: Who is your favorite teacher and what is your favorite high school subject?

A: My favorite teacher is a man named Brendan Murphy. My favorite subject is math.

Q: Outside of baseball, what is your next hobby?

A: Outside of baseball, I enjoy working out a lot. I'm a gym rat and I enjoy going to the gym and getting bigger and stronger.

Q: What jersey number do you wear and what reason did you choose that number?

A: I wear number 9, my favorite player growing up was and still is Ted Williams. I idolize him in a lot of ways and through reading the science of hitting, he instilled an obsession with becoming the best hitter I could become.

Q: What do you like the most about playing baseball?

A: I absolutely love hitting, it is easily the part of the game I spend the most time on. And because it’s so difficult and complex, I can always tinker and work on it and find ways to progress.

Q: Who has been the most influential person in your life and why?

A: Definitely my mom, she instilled a high level work-ethic and discipline for me at a young age, and I’ve carried it with me my whole life towards everything I do. She won Ms. Georgia in 1993 and was first runner-up to Ms. America 1993. The consistency and discipline it took for her to earn those accolades are things that I still idolize and apply to me and my journey in baseball.

Q: After baseball, what career are you planning to pursue?

A: I know that baseball is my calling in life, so regardless of where my baseball career takes me, I want to be involved in the athletics world, whether that be as a hitting coach or a sports performance coach. I have a lot of knowledge and insight into player development and that's something I want to share with other people.