Kurt Barr of the Crosscutters talks with reporters during Media Day at Bowman Field Sunday afternoon. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

For years, there was no Little League program where Kurt Barr lived in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Then his parents helped form a league in which his younger brother, who’s currently 9-years-old, is still playing.

That speaks to how much baseball runs through the blood of the Barr family. His dad grew up playing baseball and his mom drove around him and his younger brothers to local fields to hit balls around.

Even in the yard, Barr and his brothers would grab Wiffle ball bats and play against each other. That passion for baseball started when Barr was young and now, at 22 years old, Barr is getting another step up the ladder in his baseball career by playing with the Williamsport Crosscutters.

“It’s awesome. I got here yesterday and it seems like everybody embraces the baseball guys here, which is pretty cool,” Barr said of the community.

“I really feel welcomed and excited to get going.”

Barr won’t have to wait long to get his first experience in the MLB Draft League as Tuesday is the opening of the season as the Williamsport Crosscutters host the West Virginia Black Bears for a 6:35 p.m. first pitch.

Barr grew up north of Detroit and moved to Ontario, Canada in Saint Joachim when he was a teenager.

“Plan was to just stick there all throughout high school, it was around that time I put my mind to college baseball. The COVID restrictions were still so bad my junior season that we moved back to the Detroit area so I could finish high school there,” Barr said. “Thankfully everything fell in line. I had a good career at Michigan and I’m super thankful I ended up there.”

“I would say baseball’s a little bit of a bigger deal in the Detroit area than Ontario, but passion is very similar,” Barr said. “Maybe passion and intensity’s a little bit different over in Detroit, but it’s still the same game, right?”

Barr entered Michigan after high school as the 30th overall prospect in the state, was a two-time Catholic League All-League selection, a two-time Michigan all-state first-team all-star and helped University Liggett win the state title in 2021 and league championship that year.

At Michigan, Barr saw talented competition throughout the Big Ten which he’s grateful for as he enters the MLB Draft League.

“We talked about it this year a lot. The Big Ten made major strides in the national baseball scene this year. I’m sure a lot of it has to do with the new teams they brought in. So it kind of makes the competition a little better there,” Barr said. “The Big Ten, awesome conference, I loved it there. I wouldn’t trade my experience at Michigan for the world. I loved the coaches and loved everything about it. It prepared me really well for where I am and where I wanna be.”

Barr had a career ERA of 4.15 which included a career-low of 3.41 his sophomore season. He went 17-15 on the mound with 262 2/3 innings pitched over four years. That saw him allow 121 earned runs, 139 total walks and he had 256 strikeouts. That included a career-high 105 Ks in 2026 and 74 the year prior.

Barr noted he’s taking his dad’s advice which is don’t regret anything and give it his all.

“I think one thing my dad talks about is don’t regret anything. With everything I do, I wanna look back in a couple years and say I gave it all I had. Whether I leave here with a 15.0 ERA and get shelled or leave with a 0.50 and have 50-something strikeouts,” Barr said. “I wanna give it all I had and play baseball the way I know how to play. I don’t want to put any expectations on myself other than to just go out there and do what I can do.”

Competing against top-level competition is what Barr enjoys and loves. As a pitcher, he loves the challenge of throwing against talented hitters and seeing what he can do to stifle an offense.

” I compare it to coming out of the bullpen, that kind of fiery jitters. The competitiveness is in me a little bit more. Coming out here, that’s going to be the case in every situation,” Barr said. “Playing some of my buddies later on in the year with my Michigan teammates who are on other teams, that’ll make it pretty fun as well. I know the best of the best come here and it makes it a little more exciting and fuels that competitive fire.”