A summer in the Northwoods League can provide a huge boost to a college baseball player's professional aspirations.

So what does it say about Josh Groves that he turned down that chance last year?

Well, it's a pretty good indication of how badly Groves wanted to reach a goal he's been working toward for several years.

Groves, a Monona native who is a junior at UW-Milwaukee, was in the process of tearing through the Wisconsin State Baseball League with the Eau Claire Cavaliers when the NWL's La Crosse Loggers came calling with a roster spot.

But had Groves signed with the Loggers, it would have made achieving that goal — playing close to home with the Madison Mallards this summer — much less attainable. La Crosse would have had to release him in order for him to change teams.

"I wanted to do that since I started playing college baseball, that was the goal — for me to make a Mallards team, sign a contract and get to play in front of all my friends, family," Groves said. "It will be a lot of fun."

Groves, who will see time at catcher and third base for the Mallards, is one of three Wisconsin natives on the team's roster for the upcoming season, along with UW-Milwaukee teammate Craig Meier, a right-hander from Verona, and Minnesota State-Mankato right-hander Nathan Kafka of Denmark.

Meier and Kafka are two of nine returning players on the roster.

Groves also is one of a handful of versatile options Mallards manager C.J. Thieleke has at his disposal.

"To me, that's an indication (of) the kind of kid that we're looking for," said Thieleke, who thinks he has more flexibility on his roster than in years past. "Usually if you can bounce around and understand and can play multiple positions at that level, that's a sign to me that the kid has got some instincts."

Groves figures to see most of his time behind the plate, since the Mallards have only one other catcher on the roster — Purdue's Eric Nielsen, who hit .250 for the team last summer and was a midseason NWL All-Star.

Early on, though, Groves will help out at third, while the team waits for players such as Aaron Bray (Charlotte) and Drew Martin (North Carolina State) to arrive after their college seasons end.

Either spot suits Groves just fine. He's pretty much been UW-Milwaukee's everyday third baseman this season, though he's started a few games at catcher. That was his primary position in high school, when he was an all-state performer at Monona Grove.

"He's a hard-nosed kid," UW-Milwaukee coach Scott Doffek said of Groves, who also was an all-state pick in football as a linebacker and had offers to play at the NCAA Division II level.

"He's going to stick his chin on every ball in the dirt. He does not have exceptional arm strength — he's got a good arm — but he's got a really quick release and is very, very accurate on his throws."

It's what Groves can do with his left-handed bat, though, that could land him a pro career.

Described by Doffek as a line drive, gap-to-gap hitter, Groves has battled some struggles at the plate — after hitting two home runs in the Panthers' first game of the spring, he admittedly began trying to power the ball too much — but of late has been closer to last year's form when he led the team with a .396 batting average.

Should Groves continue to hit early this summer, he might carve out some additional playing time. And if he doesn't, it won't be for lack of effort.

"I consider myself a really hard worker, more than anything else," Groves said. "I don't look at myself as an overly talented individual. I mean, my arm strength is average, my speed is maybe below average to average. I'm not a tall guy. I think that a person with my talent has to work hard in order to be successful."