scherzer was born and raised in chesterfield, missouri, the son of jan (shirck) and brad scherzer, and grew up a st. louis cardinals fan. he attended and played baseball, football, and basketball at parkway central high school in his hometown. whatever he lacked in raw talent he made up for with the fiercely competitive nature that would distinguish his athletic career. one of his high school coaching influences was basketball coach rick kirby, who stressed fundamentals and was defense-oriented. marty maier, then the cardinals' scouting director, was impressed enough to select him in the 43rd round (1,291st overall) of the 2003 major league baseball (mlb) draft. however, he did not sign, and instead attended the university of missouri in columbia, also known as "mizzou".