They said he wasn’t big enough to play high school baseball. They said he was too small for college baseball. And they said he was dreaming if he thought he could play pro baseball.

Well, look at Kevin Hooper now.

The 1995 Lawrence High grad is starting at shortstop and second base for the Calgary Cannons, the Class AAA farm club of the Florida Marlins in the Pacific Coast League.

“Not very many people thought I’d make it this far,” Hooper said in a phone interview from Calgary the other day. “I’m living a dream.”

At 5-foot-9  5-91/2 in spikes  and 155 pounds, Hooper was a high school and Legion baseball standout in Lawrence, a starter for four years at Wichita State and has moved steadily up the ladder in the Marlins’ chain after being selected by the National League team in the eighth round of the 1999 June free agent draft.

After hitting over .300, stealing 24 bases and making the Eastern League all-star team for the Marlins’ Class AA team at Portland, Maine, last season, Hooper was promoted to Triple-A this year. Currently, he’s hitting .264 for the Cannons.

“I started out hot,” Hooper said. “Then I started struggling a bit, but I think I’m starting to come around again.”

In a 3-2 victory over Fresno on Sunday night, Hooper had three singles and drove in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning. Nobody said he was too small afterward.

“Yeah, I don’t hear it as much anymore,” Hooper said. “In fact, it doesn’t come up too often. I think David Eckstein has helped.”

Eckstein is the starting shortstop for the Anaheim Angels. Eckstein is only 5-8 and weighs 170 pounds. And if Eckstein can play in the big leagues, Hooper believes he can, too.

“Now that I’m so close it’s really fun,” Hooper said. “What a blessing that I’m moving up the ladder. I’m living out my dream.”

Although it isn’t likely Hooper will land on the Florida roster until next season, he could wind up in Miami before that if the Marlins suffer a rash of infield injuries. In fact, when shortstop Alex Gonzalez was hurt in late May, Hooper’s heart began to beat a little faster.

“I heard I was one of the names mentioned to replace Gonzalez,” Hooper said, “but they decided to go with Homer Bush because of his experience. They wanted a more experienced player.”

Hooper, 25, is primarily a singles hitter, but his bat has some pop. He has speed and a decent on-base percentage. In Calgary, he’s been utilized primarily in the leadoff spot. Still, Hooper’s trump card is his ability to play both shortstop and second base. In the Cannons’ first 60 contests, Hooper played 36 games at short and 24 at second.

“My defense,” he said, “is my game.”

As a youth in Lawrence, he was a fixture at shortstop. At Wichita State, he played second base during his first three seasons, but switched to short as a senior with the Wheatshockers. As a Marlins’ farmhand at Utica, N.Y.; Kane County, Ill.; and Portland, he was strictly a second baseman. But the Marlins placed him at shortstop during spring training and sent him to Calgary to play both positions.

“Not that he’ll be an every-day shortstop,” said Jim Fleming, the Marlins’ director of player development. “We just didn’t want him to be categorized as a second baseman.”

At the same time, Hooper fits into another category the Marlins don’t want to alter in the slightest.

“The best thing I can say about Hoop is he’s the ultimate gamer,” Fleming said. “He has talent and tools and he comes to the park with a smile on his face every day, and that’s hard to find.”

When Hooper does make it to Miami, he’ll become the fourth Lawrence High product to play in the major leagues. The others are Ralph Houk, Steve Jeltz and Lee Stevens, who still is playing with the Montreal Expos.