ZS: What’s been key to gaining muscle and developing a stronger frame, which was obviously one of your main initiatives coming into this season?
KC: Staying true to taking the protein when it’s needed to be taken, when in the weight room just pushing myself past my limit. Coach Travis (Scott) gives us the workouts, we do deadlifts, front squats, bench press, we just do a whole handful of workouts.
These specific workouts ultimately help every little part of the body, they help you get stronger in every part of your body. Parts that people haven’t been known to work out before. We do a lot with bands to do hamstring curls, we even use them to do bicep curls, traps, back workouts, things of that type.
ZS: How would you describe the general excitement surrounding the team, being the inaugural season for SCS baseball?
KC: It’s been really cool, experiencing relationships with guys from all over the world and the country, creating relationships that could last a longtime. I hope we can accomplish a winning season, establish a great selling point for what we can offer to future recruits and the program moving forward.
Really, I want everyone to have fun and accomplish their goals and what they set out to do coming into here. I want everyone to work hard, work past their limits rather than just expecting things to come to them.
ZS: How would you describe your style as a pitcher, what works best for you?
KC: I would say as a left-handed guy, I’m a crafty pitcher who can hit his spots and place pitches where they are hard to be hit. I think my best stuff is my fastball, changeup, curveball, slider. Since I’m a lefty, the ball movement on my fastball really runs to the outside of a right-handed batter. I can also come with a slider and hit an outside corner, with the hitter not even expecting it. I try to be tricky with my delivery and keep batters off guard.
ZS: How did you keep up with the workload throughout this (winter) break?
KC: I took off a couple weeks as Coach Todd (Weldon) told us to. But I kept up with coach Travis’ workouts, to keep us fit. It entailed a lot of lifting. The last week of the break Todd wanted us to get back into throwing. I went back to my old high school, Riverdale High (Jefferson, La.) and pitched to some of the new players under my old coach. I also helped myself by going into the bullpen and trying to hit my spots.
ZS: What’s the expectation level for you this season? What does coach Weldon expect from you?
KC: I’m expected to stay composed on the mound, to pitch to the ability that I know that I have. If I can continue to realize my potential, hopefully I can pull down some scholarship offers. Of course, my goal is always to go Division-I. Being away from home, it helps me focus more. If I do go Division-II, I would hope to go somewhere local around here where I can stay around Todd and Brian, because I know they always have my back.
ZS: Who were your influences growing up? How did you get into baseball?
KC: My Dad. growing up, he was a boxer so he always had a competitive edge to him. He helped get my brother and myself into baseball growing up. While my brother stopped playing, he told me to keep pursuing my career and that I’ve got a lot of talent that I can capitalize on.
I just have so much love for the sport, I don’t know what I would do if I would wake up one day and realize I can’t play anymore.
ZS: How would you describe the talent flanking you this year, and what did you see from fall ball that could translate into the 2019 season?
KC: I think we have a lot of explosive talent. When we are consistent, I think we are unbeatable. With pitching and swinging the bat, making plays on defense, those are all critical points for us. We still have to learn to come together as a team and play for each other. When we do that, we have the potential to be unstoppable.
ZS: What would be an ideal NCAA destination for you next year?
KC: I don’t really have a particular favorite, I would rather be away from home.
Coach Todd has talked about me potentially playing in the PSAC conference, which consists of programs like Millersville, Bloomsburg, Shippensburg, and Seton Hill. That would be a competitive conference that would help my game grow. The proximity of these schools to Scotland Campus is also something to consider.
ZS: Favorite part about Scotland Campus?
KC: Being able to have full access to the facility is huge for us. There is really nothing here to distract you. You have the advantage of taking control of the time management that you are going to utilize in college, which certainly helps with the preparation of it all.
The environment of being able to be around these guys, working every day and being able to see how they’ve grown and reaped the rewards of the hard work. Everyone is really chasing the same goal which is to be playing somewhere at the next level next year.
