Pitcher’s field of dreams is in South Dakota
Almost every kid grows up wanting to play professional sports.
Kids who play Little League want to be professional baseball
players; kids who play Pop Warner want to grow up to be football
players.
Pitcher’s field of dreams is in South Dakota
Almost every kid grows up wanting to play professional sports. Kids who play Little League want to be professional baseball players; kids who play Pop Warner want to grow up to be football players.
For most of those kids, however, those dreams are over soon after they begin. As they get older, the competition gets tougher and the chances of making it become slimmer.
Making it to the high school team is one of the earliest obstacles young athletes have to endure. Following high school graduation, only a select few make it from the high school level to college and that is when many realize they will not become a baseball player for a major league team.
Local Nick Huston is one of the exceptions. Huston, a graduate from Palma High School in Salinas, has committed to Mount Marty College in Yankton, South Dakota and will be playing baseball for at least four more years.
Mount Marty College is not an NCAA school, but it is part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Many players have graduated from schools in the NAIA and gone on to play professional baseball. Some of baseball’s former all-stars who started in the NAIA include Davey Lopes, Tony LaRussa, and Harmon Killebrew.
While Huston is not necessarily expecting to make it to the show, he is just happy to still be playing.
“I’m hoping to probably get the chance to start on the team this year,” Huston said.
Huston pitched for the Palma Chieftans and finished his senior season with a 7-4 record and a 2.68 ERA. He averaged about one strikeout per inning.
Huston is the recipient of three scholarship awards from Mount Marty; an Athletic award, a Catholic award, and an Incentive Academic award. These are awards for his athletic ability, his academic record, and for graduating and being an active Catholic.
It was not an easy task to get recruited by Mount Marty, or any other school even. Getting recruited was a very rigorous and expensive process as Huston traveled around the United States and visited a lot of different schools.
“My mom and I went as far east as Cincinnati, as far north as Milwaukee, and even to Chicago and Indianapolis, but in the end, it was worth it,” Huston recalled.
Huston and his mother, Marci, visited seven different schools in all before he finally chose to play at Mount Marty.
Since Huston has gone to private schools all his life, first Sacred Heart in Hollister and then Palma in Salinas, that played a role in his decision.
“I will get a lot of attention from the teachers and everyone else,” Huston said. “Everyone is really nice there.”
Huston has been playing baseball ever since he can remember. Huston plays even during the off-season, when he plays for a travel team in San Jose – Bay Area Baseball. If he is not playing baseball he is either running, going to the gym, or playing catch.
“I try to go to the gym and workout every other day, rotating upper body and lower body,” Huston said. “On non-workout days I usually play catch with my brother.”
As excited as Huston is to have the opportunity to play baseball beyond high school, he is also a little nervous.
“It is going to be a lot different. It will be different because I am going to play ball, but it is going to be really hard to leave home,” Huston said.
A big key to getting a player to commit to a school is the coach. The coach of the Mount Marty Lancers is Andy Bernatow.
“The coach at Mount Marty is really nice,” Huston said. “He even let me throw for him and practice with the players. They took me in like I was a part of the team.”
Bernatow was very impressed with Huston’s stats and his performance at the try-out.
“Nick is a huge pick-up for this recruiting class. We graduated four seniors from our pitching staff this past year. Nick looks to have the ability to have an immediate impact on the mound at the varsity level,” Bernatow said. “Nick has competed at a high level and this should help his transition into college baseball.”
Bernatow will get another opportunity to watch his recruit as Huston is going to be in Omaha in a couple of weeks playing in a tournament with his traveling team.
Huston is not just focusing on baseball, however. He will be majoring in Exercise Wellness, which is a form of sports therapy and sports management. He will also be minoring in business.
“I would love to keep playing baseball after college, but I also want to have a plan if I don’t,” Huston said.
Huston’s sister, Jamie is a sophomore at the University of Wyoming and is majoring in kinesiology, which is the study of human movement.
“Our plan is to maybe have me run the business side and my sister running the physical side of a clinic once we both get out of college,” Huston said.
Huston’s big dream is to play professional baseball and says that is what he is pushing for.
He gets to pursue that dream thanks to the help of a program called Baseball Factory, as well as his parents.
This program’s goal is to guide players and parents through the recruiting process and train the players to help them find a school that is right for them both academically and athletically.
“Baseball Factory really helped but my parents were my biggest supporters through it all,” Huston said. “My mom helped me with everything. She drove and flew with me everywhere.”
Huston’s dream of playing professional sports is still a dream, but it is much closer to reality than most students get.
“I just wanted to play,” Huston said. “And I am glad this school will give me the opportunity to play maybe all four years.”
