STARKVILLE — Starkville Academy baseball coach Brooks Roberts has no problem praising the play of catcher Will Holley.
“I think he is the best defensive catcher in the league,” Roberts said. “He has saved us so many times. A lot of hard work has gone into him becoming a great player. He is now one of the best in the state, and arguably the best at his position.”
Holley’s maturation into one of the state’s elite hasn’t gone unnoticed by college coaches, either. On Thursday, Holley signed a baseball scholarship offer to play at Blue Mountain College, an NAIA school that is located 15 minutes north of New Albany.
“When you are trying to build a program, Will is the kind of player you want,” Roberts said. “He works hard in the classroom and works hard on the field. He has gotten the most out of his ability because he works really hard at getting better. Blue Mountain is getting a player just beginning to realize his full potential.”
Holley said his love for baseball goes way back. To have the ability to play at the next level is a dream come true.
“Every player dreams of playing on the college level,” Holley said. “I am excited about this opportunity. The (Blue Mountain) coaches have been invested in me this season. I like everything about the program. They have told me they could use me anywhere on the infield. It is going to be a good fit.”
Entering Thursday night’s games at Brookhaven Academy, Holley was hitting .287 with five doubles, four home runs, and 22 RBIs. He has thrown out 14 attempted base stealers. As a junior, Holley hit .388 and threw out 11 attempted base-stealers.
“The average dropped a little bit because he had a couple of games where he struggled at the plate,” Roberts said. “He has rebounded nicely from that to have a strong second half of the season. On defense, his numbers continue to improve. He is great at blocking the plate, and 25 thrown out base-stealers speaks for itself.”
Holley has learned a lot about battling back from his adversity during his baseball career. During his sophomore season, he lost his spot in the lineup. Instead of reacting negatively to the demotion, he worked harder.
“It was a chance to grow up,” Holley said. “Baseball is all about learning how to deal with adversity. Things aren’t going to go your way every time. I took a lot of lessons there from my sophomore season and dedicated myself to becoming a better baseball player.”
Holley will join his classmates to help lead Starkville Academy on its latest postseason run.
Starkville Academy finished second in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Class AAA, District 2 race and will open the playoffs Tuesday at home against Indianola Academy.
The Volunteers will look to shake off the disappointment of not winning the district championship after leading the race every week but the last one.
“This team has a lot of unfinished business,” Holley said. “We have shown what we are capable of doing when we are playing our best. We also learned everybody has to do their part. We can be great, but we can’t take anything for granted.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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