Thomas Stevens has a new appreciation of the word “busy.”
Following a standout junior season for the New Hope High School baseball team, Stevens set out to raise his profile in hopes of attracting an offer to play baseball in college. Despite hitting a team-best .381 and smacking seven home runs, Stevens entered the offseason without any college offers.
Thanks to a summer filled with close to 80 games, Stevens’ understanding of what it means to busy is going to help him as he enters his senior year. That’s because Stevens’ play at the State Games of Mississippi and with the Golden Spikes travel ball team helped him receive eight junior college offers. Stevens said Monday night he expects to get a ninth JUCO offer Friday.
“I knew I had to play a lot to get offered by somebody,” Stevens said. “I thought I was going to get some offers, but it is going to be really tough to make a decision.”
Stevens and New Hope High teammates Carson Forrester, Parker Lane, and Drew Pounders were members of the District 4 team that won the gold medal in June at the State Games in Meridian. Stevens’ performance, which included nine hits and multiple extra-base hits, earned him Athlete of the Year honors for baseball at the State Games.
Since then, Stevens said he played in two or three more tournaments with the Golden Spikes. He said he has received offers from East Mississippi Community College, Itawamba C.C., East Central C.C., Northeast Mississippi C.C., Pearl River C.C., Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C., Mississippi Delta C.C., and Hinds C.C.
Stevens said he has added about 10 pounds from last season and is up to 180 pounds. He said his maturation as a hitter aided in a power surge that saw him go from zero home runs as a sophomore to seven this past season, when New Hope went 20-12 and advanced to the third round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 5A playoffs. Stevens credited his work in the weight room and playing football for increasing his strength. He said his bench press has improved 15 pounds since last year. As a result, he said he was able to drive to ball a lot better this past season.
In addition to leading the team in batting average and home runs, Stevens was first in hits (37), third in runs scored (24), and tied for second in walks (16).
“Last year I played all right, but this year I worked real hard in the offseason after football season,” Stevens said. “I got hitting lessons and I just worked really hard. I feel like I have grown as a hitter and as a catcher. I guess I have gotten better. It has surprised me a little bit. I guess when I see that pitch I am swinging a little bit harder.”
New Hope baseball coach Lee Boyd said he was proud of his players for helping the District 4 team win the State Games for the first time in 10-12 years. He said he wasn’t surprised Stevens worked as hard as he did in the offseason to raise his profile.
“I think Thomas just loves to play,” Boyd said. “With the way he was swinging the bat, I thought he would get several offers and one led to two and then three and then five. The thing with Thomas is he hits it so well, which is why guys are on him.”
Boyd also said Stevens’ versatility is an enticing part of his all-around game. He said Stevens, who was an All-District selection, is athletic enough to play catcher and outfield. He also pitched for the Trojans this past season.
“He consistently got big hits in big ballgames for us and did a good job in the outfield and stepped in and caught some big games,” Boyd said.
Stevens said he has worked equally hard to improve his mechanics as a catcher. After a summer in which he said he played baseball “pretty much every day,” Stevens has turned his attention to football and playing quarterback for the Trojans. He said he will begin to narrow down his list of schools in hopes of making a decision in November. He said baseball is “definitely” the sport he is going to pick to play in college.
“It is going to be kind of hard not to think about all of the offers,” Stevens said. “I am going to focus on football and my decision and narrow it down as I go.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @cdispatch.com
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.