Get to Know: 2017 3B Buddy Kennedy (Millville HS, NJ)

March 7, 2017

By TJ Hunt
Director of Scouting, New Jersey

As we continue to shape-the-state here in New Jersey, several different unique features will be available on our website. Player Spotlights, Progress Reports, Scouting Blogs, Rankings and Top-Performer Lists, and so much more. Without the players we have nothing, so let’s take this a bit more personal - Get To Know: Our new article feature that hones in on what our Garden State players are up to, what makes them tick, and some real-candid inside access...

Name: Buddy Kennedy
High School: Millville
Position: 3B
Grad Year: 2017
State Rank: 7
Overall Rank: 111
Commitment: North Carolina

PBR: Let's start with your baseball commitment to North Carolina. Tell us
about the process and how you decided on the Tar Heels? How excited are you
to play in the ACC?

Kennedy: I had a great experience with the process of looking for a college to attend. I am thankful for all of the visits and the time spent with the various coaching staffs. From when I was younger I always wanted play competitive baseball at all levels. After high school, I knew I wanted to play baseball in the ACC. UNC was my last stop on my college tour. The school, training facility, stadium and coaches sealed the deal for me. I believe UNC can prepare me to compete at the next level. Success doesn’t come easy, so I am looking forward to the hard work and being dedicated to Coach Fox and taking the Tar Heels to Omaha!

I was selected in the top 108 players to try out for Team USA at the Tournament of Stars. It was a great experience and I remember talking with Mike Trout (he is from my same high school and hometown) about when he attended 8 or 9 years earlier. He thought it was an honor to get invited and if selected to the 40 or 20-man roster, than that was gravy. I agree with him. I met players from all over, got to stay with my first host family (which was awesome) and play baseball against some of the best talent in our country.

I tip my hat to two of my former travel ball coaches, Jeff Petty of the Evoshield Canes and Pat Fisher of the SJ Young Guns. Coach Petty gave me the opportunity to play in some of the best college stadiums and be seen by many college coaches. We played high-level competitive baseball and it was a thrill to play against the best talent out there! I am fortunate of the baseball exposure that the Canes gave me. I am also thankful for the baseball practices that Coach Fish had for the Young Guns. He taught players how to play the game as a team. We may have been good players individually, but as a team we could finish each other’s plays on the field and we were unstoppable, those teammates of mine know who they are! I have been lucky to have played for both of these top-notch coaches!

PBR: Baseball has an unbelievable way of positively shaping young man on and off the field. Tell us one life-lesson you have picked up over the years playing the game, and how that life-lesson may impact you later in life?

Kennedy: Baseball has taught me about commitment. Commitment sums up hard work, discipline, dedication and how to be part of a team. Nothing is given to you on or off the field. Being confident and having conviction when I commit to something should help guide me through life’s challenges on and off the field.

PBR: If you were a baseball scout and just watched yourself play, what would that scouting report look like?

Kennedy: Power bat, above average speed and arm. A young man that knows the game.

PBR: Tell us about what you did this offseason to prepare for the spring.

Kennedy: From November to March, I work out at the PIT in Vineland, NJ. My personal trainer is PJ Ragone. He has developed a regimen for strength, conditioning and agility in which I follow four times a week, an hour on each day. In January, I hit and field indoor at the Phenom Factory in Millville, NJ, with my dad and Pop Pop, three times a week.

PBR: If you could only pick one, who would be your biggest baseball influence and why?

Kennedy: My biggest influence in the game of baseball is my grandfather, Don Money. He is not only my Pop-Pop; he is a former MLB player. He played 16 MLB seasons with the Phillies and Brewers and then coached/managed and became a special instructor for another 15 years with the Brewers.

My Pop-Pop has watched me play baseball since I was little; but when I got older is when he began to focus on my talent and provide constructive criticism on my strengths and weaknesses. His knowledge of the game is priceless. He has always said, “If you can hit…they will find a place for you to play.” My best tool is my bat. He has been involved in my training during the offseason and he is at all of my high school games. Above all he has taught me about how important the “make up” of a player is to a team. Off the field exposure is just as important as what I do on the field and he has led me to stay true to my love of the game while working hard on and off the field to be the best I can be.

PBR: Name three goals for this season:

Kennedy:
1. Win our conference and a State Championship
2. Be a contender in the Diamond Classic and WIN!
3. Work hard and better my stats from last year.

PBR: Who is the best player you have played against in your high school career so far?

Kennedy: At the Tournament of Stars, I had the opportunity to face Hunter Greene. Even though it was only one at bat; my job was to get the runner on 3rd base in for the run; so I hit the ball towards right field, was out at 1st but the run came in. Greene had good command of his fastball and was confident with his other pitches. I enjoyed the challenge of hitting against him.

PBR: Do you have any pregame superstitions?

Kennedy: Before every game, my dad brings me two grilled chicken snack wraps.

PBR: What would be your best walk out sone? (Clean songs only, of course)

Kennedy: "Really Really" by Kevin Gates.