Bryant Baseball

July 30, 2015

Zac Bottoms
Arkansas Scouting Director

The Bryant Blacksox won the AAA American Legion State Championship on Tuesday, July 28th. That makes the 8^th state title for Bryant since 2010. They have won 3 in during the high school season winning 7A State Titles 2010, 2012, and 2014. They won the Sr. American State Championship in 2012, 2014, and now 2015. The Jr. Legion team has been competitive as well, winning state championships in 2013 and 2014. That is to say the least, quite a run.

As a sound board for high school baseball in Arkansas I would like to dig into this a little deeper. The Why, the How, and the Who. Of course this article is all opinion with a few facts to go along with it.

The Why: I believe Bryant has been really successful for a few reasons. The first reason being coaching, and I am not just talking the high school coaches. I believe Coach Kirk Bock (High School) and Coach Darren Hurt (Legion) do a tremendous job not only with their programs, but also in mentoring and monitoring the coaches in the younger age groups. They make sure that players at a young age understand what is expected with baseball at a high level. The second reason is the community has bought into the ideals of the men that run their programs at the high school level. The basic philosophy of Bryant Baseball is; We are going to out work everyone else, therefore we will beat everyone. Every parent may not like the early practices or how late some practice go, but they understand that their sons will have success do to their hard work. Finally, the teaching and the work has produced good players on a consistent basis.

How: The above has happened from a firm stance from the two coaches that run both programs. Players don’t leave Bryant teams to achieve their own goals. They stay together so they all can be successful. The Bryant Legion program has begun to branch out and attend some “Select” tournaments but not as many as your average Select Travel teams. Without doing this, they have produced over twenty-five collegiate players in the past five years. The bottom line is they have a lot of good players, as a result scouts come see them play. I understand the end result has to be success on the field and players being seen at a high level or people begin to look out for themselves instead of the group.

Who: I will start with the two constants. Coach Kirk Bock and Coach Darren Hurt. Coach Bock has been at the helm for all three state championships and won a state title with Harrison before accepting the job at Bryant. He puts together fundamentally sound teams, which will pitch and compete with a consistent approach at the plate. There is no doubt Bock is considered one of, if not the best high school coach in the state of Arkansas. There is a smooth transition from high school to the summer due to Darren Hurt. Coach Hurt does a great job continuing the baseball education and approach set forth in the high school program. It is refreshing to see someone that works to be a part of the system instead of inventing his own. He motivates his players to play hard through the dog days of summer when other teams are wasting innings and at bats. The Team: I watched Bryant teams for the past six years, the names may change but the type of team they have is generally the same. Here is a brief look at the Bryant Blacksoxs from this summer. They received frontline pitching from 2016 LHP Evan Lee (Arkansas) and 2016 RHP Zach Jackson (Arkansas). 2015 C Trey Breeding (Arkansas Tech) did a good job managing the staff behind the plate. 2016 MIF Dylan Hurt played a solid short-stop making the routine plays, while 2015 OF Drew Tipton played a lock down centerfield. Offensively they just grinded out at bats seeing pitches, executing what the game called for and taking advantage of their opponent’s mistakes.

So, what is my point? First off, to not let this run go unnoticed, greatness is a rare thing, take advantage of it and go see this group in the Regional tournament and in the spring of 2016. Second there is a way to do both, develop the team atmosphere and to be recruited. This comes into play when both your summer coaches and high school coach can have a mutual respect and understanding. Another good example is Fayetteville High School. They switched to extended high school for summer baseball, with now head coach Brad Gallagher running the summer program. Take a look at 7A state championships over the past 10 years, I don’t think there is a coincidence that a team driven summer program has paid off big in the spring. The bottom line is for the players to get better they need to play in a structured environment with consistent goals and coaches to challenge their abilities. The “Blue Collar Boys” from Bryant are proof.

Bryant Baseball

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