Sometimes a standout high school athlete needs time to decide where they’ll play at the next level.
Other times, they know early.
It didn’t take Seth Wright long to know where he wanted to play baseball once he graduates from Lewis County in the spring. On Friday, the pitcher signed to continue his career at Kentucky Wesleyan University.
“When I went down there the second time, it just felt like home to me,” said Wright. “Owensboro feels like a bigger Ashland, like an Ashland on steroids – it just felt like home down there.”
Part of that comfort came from his new head coach in Vanceburg, Sammy Holder. Holder is a 2014 Lewis County graduate who also continued his career at Kentucky Wesleyan as a pitcher, and was selected as an honorable mention All Great Midwest Athletic Conference player following a senior season where he made 15 appearances on the mound.
“He had a lot more to do with it than most coaches would. He went there for four years, he knew the reigns and I asked him questions about it. We talked a little about it in the summer when they first offered some money,” said Wright. “It felt like a great fit down there. They know me some and they know Sammy and say we have some similarities as pitchers.”
The impact is more than many would expect from a first-year varsity coach. When Holder was named the next to lead the Lions, he became the program’s fourth head coach in the last four seasons and the seventh since 2011.
“I’ve known Seth since he was little. I’m probably four or five years older than him, but we’ve always been in contact. He knows we have a lot of similarities and I always saw him play baseball, he’s always asking questions, he always wants to learn the game and that’s what I love the most about him,” said Holder.
“Seth are a lot alike. I see him being the same type of pitcher as me,” added Holder. We’re working on getting that third pitch -the change up – but he’s the same guy as me on mound. He attacks hitters. It’s not real overpowering stuff, but he knows how to get guys out and I think that’ll work in Wesleyan’s system.”
The plan is for Wright to stick to pitching in college, which is something he’s excited about, despite hitting .307 with nine RBIs and 22 runs scored last season. He says the plan in the offseason and upcoming season is to continue to improve on the mound and work on his strength, especially in his legs.
“I felt like some games, like when I pitch in big district games or region games, I’m focused more on pitching, then I get to hitting and it throws me off a little,” said Wright. “To get there and be used as just a pitcher lifts the weight off my shoulders a little bit. I can play my game and let my team help me out. They hit and I do my thing on the mound.”
Wright is coming off a spring where he posted 79 strikeouts in 40.2 innings pitched. He helped the Lions to a 7-0 start – one of the best in school history – which included a relief performance from defending 16th Region champion Rowan County where he struck out four batters in 2.2 innings to help preserve a 5-0 victory.
His command showed the next night as well. The right-handed pitcher struck out 18 batters and didn’t issue a walk to beat Fleming County, 6-1, and give then-head coach Larry Riley his 200th career win.
In eight of his nine appearances as a junior, Wright allowed one earned run or less, including a 2-0 loss to eventual region champion Greenup County in the 63rd District semifinals. The Musketeers scored two unearned runs to survive and end Lewis County’s season.
It’s the game from his career that sticks out in his mind, but with several players, including a rotation with pitchers like Garrett Applegate, Sam O’Keefe and Mark Sparks coming back, as well as catcher Wyatt Yates, who posted a team-best .373 batting average, Wright is optimistic about his senior spring.
“The one that I’d really love to get back is Greenup. I felt like if a few things could have went different, the outcome might have been different. Kudos to Greenup – they’re a really good team,” said Wright. “I feel like if I could have done stuff different – hit the ball a little better, put it in play – maybe it would be a different outcome, but I felt like we gave ourselves a chance and with team we had, I wouldn’t change anything. They’re some dogs out there.”
Wright decided in seventh or eighth grade that baseball would be his top sport, but he also excels on the hardwood. He’s averaged 16.5 points per game for the Lions this season, the second-best average on the team, and 4.2 rebounds per game as Lewis County is off to a 9-6 start, including a 2-0 record in 63rd District play.
Even though baseball will be his future, his attention is on basketball for the next couple of months while the Lions hope to make a return to the 16th Region Tournament and a run for the crown.
“I told coach [Joe] Hampton in beginning of year that I felt like last year, maybe in region play when we started losing, that maybe people were like, ‘Baseball is coming up, so it’s OK.’ I told him this year, with my commitment early, ‘You have my whole 100 percent effort in basketball, start to finish,’” said Wright. “Sammy told me baseball will always be ready for me, no matter if we go to region or state, it’ll always be here for me, so I don’t have to worry about coming back. I told him [Hampton] he has my 110 percent focus, so I don’t have to worry about any sport but basketball in basketball season.”
