The Wetumpka community has a rich history of athletics, spanning all sports.
That sentiment was proven even more so in a collegiate baseball game where three former Indians took to the diamond — Kyle Morrison, Ty Brooks and Jaxon Shineflew.
All three were notable players in high school, but have found a new home in Mobile with the University of South Alabama.
Morrison currently sits at second in batting average with .358 also leading the team with six home runs. Brooks has the seventh-highest batting average with a .253 alongside 16 hits under his belt. Shineflew commands the mound, where he’s appeared in eight games and starting for two. He posts a 3.38 ERA with a 1-1 record as a starter.
It’s one thing to produce one Division-I caliber player, but Wetumpka produced three all sharing the field at some point in their high school career. In the eyes of head baseball coach Russ Brooks, that’s something you don’t see very often.
“It's pretty special,” Brooks said. “Three kids playing Division-I baseball on the same team that played high school ball (together) and have been playing together since seventh grade. Usually, it doesn't happen.”
Of course, all three were gifted with the talent to make it to the next level. However it was their time at Wetumpka that helped instill the mindset of doing whatever it takes to not only make yourself better but the team as a whole better.
“You can't play big-time baseball if you can't make plays in big-time moments,” Brooks said. “That's the culture, the pressure can't bother you and it won't. We're lucky to coach good players, and we try to get them ready. So when they do go play college, wherever they go, they're ready for it.”
It’s not just the mindset of the players that has helped Wetumpka baseball be so successful, it's the coaching staff backing them as well. Brooks enjoys winning games as much as any other coach in the state, but what drives him as a coach is helping his players take the next step.
“I enjoy trying to help kids get out and get to school,” Brooks said. “I just think it makes our program look good. That's probably one of the reasons I still coach is just helping the kid go to college, wherever it may be. I like winning games, losing games it's part (of it). I want to win, but at the same time, the kid that wants to come here and wants to get out and play somewhere else — I'll do whatever I can do for him.”
The Indians' success in producing collegiate baseball players does not end with the three Jaguars. Brooks knows their impact will only pay dividends for his current team and knows they are every bit as capable of also taking the field at the next level.
“Those three kids; Jaxon Shineflew, Kyle Morrison and Ty Brooks, they're special players,” Brooks said. “Really special and that's what it takes if you go and win. And we got some, some special ones in that dugout right here.”
