When Brooks Kettering walked onto the Baum-Walker Stadium field for practice prior to Southeast Missouri State’s opening game of the NCAA Fayetteville Regional, the freshman infielder could not help but smile.
The Springfield native and Glendale High School graduate had been to Arkansas’ home ballpark for postseason play before, but in a spectator’s role. He attended Missouri State-Arkansas games there in the 2015 NCAA Super Regional and 2017 NCAA Regional.
“It was so cool to finally be on the field instead of in the stands,” Kettering said this week after his and the Redhawks’ impressive run to the regional finals — including eliminating the No. 5-ranked Razorbacks — had concluded.
The only freshman on SEMO’s roster played like a proven veteran. He hit .333 in four regional games with seven walks, four runs, a triple, home run and three RBIs. He was on base 11 times. He was one of seven Redhawks named to the all-Fayetteville Regional team.
Catching up on messages after ‘a crazy weekend'
Kansas State beat SEMO 7-2 in the championship on June 2, a few hours after the Redhawks eliminated Arkansas 6-3 with Kettering hitting his ninth home run of the season. That drew him a post-game interview on ESPNU to talk about his and the team’s unlikely run to the finals.
A couple of days after the season ended, Kettering was still sifting through text and phone messages.
“Just a crazy weekend,” Kettering said. “To go into Fayetteville and take down Arkansas, in our second game with them after we got taken down by them the first game (17-9).”
That opening-round loss, in which Kettering walked five times while batting leadoff, served as a confidence-builder.
“We came back and scored eight unanswered runs in the fifth to tie them,” Kettering said. “It kind of got away from us in the end. But we knew we could play with Arkansas after we came back and we knew we were gonna get another shot at them.”
‘I kind of blacked out around the bases'
With a big contingent of family and friends, including parents Lance and Denise Kettering, among the 10,788 fans watching, Kettering said his home run in the elimination-game victory, easily ranks No. 1 on his career highlight list. It was No. 9 on the season after Kettering hit four his senior season at Glendale.
“They just scored a run in the last inning and the momentum had started to swing their way,” Kettering said. “I got a good swing and kind of put the momentum back our way. Not only was it a home run, but it felt like a pretty big moment in the game.
“I kind of blacked out around the bases. I don’t remember too much.”
It’s been a dream sort of first college season for the 19-year-old, whose uncle Brent Thomas was a Missouri State assistant baseball coach from 1983 to 2014. Brooks Kettering’s dad, Lance, is the executive director of the Springfield Sports Commission and worked at Missouri State for several years in athletics marketing.
The Ketterings have attended the College World Series many times in addition to watching the hometown Bears play in regionals. Being in a participant’s role this time, Brooks Kettering said he tried to enjoy the experience.
“I tried to soak it all in,” he said. “You never know when you’ll come back to a regional. That’s something that you always wanted to do in your life. Everyone else was telling me to soak it up. It was pretty cool to be able to do that.”
Coach who recruited him was originally watching someone else
Kettering’s road to Cape Girardeau as his college home began with a hard out he made during a summer tournament in Rogers, Arkansas, prior to his senior year at Glendale. SEMO associate head coach Trevor Ezell was in the stands to watch another player but took notice when Kettering hit a line drive to the shortstop that was caught.
The two began to communicate by phone and Kettering eventually made a recruiting trip to SEMO.
“SEMO was my only offer,” he said. “I like the city. Cape Girardeau wasn’t too far from home, but it wasn’t too close. It was in-state and the baseball program was on the rise. I felt it was a good situation all around. I decided to take the offer.”
The decision has worked out nicely. Kettering started 61 games, mostly at second base, and hit .308 with nine home runs, 40 RBIs and a team-best 46 walks. He stole eight bases in 12 attempts as the Redhawks won the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
SEMO coach Andy Sawyers told the Southeast Missourian that he saw Kettering’s potential from the team’s first preseason scrimmage.
“He hit for the cycle and I said we have the best freshman hitter in the league,” Sawyers said.
As for his uptick in power while stepping into the college game, Kettering credits work in the weight room, which saw him add 15 pounds of muscle, and knowledge gained from Ezell. It all led to him earning second-team all-Ohio Valley Conference honors.
“We have a great hitting coach in Trevor Ezell and he’s worked with me and helped me grow as a hitter so much with the drills he’s done with me in the cage, working on more extension,” Kettering said. “Just the overall drills we work on, with the timing. It’s faster velo (velocity) at this level and you kind of get used to it after a little bit.”
Next up: summer ball in the Prospect League
After returning home for a few days, Kettering will soon return to Cape Girardeau where he will play summer ball for the Cape Catfish in the Prospect League. He hopes to soon finish returning all his messages from the regional weekend.
“Everyone has reached out and told me that they’re proud of me,” he said. “It’s a pretty good feeling to have. I’ve never had so many people reach out to me. It’s been pretty cool.”
