Taeg Gollert never will forget his first encounter with future Missouri State baseball teammate Zack Stewart. The two were playing on opposing teams in the Prospect League before their freshman season in college.
Stewart hit a ball about 420 feet over the right-field fence with a wood bat. Gollert said his jaw literally dropped.
“It was one of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen,” Gollert said.
Stewart and Gollert went on to become roommates and best friends at Missouri State. They were two of the top freshmen in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2023, combining for 23 home runs and 102 RBIs, and now are primed for even bigger things in the season ahead.
The duo represents Missouri State’s offense on the Valley’s preseason all-conference team announced earlier this week. They will be hitting in the heart of the lineup when the Bears open the season — Coach Keith Guttin’s 42nd and final one — on Feb. 16 at Louisiana Monroe.
“Our competitiveness is through the roof,” Gollert said when asked about the Bears’ overall outlook. “From scrimmages to just competitions in the locker room or the indoor facility. I think we can do something special this year.”
Coaches felt the duo could contribute immediately
The offense, which popped 89 home runs a year ago, should again be fun to watch with the super sophomores leading the way. Stewart, a Lebanon High School graduate, was the 2023 Valley Freshman of the Year with 12 home runs and his 61 RBIs were second in school history for a freshman, behind only Ryan Howard’s 66 in 1999.
Gollert, a native of Toronto, Canada, had 11 home runs, 40 RBIs and a team-leading 19 doubles. Last April 9 against Bradley he became the first player in school history to blast two grand slam home runs in a game and his 30 extra-base hits are exceeded by only future big leaguers Howard and Jason Hart among MSU freshmen, as well as Stewart’s 32.
“When we recruited Zack Stewart and Taeg Gollert, we thought they would contribute immediately,” Guttin said. “We thought they would be impact players. They were. Now they are both improved.”
Gollert, Stewart love to talk baseball with each other
Stewart and Gollert said they often talk about hitting and look at each other’s strengths as a way to get better. Stewart, for instance, marvels at Gollert’s ability to “move on” after a bad game or failed at-bat.
“He (occasionally) gets upset — and I do, too — when things don’t go well at the plate, but he does a great job of moving on and having short-term memory,” Stewart said. “He’s a great teammate and great guy that you can turn to and ask, ‘What do you see there?’ We can lean on each other that way.”
Added Gollert: “Last year in the dorms, we tried to avoid talking baseball outside the baseball field, but when it was time to step between the lines it was full-on baseball. It was talking baseball all the time, making adjustments. It was a really cool thing to be a part of.”
Gollert said that Stewart, who is a draft-eligible sophomore and already is being talked about as a top pro prospect, doesn’t let personal accolades overshadow his relationship with teammates.
“He’s a great dude off the field and I got to learn a lot from him on the offensive side,” Gollert said. “He brings so much value to the team in terms of some of the metric numbers he has, like exit velocity. Everybody knows it. It’s really impressive — but he’s also a grinder. He’s really gritty in the box. He wants to win and is a great teammate.”
They'll get more attention from opponents in 2024
For associate head coach Joey Hawkins, who oversees the hitters, it’s all about how his pupils approach at-bats, both mentally and physically. More attention will be on Stewart and Gollert in 2024 because of what they accomplished as college rookies, but Hawkins said they’re up to the challenge.
Hawkins said the lineup is deep with more speed mixed in this season, which should benefit the sluggers in the middle.
“The power is probably their No. 1 skill set, which has separated them as college players already,” Hawkins said of Stewart and Gollert. “But really their maturity was big. Their approach. They’ve been able to commit to it their whole career and been able to make adjustments on the fly.
“Those guys got pitched really tough as freshmen last year when they started sliding into the middle of our lineup. That was a great experience for them and they’re ready for the next challenge.”
‘I'm fine with wherever the coach puts me'
One of the challenges for the right-handed hitting Gollert is a new position. He moves to third base after manning left field for most of his freshman season. The lefty-swinging Stewart returns to play right field.
Gollert said he played primarily third base in high school, but as long as he gets to swing the bat on a regular basis he isn’t choosy about where he lands defensively.
“I’m fine with wherever the coach puts me,” Gollert said. “Last year I was in left field and that’s where I saw most of my playing time. It doesn’t matter to me. I played third base in high school, so I’m pretty familiar with the infield. Wherever I can help the team is the most important thing.”
The “whatever it takes” approach is echoed by Stewart. As the season rolls on, he knows there could be talk about his draft status, but he doesn’t want to be caught up in all of that.
“We have a ton of potential and I think we’re gonna do great things this year,” Stewart said. “I want to win a championship. Win a ring. That’s the No. 1 goal.”
What’s in a name?
Gollert told the story of how he wound up with a unique first name. Taeg is pronounced “Tag.” He said his dad wanted him to be named Tag but his mother refused.
“My mom was like, ‘We’re not going to do that, because it’s a little odd,’” Taeg said. “So she decided to throw an ‘e’ in there and still pronounce it ‘tag.’ It makes no sense to me, but I really enjoy the name. It’s unique.”
What’s in a number?
Stewart wears the uniform No. 9 that Jake Burger had at Missouri State from 2015-17. Burger was an All-American and first-round draft choice by the Chicago White Sox. He now plays for the Miami Marlins and hit 34 home runs last season.
Stewart said he didn’t ask for the number, but certainly was aware of its significance when it was given to him before his freshman season. Only once between Burger and Stewart had a player been assigned No. 9 and that player had only a handful of at-bats in his lone season.
“I didn’t get to pick it my freshman year, but it’s stuck ever since,” Stewart said. “Obviously the history with Burger wearing it before me is really cool. A little bit of history there. It’s a cool jersey for sure. I don’t think about any additional pressure from wearing it.”
How did Guttin tell the players he’s retiring?
Everyone continues to downplay Guttin’s final season after the veteran coach announced last fall that he would retire at the conclusion of the upcoming season. Guttin, with 1,373 career victories (second among active coaches and 12th all-time among Division I coaches), said he “doesn’t even think about” this being his final go-around.
The players laugh about how Guttin told them of his impending retirement.
“We were talking about coverages one day during a team meeting,” said preseason all-Valley pitcher Brandt Thompson. “All of a sudden he just said, ‘I’m letting you guys know that I’m retiring after this year.’ We walked out and started practice and everybody was like ‘What just happened?’
“But the way it got brought up is the way everybody’s treating it, as not a big deal. Nobody’s really thinking about it. At the end of the year, people will realize and acknowledge that it’s his final year. Right now, it’s definitely not at the top of our mind.”
Missouri State baseball dates to know
Feb. 16-18: Season-opening series at Louisiana Monroe
March 1-3: Home-opening series against Arkansas State
March 29-31: Home conference opening series against Illinois State
April 16: Home game vs. Missouri
April 30-May 1: Two-game series at Arkansas
May 16-18: Final regular-season series against Southern Illinois
May 21-25: Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at Evansville
