New Hope High School baseball coach Lee Boyd speaks highly of his junior shortstop Will Golsan.
“Will makes like 95 or above in all of his classes,” Boyd said. “He is also in church all of the time. I can’t tell you how great it is to coach a young man like that.”
Oh yeah, the baseball thing … Well he is pretty good at that, too.
Golsan capped off this past week, hitting at a 10-for-15 clip. For the season, the New Hope lead- off hitter is hovering around .485 for a batting average, with an on-base percentage north of .550.
Those gaudy numbers are a big reason why New Hope is 12-3 overall and 3-1 in region play.
They are also why Golsan has been chosen as this week’s Dispatch Prep Player of the Week.
“I like to be vocal out there,” Golsan said. “I like to talk to my players. I like to keep them up. I try to have fun out there and I hope my teammates follow that lead.”
The Trojans have had a lot of fun this year. New Hope is gunning for first state championship in a decade. The Trojans barely missed playing for one last season, losing instead in the Class 5A North State finals of the Mississippi High School Activities Association’s playoffs.
“We want to get back where we were,” Golsan said. “I think we have the ability to do it this year. It comes down to us, if we actually want to get there or not. Last year really made us hungry. We want to go back and finish the job this year.”
A big reason why New Hope has such confidence comes from Golsan, who provides a spark offensively from the lead-off position and defensively by playing a near-flawless shortstop.
“Will is a special athlete,” Boyd said. “He does everything you want out of a lead-off man, because he is always on. He has been our lead-off hitter for two years now. He hit around .360 last year and has taken it to another level. We hope he stays hot, because he is having the type of season where he can really carry us.
“Our 2-3-4 guys all have RBI numbers that are up. That is because Will is on before them and giving them a chance to have big run-producing hits. When Will is on base, it puts pressure on the other team. He played a lot of ninth grader, so he has a lot of experience on the infield. He is in charge of our bunt defenses, our pick plays. It is like having another coach out in the middle of the field.”
The ability to play baseball at a high level comes from having pursued this passion his entire life.
“I started playing t-ball, went through coach-pitch, did not play park ball too much (travel ball instead),” said Golsan, who has also earned some pitching time this season. “In seventh grade played junior high ball and then high school ball. My family loves baseball. My dad was my coaching growing up and he really encouraged me to play and to always do my best.”
Golsan credits parents, Tommy and Sondra Golsan, as well as older sister, Hayley, as being big influences on both his baseball career and his life.
“They have been my biggest supporters from the beginning,” Golsan said. “When you have the love and support of your family and your teammates, it makes it easier to do great things.”
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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