Koby Harcrow has made it a habit to push through highs and lows.
When you’re not the biggest, fastest, or strongest player on the field, it sometimes can be difficult to attract attention, but Harcrow never used his physical makeup as an excuse. In fact, the New Hope High School standout pushed even harder so he could get noticed so one day he could realize his dream to play college baseball.
Last week, Harcrow realized that chance when he committed to play baseball at Mississippi Delta Community College in Moorhead. Harcrow said Tuesday he likely will make it official Thursday when he visits the campus for orientation.
“When (Mississippi Delta C.C.) coach (Dan) Rives called me and told me he gave me a walk-on spot, I hung up the phone and kind of yelled and I thanked God for that,” Harcrow said. “I started to tear up a little bit because I knew that finally all of the hard work had finally paid off. I am still not done. I have a whole lot of baseball and a whole lot of workouts left, especially in these next two years.”
Harcrow scored 15 runs, had 18 hits, four doubles, and six RBIs in 30 games for the Trojans (21-14) this past season. He was a fixture in the infield for New Hope, which lost to Oxford in the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 5A North State title series.
Harcrow played some of his best baseball in the postseason, recording seven hits in New Hope’s nine-game playoff run.
Harcrow will continue New Hope’s run on the Moorhead campus. This past season, Will Godfrey, Payton Lane, and Tyler Jones, who is Harcrow’s cousin, were members of the Mississippi Delta C.C. baseball team. Last November, Parker Lane signed to Mississippi Delta C.C. In March, Carson Forrester also signed to the school.
Koby’s father, Barry, posted a message on Facebook last week thanking coaches Dennis Jones, Ashley Stevens, Dean Stevens, Terry Thomas, Bill Buckner, Lee Boyd, Bobby Taylor, Tyler Poole, Garrett LaRosa, Jared Garrett, Monty McMullen, and Ronnie Joe Parker as well as family and friends for all of their support.
In looking at that list of names Tuesday, Koby recalled the lessons he learned through the years in baseball and in football and how each individual pushed him and motivated him to keep pursuing his dream.
Boyd, Taylor, Poole, LaRosa, and Garrett coached Harcrow at New Hope High. McMullen and Parker coached Harcrow with the Golden Spikes travel baseball team, which is based in Meridian.
“They all used to tell me I am not the biggest, not the fastest, not the strongest, and I am not going to be able to hit the ball the farthest,” Harcrow said. “They always told me to work hard, to never give up, to pray to God to help me in the future and to get stronger. Coach Boyd and coach Poole helped me get a lot stronger from junior year and sophomore year. They just put in my mind to be the best I can be.”
Harcrow, who is 5-foot-10, 165 pounds, said he felt he stepped into a bigger leadership role this season. He admitted there were times during the season and after it when he became discouraged. Harcrow said he attended several tryouts and workouts at junior colleges across the state, but he said he wondered if his baseball career was over when he hadn’t received an offer. He said he felt he did well last month at a workout at Mississippi Delta C.C. and then attended tryouts and Northeast Mississippi C.C. and Blue Mountain College in Northeast Mississippi. Harcrow said he received an offer from Blue Mountain, but he felt Mississippi Delta C.C. was a better fit.
In an email response on Facebook, Barry Harcrow said Koby has “leaned on his faith to keep his spirits up and continued to work hard the last two years.” He said there have been a few times his son has gotten disappointed about his prospects of playing baseball in college, but he said he and his wife, Vickie, always have encouraged him to always follow his dreams, to work hard for them, to keep a great attitude, and to trust in God.
“God always has a plan for us, but it may not be what we want,” Barry Harcrow said. “We just have to trust in Him and pray His will be done. Koby’s travel ball coach posted a comment this week that other college coaches said he was one of those guys that was too small, too slow, not strong enough, but he kept working and never gave up and it worked out.
“We are extremely grateful to the coaching staff at Mississippi Delta for giving Koby this opportunity. That’s all we’ve really ever wanted for him was just a chance. This is all he has ever wanted since he was 7 years old.”
Harcrow said former Starkville Academy coach Jarrod Parks saw him play last season and told him he would follow his maturation. He said Parks saw him play again early in his senior season and kept the lines of communication open. Harcrow said he knew he had to keep working hard to make Parks want him because he realized nothing was guaranteed.
“(Coach Parks) was in (the back of my mind) a little bit, but I was focused on getting better for the team to help us win a state championship,” Harcrow said. “I felt I gave my all for the team. I felt like I set an example for all of the guys below me. I tried to lead with the other seniors, and they helped me and pushed me.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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