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lockportlegend.com sports
the lockport legend | July 11, 2019 | 37
Going Places
Barnett set for next step at Arizona State
Former Providence
star the winning
pitcher in Chicago
prep All-Star Game
Chris Walker
Freelance Reporter
Bryce Barnett’s fastball
gets in on hitters pretty
quickly — just ask the
Stagg players who combined
to strike out 15 times
against the right-hander
during a Class 4A sectional
semifinal victory in late
May.
The Providence graduate’s
life is also moving
by at a similar rate of high
speed.
The Celtics’ season
ended with a 9-5 sectional
final loss to Marist on June
1, and Barnett was already
planning to be at Arizona
State University by July 1
to prepare for the next step
in playing career.
“I’ll be down there this
summer lifting every day
for six weeks and doing
whatever programs they
have for pitchers,” he said.
“They’ll have a schedule
for me, and I don’t have
much longer to wait. I’m
excited.”
Providence coach Mark
Smith knows that Barnett
is ready for his next challenge.
“If I ever had a kid that
was prepared for the rigors
of Division I, highend,
Top 25 baseball, it’s
Bryce,” Smith said. “From
a mental standpoint, he’s
mature beyond his years.
He’s a kid who wants to
be successful. He wants
greatness. He’s the hardest-working
kid I’ve had
as a coach in 27 years, and
that says an awful lot. And
Providence Class of 2019 graduate Bryce Barnett is headed to Arizona State as a pitcher. 22nd Century Media File Photo
the thing is, when a kid
wants greatness, his actions
have to back that up,
and not every kid is willing
to do that. He not only
says it, but he does it every
day, getting after what he
loves.”
Pitcher Merrill Kelly,
who was called up by the
Arizona Diamondbacks in
April, became the 110th
Sun Devil to make it to the
majors. Maybe someday,
Barnett will be on that list,
too.
Barnett got a little taste
of the big leagues, as he
was the winning pitcher
at Guaranteed Rate Field,
home of the White Sox,
during the Chicago Catholic
League/Public League
All-Star game on June 17.
“That was great, just an
awesome experience to be
in that sort of atmosphere,”
he said. “You play your
whole life on different
baseball fields, and getting
on any big league field is
that goal, and I was able to
experience that at 18 years
old. Honestly, it really was
such a great experience.”
Barnett does not possess
a ton of size, but he packs
a lot of firepower in his
6-foot-1, 175-pound frame
and is bound to get even
stronger as he remains
committed to working
hard in the weight room.
His fastball already is
regularly registering in the
low 90s [miles per hour]
on the radar gun, and he
has got other pitches, including
a dynamite slider,
combined with command
and a mental approach of
attacking hitters that is unparalleled.
“When you’re right at
the same level, and you’re
a pitcher, you’ve got to
find what separates you,”
he said. “For me, it could
be moving the ball in and
out. Look at Kumar Rocker
[a freshman who just
helped Vanderbilt win the
national championship].
He was throwing 97 when
he was 17, but when he
got to Vanderbilt, his stuff
took off because he probably
used to just throw,
and now he’s learned how
to pitch.”
Barnett realized relatively
early during his high
school years that he needed
to find ways to work on
his craft consistently, and
he established a regimen,
one which he is taking to
Tempe.
“I had a good sophomore
year at Providence,
but when I looked back at
all the downtime and then
went into junior year with
arm fatigue and then got
hurt, I had to ask myself
what I was doing wrong,”
he said. “So, after that summer
when I went down to
ASU, I asked the trainers
what they do with their
pitchers consistently to
keep them healthy. They
told me they kind of create
and do whatever they want,
but they still have some
guidelines, so I went home
and created something for
me to do day after day.”
A combination of different
distance throwing,
doing so at different percentages
of effort, working
on mechanics, doing flat
ground work, dedicating
time to leg work, weight
lifting and focusing on a
plan of attack against opponents
are just some of a
variety of the tasks included
in such a program.
The transition to Tempe
could freak out many
18-year-olds, but not Barnett.
“Being away from
home is definitely going
to be a little weird, but I
also have some family out
there,” he said. “It’ll be
a little different, and I’ll
have to adjust, but that’s
the same with everything,
and I think I’ll be fine.
The culture will be a little
different, and I’ll have to
focus on time management,
making sure I get
my homework done, but
I just have to make sure I
have a nice balance.”
Going Places is a summer
series featuring area athletes
who have committed to play
sports in college.