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Brecken Green of Joplin High School and Deacon Endicott of Carl Junction High School spent their lives as rivals.
They can recall playing against one another at times in youth sports and then junior high and eventually high school.
Both played basketball and baseball through high school.
Now, they’re going to be teammates at Pittsburg State University on the diamond for head coach Brock Buckingham.
Green called the opportunity to become a Gorilla a dream come true and said he’s already planning the next dream.
“I literally grew up on Pitt’s campus. … It’s cool to live out that childhood dream but now the next step is to make it to North Carolina and go to the DII World Series,” Green said.
For Endicott, his father, Tony Endicott, played a role in his dreams of playing for PSU.
“I always wanted to go to Pitt because my dad went there,” Endicott said.
The two are set to be roommates this coming school year. They admitted they weren’t necessarily close friends at any point growing up but that each knew who the other was and started to develop somewhat of a bond as they got older.
They’ll also both be pitchers for the Gorillas.
Growing up, Endicott’s favorite sport was basketball. Playing varsity as a freshman changed his mind and he started striving to play college baseball.
“My dad helped me out a lot by getting my highlights out on Twitter,” Endicott said.
Buckingham was recruiting Endicott while he was at Cowley College. When he became the head coach at Pittsburg State, he offered Endicott a scholarship to be a Gorilla.
Green was the same way at first. He didn’t consider college baseball until the middle of his sophomore year.
“Having Pitt reach out was absolutely awesome because I think I’ve had 15 family members go to Pitt,” Green said. “Being able to kind of follow in all my family’s footsteps was super cool, and obviously, they had a tremendous season this year, so being able to roll into that is super cool.”
Among those family members are his mom, Mandy Fancher; dad, C.J. Green; and dad, Barry Williamson.
The two didn’t have a bunch of stories to share, but the first ones they did were positive stories about the other.
“I remember last year or the year before, I’m pretty sure Brecken hit like four threes in a row and I didn’t know what to do to be honest with you,” Endicott said about playing against Green in basketball.
“I remember a tournament in Miami (Oklahoma), and we played against Deacon and he hit two bombs. Deacon cleared the fence by like 40 feet,” Green said about a baseball game from their younger days.
The two recalled developing more of a bond in late junior high and early high school through a shared basketball trainer.
“We kind of connected there,” Green said.
Courtney Ingram was that trainer in Galena, Kansas. Ingram also played basketball at PSU.
Now, there was one high school memory they hashed out Tuesday at Joe Becker Stadium ahead of Green’s game with the Joplin Jailbirds.
Green noted that he got to face Endicott as a hitter in one game and had two plate appearances. In the first at-bat, he drew a walk, and in the second one, he got a single.
“Should’ve been a K the first time but the ump was trippin’,” Endicott said as he felt like he had a strikeout on his new teammate. Instead, the umpire called ball four.
The second at-bat, Endicott recalled falling behind two balls to no strikes.
“First pitch came at my head,” Green said.
Was that pitch intentionally directed at his rival’s head?
“No. … A lot of times I miss arm side, and it just so happened to be him. I wasn’t trying to at all. If I wanted to hit him, I definitely would have,” Endicott said as both laughed.
Endicott and Green aren’t the only two local athletes taking their talent to PSU next year. Other Carl Junction Bulldogs to join will be Cooper Vediz and Brody Pant. From Ozark High School, Luke Baer will be another familiar face and pitcher for Green and Endicott to join forces with. Lastly, Brady Crossland from St. Mary’s Colgan is a nearby athlete that they know who is coming to Pitt as well.
Both are eager to get started and do whatever they can to get an opportunity to make an impact.
“I just want to pitch any time I can, honestly. If it's relieving, starting, anything, I just want to get on the field,” Endicott said.
“I’m just ready to get to Pitt and learn and do whatever I can to get on the field. Whatever it takes to get on the field, I’m willing to go do it and work my butt off to help us win,” Green said.
And when it comes to getting better, they will be spending a lot of time with one another and working on the same things day in and day out. They believe that can be beneficial.
“We can hold each other accountable because we’re going to be doing the same thing every day,” Endicott said.
When on the mound, the two are quite a bit different. Endicott has a larger frame and throws the ball harder, they said. He leans on velocity and his fastball. Green is more of a finesse pitcher and tries to miss bats rather than be overpowering.
Green throws a two-seam fastball, curveball, slider and changeup. He added that he’s working on a cutter. Endicott has a four-seam fastball, changeup, slider and curveball. He uses his changeup and slider most after his fastball.
Green says he’s really looking to develop a warmup routine at PSU by watching other pitchers there and seeing what works for them and if he can implement something similar.
Endicott is focused on developing his lower half of his body to get stronger in his legs for more power while pitching.
Continue reading...
They can recall playing against one another at times in youth sports and then junior high and eventually high school.
Both played basketball and baseball through high school.
Now, they’re going to be teammates at Pittsburg State University on the diamond for head coach Brock Buckingham.
Green called the opportunity to become a Gorilla a dream come true and said he’s already planning the next dream.
“I literally grew up on Pitt’s campus. … It’s cool to live out that childhood dream but now the next step is to make it to North Carolina and go to the DII World Series,” Green said.
For Endicott, his father, Tony Endicott, played a role in his dreams of playing for PSU.
“I always wanted to go to Pitt because my dad went there,” Endicott said.
The two are set to be roommates this coming school year. They admitted they weren’t necessarily close friends at any point growing up but that each knew who the other was and started to develop somewhat of a bond as they got older.
They’ll also both be pitchers for the Gorillas.
Growing up, Endicott’s favorite sport was basketball. Playing varsity as a freshman changed his mind and he started striving to play college baseball.
“My dad helped me out a lot by getting my highlights out on Twitter,” Endicott said.
Buckingham was recruiting Endicott while he was at Cowley College. When he became the head coach at Pittsburg State, he offered Endicott a scholarship to be a Gorilla.
Green was the same way at first. He didn’t consider college baseball until the middle of his sophomore year.
“Having Pitt reach out was absolutely awesome because I think I’ve had 15 family members go to Pitt,” Green said. “Being able to kind of follow in all my family’s footsteps was super cool, and obviously, they had a tremendous season this year, so being able to roll into that is super cool.”
Among those family members are his mom, Mandy Fancher; dad, C.J. Green; and dad, Barry Williamson.
The two didn’t have a bunch of stories to share, but the first ones they did were positive stories about the other.
“I remember last year or the year before, I’m pretty sure Brecken hit like four threes in a row and I didn’t know what to do to be honest with you,” Endicott said about playing against Green in basketball.
“I remember a tournament in Miami (Oklahoma), and we played against Deacon and he hit two bombs. Deacon cleared the fence by like 40 feet,” Green said about a baseball game from their younger days.
The two recalled developing more of a bond in late junior high and early high school through a shared basketball trainer.
“We kind of connected there,” Green said.
Courtney Ingram was that trainer in Galena, Kansas. Ingram also played basketball at PSU.
Now, there was one high school memory they hashed out Tuesday at Joe Becker Stadium ahead of Green’s game with the Joplin Jailbirds.
Green noted that he got to face Endicott as a hitter in one game and had two plate appearances. In the first at-bat, he drew a walk, and in the second one, he got a single.
“Should’ve been a K the first time but the ump was trippin’,” Endicott said as he felt like he had a strikeout on his new teammate. Instead, the umpire called ball four.
The second at-bat, Endicott recalled falling behind two balls to no strikes.
“First pitch came at my head,” Green said.
Was that pitch intentionally directed at his rival’s head?
“No. … A lot of times I miss arm side, and it just so happened to be him. I wasn’t trying to at all. If I wanted to hit him, I definitely would have,” Endicott said as both laughed.
Endicott and Green aren’t the only two local athletes taking their talent to PSU next year. Other Carl Junction Bulldogs to join will be Cooper Vediz and Brody Pant. From Ozark High School, Luke Baer will be another familiar face and pitcher for Green and Endicott to join forces with. Lastly, Brady Crossland from St. Mary’s Colgan is a nearby athlete that they know who is coming to Pitt as well.
Both are eager to get started and do whatever they can to get an opportunity to make an impact.
“I just want to pitch any time I can, honestly. If it's relieving, starting, anything, I just want to get on the field,” Endicott said.
“I’m just ready to get to Pitt and learn and do whatever I can to get on the field. Whatever it takes to get on the field, I’m willing to go do it and work my butt off to help us win,” Green said.
And when it comes to getting better, they will be spending a lot of time with one another and working on the same things day in and day out. They believe that can be beneficial.
“We can hold each other accountable because we’re going to be doing the same thing every day,” Endicott said.
When on the mound, the two are quite a bit different. Endicott has a larger frame and throws the ball harder, they said. He leans on velocity and his fastball. Green is more of a finesse pitcher and tries to miss bats rather than be overpowering.
Green throws a two-seam fastball, curveball, slider and changeup. He added that he’s working on a cutter. Endicott has a four-seam fastball, changeup, slider and curveball. He uses his changeup and slider most after his fastball.
Green says he’s really looking to develop a warmup routine at PSU by watching other pitchers there and seeing what works for them and if he can implement something similar.
Endicott is focused on developing his lower half of his body to get stronger in his legs for more power while pitching.
Continue reading...
