By Abby Drake
Staff Writer
After four years of hard work and dedication to the Coppell High School baseball program, seniors Adam Toth and Matt Kaskow have committed and signed on to play at Division I colleges.
Kaskow, an outfielder, signed to play baseball for Wofford College in South Carolina next fall a few weeks ago. Kaskows’ Coppell High School Baseball career proved his strong baseball abilities, since he was on Varsity for three years and started on Varsity both his junior and senior years.
There were several other universities looking to add Kaskow to their team such as: the Air Force Academy, Boston College, and University of North Carolina in Charlotte. Wofford College, however, was the best fit for Kaskow both academically and athletically.
“”It was good to sign with Wofford College because now I do not have to worry about it, it is all set in stone,” Kaskow said. “It has a really good academic and baseball combination which is what I was looking for.”
Through visits Kasakow has been able to bond with some of the players from the team and the coaches. According to Kaskow the coaches are really nice and tend to run their programs in a way that helps him to reach his full potential, either at bat or on the field.
There is no guarantee that Kaskow will be playing his first year in Spartanburg S.C., since there is about thirty players fighting for a spot on the batting line up. He will have to thoroughly impress his coaches for a chance to play.
Although the dream of turning baseball into a career is glamorous idea it does not always come true. Kaskow plans to study business while at school so that when the next four years comes to an end and baseball is no longer a part of his future he will be able to have a good career.
“It would be cool (to play professional baseball) but baseball can only get you so far, and that is why I wanted to get a good education,” Kaskow said.
Kaskow’s hard work over the last four years paid off, and even though living in South Carolina might be a tough adjustment. Playing baseball for Wofford College has helped Kaskow to meet one of his life long goals.
Toth, a shortstop, has been one of the most impressive baseball players in Coppell High School history. Starting on varsity since his freshman year caused several schools, including the University of Texas, Oklahoma University, and Texas Christian University, to show interest in the shortstop.
Out of all the major universities in want of Toth he signed with Baylor University. Not only does Toth get the chance to play, but Baylor is going to pay for 60 percent of his college finances.
“Signing with Baylor felt like all the hard work and sacrifices had paid off. It was rewarding,” Toth said.
Luckily for Toth Baylor University has reputation for playing freshman, so there is a good chance that Toth will have a chance as Baylor’s short-stop on the field during his freshman year.
Getting to the college level is not an easy task and it took much more than after school practices and Friday games to get Toth to become a Baylor bear.
“I worked off the field on my own every weekend and got my own hitting coach,” Toth said. “During my sophomore year I started Velocity which helped a lot with building up my agility, speed, and strength.”
Choosing the right college to play for comes down to if the coaches and their program are the perfect fit. According to Toth the Baylor baseball staff coaches their players through individual attention.
Like Kaskow Toth dreams of a baseball career after college, however plans to study business while in Waco as a back up plan.
Baseball is a large part of Baylor University’s atmosphere and the games tend to bring a lot of fans. Starting next fall hundreds of people will be flocking to watch Toth.
Coppell head baseball coach Don English, who has coached Kaskow and Toth throughout their high school careers, believes that for his players, the journey is just beginning.
“They are going to have great college careers and they might have professional careers later on,” English said. “Both are going to excellent universities and will get a god education, and the baseball will just be the icing on the cake.”
