Garrett Gould: Gatorade Player of the Year
May 28, 2009 @ 9:24 a.m. by JoannaMaize senior pitcher Garrett Gould, a possible first-round draft pick in the June draft, has been named Gatorade’s Player of the Year for Kansas. (Read more about him here in today’s story.)
Gould, who has signed with Wichita State, is the second player of the year from Maize. Brent Milleville, a catcher, was named the player of the year in 2004 and 2005.
Gould, 6-foot-4, is 6-1 with a 0.88 ERA. His only loss was 1-0 to rival Goddard. He has struck out 95 batters in 45 innings and can throw consistently in the low 90s.
This is a great pick for Gatorade. Really, I believe, a no-brainer. I questioned the Gatorade selection of Taber Spani for the girls player of the year because Spani is homeschooled and lives in Missouri.
But Gould is a good pick.
NCAA Regional practice day | Shockwaves | Wichita Eagle Blogs says:
May 28th, 2009 at 9:36 am
[...] WSU recruit Garrett Gould named the state’s top player. [...]
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Virgil says:
May 28th, 2009 at 9:36 am
Congratulations. ADVICE: Don’t drink Gatorade. It will give you kidney stones.
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Bobby says:
May 28th, 2009 at 11:54 am
PLEASE come to Wichita State to pitch ;).
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Mitch says:
May 28th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
So Joanna, a student-athelete shouldn’t be the Gatorade Player of the Year if they are homeschooled. You have taken prejudice to a whole new level! Might want to try supporting your position with some facts and data. Everything I have read about Taber Spani supports her selection by Gatorade. Check out this article: http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=928161
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joanna says:
May 28th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Mitch, I laughed when I saw your post. I am not prejudiced against homeschoolers, considering I was homeschooled as an eighth-grader while living in Minnesota. I apologize for misleading you.
As I’ve stated on this blog multiple times since March and was quoted in a Yahoo Sports story, the problem I have with Gatorade naming Spani has nothing to do with her being homeschooled. The problem I have is that Spani doesn’t even live in Kansas nor does she go to school in Kansas, since she is homeschooled at her home in Missouri.
Gatorade has an explanation for it, being that KC Metro is made up of homeschooled kids and it’s based in Olathe — athletically only — because all are homeschooled kids taught at their homes. So really, Spani has no connection to Kansas, other than that the team she plays for is an approved school in Kansas.
She’s a great player, she’s obviously a good kid, and it bothers me not one iota that she’s homeschooled. But she doesn’t live or go to school in Kansas. That to me makes her not eligible for being honored as a Kansas athlete, which is also our reasoning for her not being honored on any of our all-class or all-state teams.
I hope that makes sense.
To wrap it all up, I’m not prejudiced against homeschoolers. Frankly, I’m not prejudiced against anyone, as the longtime readers of my blog can attest to.
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Hovpen says:
May 28th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
I got a chuckle out of that one too Mitch. Odd that she didn’t get one vote for any of the All-State teams including the coaches selections. All the facts point to the fact that Gatorade screwed this one up if you ask me. It’s supposed to be the Kansas High School Player of the year, not the Missouri Home Schooled player of the year who plays on a club team out of Kansas.
Given your logic, some girl from California who played softball at one of the Mustangs indoor tournaments this winter could be named our softball player of the year by Gatorade and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least.
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Theotherguy says:
May 28th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
How many stories about Garret Gould can be published by the Eagle? There are other STUDENT-athletes in Wichita that definitely deserve some publicity too.
I know Gould is a once-in-a-lifetime player, but seriously, this has to be the 3rd or 4th center page story about him, even Bryce Brown didn’t get this type of coverage. I know him, and he’s your stereotypical jock, cocky kid, and it’d be nice to get some coverage for other kids around wichita.
Plus, there will probably be another repetitive, redundant Garret Gould story on MLB draft day.
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Joanna says:
May 28th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Let’s see, we wrote a story on Maize to start the season that wasn’t on the front page, I had a story on him last summer when he was playing in all the high-profile tournaments — it was on the front page, and then we had a story today heading into the state tournament on the best player in the state of Kansas.
Yeah, that’s overdoing it. Come one, seriously? We’ve covered a lot of baseball this spring. Covered a lot of everything this spring. It’s tough to ignore a kid who is as good as he is right before his team plays in the state tournament. It’s a story that transcends just baseball fans, but hits Wichita State fans and others that may not be interested in high school baseball.
It kind of seemed like a no-brainer to me. But we’re all entitled to our opinion. Your disagreeing is fine.
And Bryce Brown got his fair share of coverage — as he should have, considering he was one of the best players this city and state has produced.
But others who won’t go on to lucrative careers get coverage, too. Take the El Dorado softball team, the Millspaugh sisters from Northwest who play softball, the Kapaun baseball team. All good stories, all deserving.
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Mitch says:
May 28th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Joanna, Thanks for the clarification – your post sure didn’t read that way. Sorry for prejudice accusation. Seems to me that the issue for Taber and the Gatorade award is that she really has two schools – one in Missouri for academics and one in Kansas for athletics. If she had been named the Missouri player of the year, there would be complaints about that because she plays ball in Kansas! Personally, I don’t think Joanna McFarland got cheated by Spani’s selection. It is not hard to average 27 points a game when the only play in the Derby playbook is “Get the ball to Joanna”. I know that from a girl who played with Joanna M. at Derby.
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Joanna says:
May 28th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
No problem, Mitch. Sorry that the first read wasn’t clear.
As for Joanna McFarland, I personally was more impressed with her this year than her previous three years in high school for the simple reason that she had an extremely inexperienced team around her. She was it, yet it was a struggle to get her the ball because of those young guards and she was usually double- and triple-teamed. She had to work so much harder this season and she was a constant. I give her the majority of the credit for that team even hovering around .500.
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T.P. says:
May 28th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Joanna, They have the track open at W.S.U. this afternoon for the high school kids that are going to state. Use it as an excuse to go home early and grab a couple interviews on the way home.
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bluegray213 says:
May 28th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Gould will for-go college and take his draft status. Not because Wichita State struggled, b/c its to high for him to turn down. The flip side of it all…….he needs to go to college. There is a reason why Pelfrey is still pitching today, and a lot of it is college. If Pelfrey left after high school his major league career would be over. Kids from Kansas are not ready or polished out of high school. Pelfrey was more highly talked about, and he still struggles today in the majors. Its sounds easy, but no one has a clue. People just assume he will make it b/c they look at his strikeouts and heat and think he’s got it made. Not here to bash the kids skills, but he will have a faster track and higher contract if he learns how to pitch in college, then go pro. Its a shame Wichita State will be down and maybe out of it the next 4 years, as they will continue to slide.
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Hovpen says:
May 28th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Interesting matchup tomorrow in 4A. Hayden must throw McGreevy (WSU) to beat Girard who in turn must throw Poppe (KU) in order to win. Loser goes home.
Reminds me of the matchup several years ago in Mulvane (2003) with Santa Fe Trail and Concordia with Rob Musgrave and Jared Goedert who both went the required distance (9 innings) without a decision then turned it over to someone else to finish it.
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bucocatfan says:
May 28th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
I will state I AM prejudiced against home schoolers but only from the aspect that they shouldn’t be allowed to participate in sanctioned athletics. I have nothing against home schooling, but if you’re going to home school them then they should not be able to enjoy the same benefits that the kids attending public schools receive. If you live in a city with a bad school system then work to make it better or send them to one of the fine private schools that are available but don’t expect to have all of the perks of those of us who are trying to make our schools better.
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Junior says:
May 28th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
If I remember correctly, Pelfrey’s stock fell late in HS so going to college for him was a no-brainer. Lots of things to consider if you are being selected as a poss. first rounder. Injuries in college are pretty common for pitchers. Colleges need to win games and do it with pitching, clubs need to develop pitchers they have invested in. Also, most major league contracts come with college packages so gould can still finish his college degree.
Nobody said either road would be easy, but if he is being considered as a first rounder he has more to offer than just heat.
Also, I disagree that Wichita State is on the skids. This year they are down but the next two years the program will be back.
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lebronismyhero says:
May 28th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Why didn’t Gould play basketball this year? I was under the impression that he was going to sit out football but still play basketball.
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Jefferson says:
May 28th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
Yeah, Pelfrey and Gould’s situations aren’t comparable.
Look at Derek Norris (Goddard 2007 Graduate, 4th round draft pick of the Washington Nationals). Norris is one of the Top 6 ranked prospects in the Nats organization, and is going to be in the majors within 3 years, a little earlier than had he gone to WSU for 3 years.
He is going to get coaching at the minor league level. Don’t act like he is going to get thrown to the wolves 100% out of the gate. And if you can get paid A LOT of money, it might be worth it.
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commonsense says:
May 28th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
The entire reason to play baseball in college is to get your college paid for. Major League deals often include paying for college in the first contract, and Gould will be getting more than enough money on his signing bonus to pay for school.
What’s the point in skipping that huge opportunity/paycheck for a chance to play for the Shockers? They aren’t the same level program as they were in the late 80’s and 90’s. He can always go to WSU after he plays professionally.
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Theo says:
May 28th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
I’ll check him out and if he is that good, the Red Sox will pick him up.
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Theotherguy says:
May 28th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
Joanna,
You guys also had a story on the front page during football season about how he wasn’t playing football. He was the focus of the Maize football preview, even though he wasn’t even on the team. And a week or two ago the front of the varsitykansas webpage had a video interview with him.
Maybe the fact that I just don’t like the guy is causing me to have a warped view of his coverage. He’s good, but the bad part is, he knows he’s good, and let’s everyone else around him know that he is good, at least that is my impression of him.
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Jefferson says:
May 28th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
theotherguy,
He’s a high school baseball player that is going to be a first round draft pick, and his team is the #2 seed in the 6A tournament. If the Eagle ignores him, people complain. I would rather read a story about him then a story about some random player just to appease one reader (you) that probably had his lunch money taken by Gould. Seriously man, quit reading the stories about him if it offends you so much.
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Wichitas Most Wanted says:
May 28th, 2009 at 7:40 pm
Joanna, could you please clear your ideas with me first and only do stories about people that I like and are interested in because I really think the newspaper should be more about my needs and opinions. If someone is having success and I don’t like him then I obviously think nobody should like him and what he is doing is really not worth putting in the newspaper. Maybe we could have a story quota or something?
Does that work for you?
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bucocatfan says:
May 28th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
“Major League deals often include paying for college in the first contract, and Gould will be getting more than enough money on his signing bonus to pay for school.”
While that is true about most contracts including money for college, I would be willing to bet it goes uncollected for the most part by those that fail to make the bigs. I would guess just like most non-athletes the thought of going to college after being out of high school for 6 yrs or more is not very enticing.
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Buy Orthotic Insoles says:
May 28th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
This is great info for us all. Glad you posted this. I am subscribing to this blog. Brett
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Theotherguy says:
May 28th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
Dear Jefferson,
Actually, I’ve probably got 60 pounds (at least) on Gould, and I busted my butt to keep him from getting sacked two years ago, so I don’t think he’s taken my lunch money, but good try though.
All I’m saying is that the Eagle seems to have a love affair with Gould, when there are plenty of other athletes out there that it would make their high school career to have one article about them.
Plus, the stories are very repetitive. I understand he’s a great pitcher, but it’s a little over the top.
Whatever, I’m just a stupid lineman with a 4.1 GPA, what do I know?
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Hovpen says:
May 28th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
FYI, another Wichita pitcher, Kapaun’s Dominik King has now not allowed an earned run in 13.2 innings pitched for Emporia State in the national Division II Tournament. Emporia State is in the finals and WILL PLAY for the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP of Division II.
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Cujo75 says:
May 28th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
Just attended the ESU-UCSD game in Cary, NC. Good to see a pitcher-Dominik King- who knows how to pitch, rather than just throw smoke. It’s a pleasure to see a kid change speeds effectively. He throws maybe 82 mph FB if the wind is behind him but he has so many offspeed pitches no one can get a good swing against him. His control is outstanding. He had the UCSD-and Mesa State before this game-players swatting at pitches. He’ll give up some hits but few runs. Tje ESU team wouldn’t be in the championship game without him.
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lebronismyhero says:
May 28th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
I just heard he got cut from the basketball team because of his attitude. Interesting.
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Buy Audio Book says:
May 28th, 2009 at 10:34 pm
This is a very interesting website. I wish I had found it earlier. A lot of the information will definitely come in handy. Madison
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Jefferson says:
May 28th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
Dear theotherguy,
Hahaha. Do you seriously read what you write? You are accusing the Eagle of having a ‘love affair’ with the best athletes in the area (and maybe the country. Ie Bryce, Arthur, Blake, Garrett). Garrett was named GATORADE KANSAS BASEBALL POY. Is that not worthy of a story?!? Geez….
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Theotherguy says:
May 28th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
Jefferson, I appreciate your insult towards my intelligence, but I never said the Eagle had a love affair with the best athletes in the area, I just said the Eagle has a love affair with Gould, frankly Blake Bell probably doesn’t get enough coverage, that’s because he’s a less obnoxious guy and handled his recruitment very quietly (unlike the Browns).
To clarify, I never said this story in particular was over the top, but the stuff about Gould in our football stories kind of ticked me off, considering he didn’t even play.
(By the way, the story in the eagle this morning that I was talking about mentioned nothing about the Gatorade POY award, just thought I’d point that out)
And yes, he got cut from the basketball team, I don’t know for sure if it was for his attitude, but it wouldn’t surprise me.
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Jefferson says:
May 29th, 2009 at 12:11 am
Let me ask you this. What was the biggest story on Maize football going into the season? Replacing Gould at quarterback.
What was the biggest story going into this baseball season? Maize pitcher Garrett Gould, a probable 1st round draft pick in the MLB, and the top pitcher in the state.
What is the biggest story heading into the 6A tournament? A 1 loss team, featuring one of the best players in the state, that has a real chance at winning the state title.
And what is going to be the biggest story after the MLB draft? Probably a local kid going in the first round, the first time since Wellington’s Nate Cornejo.
And what is more realistic: The Eagle ignoring clearly the biggest story to appease one reader? Or that one reader choosing to ignore the story (there is a story on the KMC baseball team, try reading that)? Probably the second…
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indigo says:
May 29th, 2009 at 12:18 am
Kansas High School players have done well lately in pro ball
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bike nut says:
May 29th, 2009 at 7:09 am
I reiterate my post froma a different thread…..If you want to get a thread up and running, simply mention girl’s soccer, or “dis” a Goddard or Maize athlete. Posting catalysts for sure…..
Should be noted that any comparisons to Gould and Pelfrey are tempered by the fact that Pelfrey had a dead arm his senior year. Mike was 6′7″ and throwing 96-97mph his junior year. While Gould is certainly talented, I really think the predictions of 3rd-4th round may be more believable. If he played in the south or on one of the coasts, we’d have a better idea of how he stacks up. In his one start a against a school from a larger metro area this year, he was roughed up a bit. Time will tell. Happy thoughts on a Friday everybody.
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Swim Mom says:
May 29th, 2009 at 8:31 am
I think we all need to buy some orthotic insoles. That will put a smile on our faces.
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Swim Sister says:
May 29th, 2009 at 10:44 am
Theotherguy, u seriously have some issues. Lots of anger in your words. Dude, u r a hater and hate will destroy u. Gotta find positive ways to channel your anger.
Swim Mom – thanks for keepin it real.
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Been There says:
May 29th, 2009 at 11:07 am
Lebron, maybe Gould and his parents wouldn’t play the suck up to coach Grill game that so many MHS parents did and Gould discovered during tryouts that he didn’t want to play basketball for Grill…that what mattered most to him was playing baseball and doing it to the best of his ability. Maybe if more athletes concentrated on their best sport there would be more D1 athletes out there.
I don’t know, it’s just a theory.
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ramrod says:
May 29th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
Hey, theotherguy, you must not have been busting your butt to block for him too hard because rob helm had to come up with an offense that had to have gould roll out on 95% of the pass plays because the line couldn’t hold their blocks long enough. Oh, and you can thank him for busting his butt to almost single handedly win the salina south and goddard game for you guys that year. Peace out.
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iknowfromexperience says:
June 2nd, 2009 at 12:40 am
wow, there are some haters out there. theotherguy, you are an idiot. i have been friends with garrett since we were 4 and i have never seen him be cocky or tell anyone how good he is. i think that you are just really jealous that its not you that people talk about and getting all of the exposure that hes gotten. and about you having 60 pounds on him…? the maize line averaged about 220 pounds that year, and you must have really sucked because our line freaking killed yours and sacked gould about 5 times. i think you need to find someone else to try and hate on because all of the people who really know garrett know that he isnt like that at all. and he deserves every bit of everything that has been written about him in the paper.
you’re my boy g
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