Shreve's Mound of Talent

In the past six months, the Gators baseball program has seen two alumni pitch in the major leagues, one in the College World Series and another continuing to climb in the minor leagues.

That haul of polished, projectable, power arms has turned Captain Shreve into a hotbed for college and professional scouts.

"It means a lot, not only for baseball at Captain Shreve, but baseball in our Shreveport-Bossier community," said Ronnie Coker, who coached the Gators from 2003-2007, winning the Class 4A state championship in 2006. "It's great for baseball in the community. As far as the program, it gives the program a little higher profile regionally. Anybody that has tracked the draft the last couple of years has heard Captain Shreve. It enhances the program."

The Gators' list of prominent pitching alumni starts with Minnesota Twins right-hander Scott Baker and Florida Marlins left-hander Sean West. Baker is in his fourth big-league season while West made his major league debut May 23. Right-hander Alan Knotts is 2-0 with a save at Class A State College (Pa.) in the Pittsburgh organization. Austin Ross won six games for the national champion LSU Tigers and currently is pitching for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod League. Another alum, John Anderson, led Louisiana Tech in wins with seven.

Knotts credited Coker, who arrived at Shreve in 2003, for setting a foundation for success in both the program and the pitchers.

"He set the base for everything — how everyone as going to play baseball; the right way to do it," Knotts said. "He taught us how the game is supposed to be played. You'll see a lot of people, even at this level (short-season Class A), that don't know the game as well as they should. He taught us the way everything works — things you don't understand until you actually hear it."

Baker, a second-round draft pick of Minnesota in 2003, did not pitch under Coker, but Knotts, West and Ross all did. West, at 6-foot-8, was the easiest to project. Ross was as much of a pitcher as you could find in high school. Knotts was the toughest call for Coker as the pair spent just one season together.

"With Sean, I knew he'd get drafted," Coker said. "I didn't think he'd make (the majors) as soon as he has. With Alan, I knew he'd be a good college pitcher. I didn't know at the time if he was going to be a pro ball player. A-Ro, he's a big-game pitcher. He's always worked hard and always been a joy to coach."

Knotts was not headed down a scouting path, but even he could see what West had ahead of him. Knotts and West spent one season together on the Shreve varsity squad when Knotts was a senior and West a sophomore.

"It was his first year of really getting to pitch," Knotts said of the 2003 season. "I remember us telling him every day to work his butt off because we knew he'd be something special. Any time I was home during Christmas or Thanksgiving, I'd throw with him at the field. He kept getting bigger and better. You could tell he was going to be something special before he got to this point."

Ross is the most recent Shreve pitching alumnus to make his mark in the post-high school baseball world. The 6-2, 189-pound right-hander was in the LSU weekend rotation throughout the season after making 21 appearances (two starts) as a freshman in 2008.

"You always see the guys before they left Shreve and then watched them do some good things," said Ross, the winning pitcher in the 2006 Class 4A state championship game. "I knew I was following them and they had some success. It's something to look up to."

In the same sense that Baker set the path for Knotts, West, Ross and others, the success of the Gators' alums has set the bar high for those who have followed, as well as the coaching staff.

"Casey Elkins felt a lot of that pressure last year," current Shreve head coach Todd Sharp said. "Whoever the ace is, there is that pressure. In high school, you go as far as your (ace) will take you, unless you have a deep staff. It is pressure and expectations, but that makes you work harder."

Shreve's success has not been limited strictly to pitchers. In 2009, 15 Shreve alumni were playing either college or Division I baseball or were in the minor and major leagues.

And the Shreve pitching pipeline does not appear to be running dry anytime soon. The Gators can, again, thank the West family for that.

Jared West, the youngest of the three West brothers (Lance is an outfielder with the short-season Class A Aberdeen Ironbirds), is a rising sophomore left-hander who stands 6-4 and tossed six one-hit innings against perennial state power West Monroe as a freshman.

"He looks exactly the same as Sean," Sharp said. "He's 6-4; a lefty; same arm slot; holds the glove the same. You don't see many freshmen going against West Monroe and throwing six innings of one-hit ball. That will be the third West player that will be drafted. Not a bad family tree right there."

The same could be said for the Captain Shreve baseball program.

"With Sean, I knew he'd get drafted," Coker said. "I didn't think he'd make (the majors) as soon as he has. With Alan, I knew he'd be a good college pitcher. I didn't know at the time if he was going to be a pro ball player. A-Ro, he's a big-game pitcher. He's always worked hard and always been a joy to coach."

Knotts was not headed down a scouting path, but even he could see what West had ahead of him. Knotts and West spent one season together on the Shreve varsity squad when Knotts was a senior and West a sophomore.

"It was his first year of really getting to pitch," Knotts said of the 2003 season. "I remember us telling him every day to work his butt off because we knew he'd be something special. Any time I was home during Christmas or Thanksgiving, I'd throw with him at the field. He kept getting bigger and better. You could tell he was going to be something special before he got to this point."

Ross is the most recent Shreve pitching alumnus to make his mark in the post-high school baseball world. The 6-2, 189-pound right-hander was in the LSU weekend rotation throughout the season after making 21 appearances (two starts) as a freshman in 2008.

"You always see the guys before they left Shreve and then watched them do some good things," said Ross, the winning pitcher in the 2006 Class 4A state championship game. "I knew I was following them and they had some success. It's something to look up to."

In the same sense that Baker set the path for Knotts, West, Ross and others, the success of the Gators' alums has set the bar high for those who have followed, as well as the coaching staff.

"Casey Elkins felt a lot of that pressure last year," current Shreve head coach Todd Sharp said. "Whoever the ace is, there is that pressure. In high school, you go as far as your (ace) will take you, unless you have a deep staff. It is pressure and expectations, but that makes you work harder."

Shreve's success has not been limited strictly to pitchers. In 2009, 15 Shreve alumni were playing either college or Division I baseball or were in the minor and major leagues.

And the Shreve pitching pipeline does not appear to be running dry anytime soon. The Gators can, again, thank the West family for that.

Jared West, the youngest of the three West brothers (Lance is an outfielder with the short-season Class A Aberdeen Ironbirds), is a rising sophomore left-hander who stands 6-4 and tossed six one-hit innings against perennial state power West Monroe as a freshman.

"He looks exactly the same as Sean," Sharp said. "He's 6-4; a lefty; same arm slot; holds the glove the same. You don't see many freshmen going against West Monroe and throwing six innings of one-hit ball. That will be the third West player that will be drafted. Not a bad family tree right there."

The same could be said for the Captain Shreve baseball program.

The Shreveport Times