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s Governor Kelly’s order to close Kansas schools for the 2020 school year was announced, senior Gage Callaghan felt lost. That March, he was preparing to finish his junior year as the catcher on the baseball team. A few days later, the Kansas High School Activities Association announced the cancelation of all athletic activities in the state. His days were usually structured around conditioning and practice, so filling his time with video games and sitting around the house just didn’t feel right. “You just feel sick to your stomach,” head baseball Coach Mike Hill said, shaking his head in defeat. “They’re never going to get that year back, so you don’t make up for it, you just move forward and hope to give this year’s group the best experience that we can.” With Callaghan’s hopes set on being offered a position to play on a college team, losing last year’s season his junior year could have been
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detrimental to his recruitment. In the recruiting process, most colleges and universities aim to sign athletes by their junior year. “That’s when you really start to develop as a player,” Callaghan said. “Coaches really start to notice what you’re doing good and how they can fit you into their program,” Because of this lost season, many colleges and universities will allow last year’s graduated athletes to keep their current spot on the team. Ryan Prickett, sports information director at Fort Hays State University, emphasized the stress this places on colleges and universities. “It spills down to the high school level because you’ve got such a stockpile of athletes here that are already on scholarships,” Prickett said. “We only have X amount of dollars to give in scholarships or the university commits X amount of dollars at conferences.” In short, since there are now fewer open spots on most teams, the incoming freshman class will
They’re never going to get that year back, so you don’t make up for it, you just move forward and hope to give this year’s group the best experience that we can.
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