Everlasting Hope

Colonial Forge baseball star and MLB draft prospect loves to lift people’s spirits

BY DAVID FAWCETT

Zyhir Hope is under strict orders from his mother, Tiffany: No goofy grins.

Tiffany instituted the mandate after Hope intentionally closed his eyes on a whim for pictures over the summer and stretched his smile as vertical or horizontal as possible.

Those poses were for fun, but this time is different. Hope is having his photo taken for a local publication and Tiffany takes no chances.

So on this early December afternoon, the 18-year-old senior respects his mother’s wishes as he walks inside Colonial Forge High School’s baseball locker room. Whether standing against a wall or sitting on a bench and holding a bat, Hope keeps his smile in check. Nothing is enhanced.

But as he settles in, it’s clear Hope still struggles to contain himself. It’s who he is, a bundle of energy who loves to make others laugh and feel good about themselves.

“He’s so endearing,” said Colonial Forge head baseball coach David Colangelo. “He’s open to everybody. It’s his personality. He loves talking to people. It’s infectious.”

Keeping the goofy grin under wraps, Hope finds other ways to express his enthusiasm. He compliments the locker room’s interior, acting as though it’s brand new, even though it opened in 2019. He notices a plastic cup of iced tea on a shelf and asks the person next to him if he wants a drink. Then he stops, remembering the iced tea has been there since last season.

On it goes, Hope’s mood exuding brightness no matter the topic.

Transitioning to Colonial Forge as a first-year student and late enrollee in the fall of 2021. Developing into a major Division I college prospect who signed with powerhouse North Carolina in November.

Dealing with droves of Major League Baseball scouts as the possibility of turning pro out of high school beckons. Baseball. School. Life. Family. Friends.

Faith. All of it easily flows together for Hope. The only time he stumbles is when he’s asked what a bad day looks like to him. He pauses for a moment before answering. He wants to think about this one. Then comes his reply.

“Knowing I could have made the world a better place,” Hope said. “Even a little bit.”

LEVEL-HEADED

If Hope has a bad day, he hides it well, especially on the baseball field.

Last March, in Colonial Forge’s 2022 season opener against Woodbridge, Hope struck out three straight times after hitting a double in his first at-bat. Watching this unfold, a Mount St. Mary’s University assistant baseball coach assured Colangelo afterward he liked how Hope reacted to struggling at the plate. In the face of failure, Hope stayed composed.

Hope did the same thing last fall against Forest Park. Questioning whether Hope was worthy of playing at North Carolina, students from the opposing team heckled him as he kept fouling the ball off. Hope then hit a triple and silenced the fans without saying a word.

“He heard [the heckles],” Colangelo said. “He just nodded after the triple. That was his tactful way of handling it.”

Hope passed perhaps his biggest test last spring when Mike Covington came to see him play. Covington, a no-nonsense coach who won 469 games in 28 seasons at Potomac High School in Prince William County before retiring after the 2021 season, does not suffer fools lightly.

Upon Colangelo’s recommendation, Covington attended Colonial Forge’s May 3 game against Mountain View to see whether Hope was a legitimate candidate for Covington’s team at the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

With a discerning eye, Covington is particular about who he takes to the competitive event. Certainly talent factors in. But so does attitude. Do they have the maturity to compete at that level?

That day against Mountain View, Hope showcased his abilities, hitting a double and a home run in the 10-1 victory. He also pitched as Colonial Forge’s closer, striking out six over the final two innings and allowing no hits or runs. He did so well that a scout in attendance let Covington know Hope unknowingly threw back-to-back fastballs that cut a different way each time, with one hitting 89 mph and the other 91.

Clearly, Hope had a feel for the game. It was raw, but filled with potential. The same principle applied to him as a hitter. The ball blasted off the bat so fast with a flick of his wrists.

“Everything for him is effortless,” Covington said.

How Hope conducted himself also caught Covington’s eye. His efforts were less about himself and more about others. For example, without prompting, he picked up bats in the on-deck circle and took them back to the dugout. He also greeted teammates with a constant outpouring of support.

Colangelo was right. Hope was ready for the Commonwealth Games, and he ended up helping the North team win its fifth straight gold medal.

“There were a lot of good things to like,” Covington said of Hope.

Right On Time

When Hope arrived at Colonial Forge Aug. 31, 2021, he planned to ease in without drawing attention to himself.

A junior at the time, Hope had spent his freshman and sophomore years at Mount Vernon High School. But Hope’s stepfather, Joshua, retired from the Navy after living at Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County, and the family moved south in search of more affordable housing.

Hope started at Colonial Forge a month late because his mother mistakenly thought Stafford students began the school year the same time those in Fairfax did. The family also was closing on their house.

With all the last-second changes, Hope knew no one at Colonial Forge and expected no one to know him.

But during a math class Hope’s first day, a teacher said Hope’s name during roll call and something clicked for Ethan

Renshaw. A Colonial Forge baseball player, Renshaw asked Hope if he was the same kid who clobbered a home run that made the rounds on Twitter?

Hope humbly confirmed he was that person, confused how one play during the summer between his sophomore and junior year from a travel ball game could still resonate with others. But staying true to himself, he had no desire to announce his presence, even to Colangelo.

Instead, Colangelo first learned Hope was at Colonial Forge after Prep Baseball Report, a high school scouting service, kept tagging him in reports about Hope. At first, Colangelo figured it was a mistake.

But to be safe, Colangelo, who does not teach at the school, asked his son, Zach, to see if in fact Hope was enrolled at Colonial Forge. Zach validated Hope’s arrival. Then on Hope’s first at-bat during an intrasquad scrimmage, Hope validated his talent by hitting a home run.

“Oh, OK,” Colangelo remembers telling himself. “He’s pretty good.”

As word quickly spread about Hope, Colangelo constantly found himself answering the same questions from other teams’ players, all wondering the same thing: Who is this Zyhir Hope they keep hearing about?

Hope didn’t disappoint. He finished his junior season hitting .418 with 20 stolen bases and a school-record 15 doubles, while going 3-1 with 50 strikeouts and four saves in 23.2 innings on the mound. He also teamed with Zach Colangelo to form a potent one-two punch at the top of the batting order, aptly dubbed ZZ Top in honor of the rock band. The Eagles went 18-6 before losing to Battlefield 5-4 in eight innings in the Class 6, Region B quarterfinals.

“It’s fun,” said Zach, a Longwood signee and .405 hitter last spring with a schoolrecord 24 stolen bases. “I get on base and he hits me in. Anything can happen. We help each other out.”

Bright Future

Near the end of 2022, Major League Baseball scouts began streaming through the Hope home as they started doing due diligence on prospects in preparation for the July draft.

The conversations were informal. The scouts got to know Hope better and vice versa. Things picked up early this year as Hope attended at least two pro days in front of scouts before high school baseball practice begins Feb. 20. Colonial Forge opens its regular season March 13 at Woodbridge. Baseball experts such as Colangelo and Covington fervently believe Hope has what scouts like in pro prospects. At 6-feet tall and 202 pounds, Hope melds power with speed, running a 6.55 60-yard dash and recording 105 mph exit velocity off the bat. And although he does everything else righthanded, he has the rare benefit of throwing and hitting left-handed.

A year ago, Hope was still a relative unknown to Division I programs. But he evolved into a prospect who eventually drew attention from Power 5 schools, including North Carolina. He committed to the Tar Heels Sept. 4 and is a member of a 2023 recruiting class ranked No. 9 in the country by Baseball America.

“He’s a five-tool athlete,” Colangelo said. “He has speed and arm strength and power.”

At this point, Hope remains noncommittal about his pro baseball plans. A lot will depend on what round he’s selected in and whether the associated bonus money would be enough to forgo college. He has an advisor named Jake Rosner of Octagon. In talking about the process, Hope only says a few scouts have come through initially. Even though it’s certainly more, Hope would rather downplay it. It’s his nature to remain ego-less.

Instead, he looks forward to one more high school season with his teammates and finding ways to contribute with his personality and ability. That’s his nature as well.

“I respect it, but I don’t want to make it as big as it sounds,” Hope said in reference to the attention he receives. “I’m a regular person and I want to be known as a happy person. I understand people know me for baseball, but I also want to be known outside of baseball.”

David Fawcett is sports editor of InsideNoVa. He can be reached at dfawcett@insidenova.com.

Yeung chosen as first Black chair in county history

Dr. Pamela Yeung, the Garrisonville District representative on the Stafford County Board of Supervisors, was selected by her fellow board members last month to serve as chair for 2023.

Yeung becomes the first Black person voted as chair in Stafford’s history. The vice chair is Tom Coen of the George Washington District.

“I have a background in transformational leadership, and I look forward to using my skills to unite the board and staff in moving forward with shared goals,” Yeung said. “At the end of the day, we are here to serve. I want to ensure we are providing the best levels of service to our residents.”

Yeung began serving on the board last year and was also its vice chairman. Before being elected to the board, she served on the Stafford County School Board and the Stafford County Telecommunications Commission. Coen began serving on the board in 2018 and also served as vice chair in 2020. In addition to Yeung and Coen, other members are Tinesha Allen, Griffis-Widewater District; Meg Bohmke, Falmouth District; Monica Gary, Aquia District; Darrell English, Hartwood District; and Crystal Vanuch, Rock Hill District.

Dr. George Hummer leaves for Frederick County schools

Stafford educator Dr. George Hummer began work Jan. 30 as the new superintendent of Frederick County Public Schools, in the Winchester area of Virginia.

Hummer has been an educator for 18 years, beginning as a special education teacher, athletic director, and coach before taking on the assistant principal role at Rodney E. Thompson Middle School. He then became the school system’s chief student support services officer. In that role, Hummer introduced initiatives that led to student academic performance improvements, narrowed gaps in student access and opportunity, and increased student support services, according to a news release.

“Dr. Hummer has demonstrated a passion for serving students and standardizing practices for students with disabilities,” said Stafford Schools Superintendent Dr. Thomas W. Taylor. “Frederick County is gaining a student-focused leader that will affect incredible change in his new role.”

A New Jersey native and graduate of Chancellor High School, Hummer received Virginia’s Mary Lou Wall Award of Excellence for Early Career Special Education leaders in 2021.