BC Pride has reached beyond its All-Stars when BC Baseball player Terry Hayes Jr. was named Pitcher of the Year, recognizing the quality athletes that the college’s baseball program trains.
With Coaches David Olson and Mark Yoshino working diligently behind the scenes with Hayes, the athlete has been recognized as a star athlete for the big leagues. Although Hayes is now graduating from BC with a promising future of playing for Ole Miss, the player has agreed to be featured in an interview for The Watchdog.
Prior to joining the Bellevue College Baseball Team, Hayes played for Liberty High School as a Right-Handed Pitcher and Middle Infielder. At an early age, his parents got him a Tee and a Tee-Ball. Hayes explained that swinging around the backyard with them and playing [tee-ball] for the first time was fun, so he stuck with it since then.
Recruited from Liberty High School, Hayes’ interest in the program piqued when he visited the campus during the summer of his junior year and spoke with Coach Yoshino, who has a quality program to offer to the baseball community.
Another coach involved behind the scenes was Coach Olson, who has been coaching college baseball for 12 seasons, dedicating 9 years to BC as a co-head coach of the baseball team. He explained that as a coach, he is trying to help student athletes come in and develop skills, and prepare them for playing in the future. “As a two-year program here at Bellevue, we move guys on to the next level (whether D1, D2, D3, or NIA),” he stated.
Coach Olson further explained that, “We want to prepare these guys for life, help them build good time management skills, life principles, teamwork.” His efforts, along with Coach Yoshino, can be seen through the numerous players they have produced over the years, including Hayes.
Although the NWAC Championship loss was unfortunate for BC, the players have earned astounding feats, from scholarships to recruitments. Terry Hayes is among the leading players who show the most promise in terms of skills and dedication to the game.
