With two of the three Johnson County selections in this week’s Major League Baseball Draft being Blue Valley Southwest High School products, a pattern has developed under head baseball coach Tyler Kincaid.
He’s got a knack for developing pitchers.
Former Timberwolves pitcher Ben Bybee, after his junior season at the University of Arkansas this spring, reports this week to the San Francisco Giants minor league facility in Arizona as an eighth-round draft choice.
Bybee’s high school teammate, pitcher Charlie Christensen, also coming off his junior season at the University of Central Arkansas, was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 15th round.
The third Johnson County native taken this week was Jackson Lovich, who also reports this week to the New York Yankees minor league facility in Florida as a 16th round pick.
Lovich played at Blue Valley West and finished his collegiate career this season as the Missouri Tigers’ starting shortstop. His younger brother, Eli, currently plays in the Chicago Cubs minor league system after signing out of Blue Valley West last year.
When asked about the recent stream of pitchers coming out of Southwest, Bybee said, “Coach Kincaid at Southwest, probably one of my favorite coaches, has a big-time college background.”
Charlie Christensen pitched for the University of Central Arkansas. Photo credit Jhude Dizon.
Prior to coaching in the Blue Valley School District, Kincaid was the Kansas State University pitching coach during the final three years of the Brad Hill head coaching era, from 2016 to 2018.
“He (Kincaid) does things the right way and teaches us the game the bright way,” said Bybee, who helped the Razorbacks reach the College World Series this year. “He has all the pitchers on a throwing program and a (weight) lifting schedule that you would see if you were in college.”
In addition to Bybee and Christensen, former Timberwolves pitcher Ben Kudrna is now with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, the AA affiliate of the Kansas City Royals.
“The biggest thing for me is keeping them healthy,” said Kincaid, a national coach of the year in 2022 after back-to-back state high school championships at Southwest.
Christensen would like to follow the path to the big leagues paved by another former member of the Central Arkansas Bears — Noah Cameron, a rookie starting pitcher for the Royals.
“I’ve been watching every single start he’s thrown,” said Christensen, who started 15 games for the Bears this season and finished with a 4-5 record.
Kincaid believes Christensen can take a similar route to the big leagues.
“He looks like a man. He’s always been a high-ceiling guy,” said Kincaid.
Lovich was Mizzou’s bright spot in a season when the Tigers finished with an overall record of 16-39. He was their leading hitter with a .357 average, 12 homers and 51 RBI.
Lovich attributed his individual success to his approach.
“Being positive even though times weren’t great, but I think just being that light in the dugout was something that made me happy,” said Lovich, whose older brother Ross also played at Mizzou.
This isn’t the first go-round in the MLB draft for Lovich. He was drafted by the New York Mets in the 19th round after his high school career but chose college with no regrets.
“It was definitely something I needed and very developmental,” Lovich said. “Not just baseball-wise, but also character.”
All three of these Johnson County prospects now hope to take their developmental stage to a different level as professional baseball players.
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