By Thomas Sellers Jr.
This afternoon the Munford Cougar Baseball program celebrated the signings of seniors Steve Kendrick and Nick Johnson to Southwest Tennessee Baseball.
Kendrick and Johnson were joined by family, friends, teammates and school officials for the ceremony in the Munford High School Library.
Kendrick signed his letter of intent alongside his parents Pam and Richard, sister Shelby. Meanwhile Johnson invited his mother Nikki Johnson, grandmother Carolyn Foster and aunt Jackie Ramson for his inking of the commitment to the Salquis.
Johnson will be a left-hander in Munford Head Coach Scotty Yount’s rotation in 2018. Last season Johnson helped the Cougars reach State for the first time in 13 years with his defense in centerfield.
“Nick has really grown up since I’ve been here,” Yount noted. “That’s what he needed to do. He has the physical skill set to be as good as he wants to be. High ceiling and the best is yet to come from him. And I hope it starts this spring.
“His role for us, he’s going start in centerfield,” the Skipper continued. “I hope he can leadoff for us. We’ve been working really hard at his offensive game. Most important part, we’ll need him to be a No. 1 or No. 2 for us on the mound. If he does that, we’ll be in a position to be where we were last year.”
Yount said Johnson has a chance to develop his arm with Southwest to go further with baseball in the future. Kendrick attracted schools like Southwest with his bat.
With power to all fields, Kendrick has played all over the field for Cougars in his first three years as catcher, third base, pitcher to name a few.
“Stev-o is a real versatile player that can hit, hit for power and hit for average,” Yount said. “He can move a runner. He can just handle the bat really well. He can do whatever the team needs him to do. He can play all over the field. He’s one of those guys you can plug in to get you better.
“And he can give you some innings on the mound when you need him.
he continued. “They’re getting a good one. Good route for him because he definitely play beyond there.”
Kendrick hit 13 home runs his sophomore season earning a spot in a national home run derby in Miami that year. Kendrick finished 15th among 50 hitters from across America crushing a 468 foot shot in Florida.
