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Overcoming the odds: Coffee’s Keegan McGovern named one of the nation’s best freshmen

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Keegan McGovern Submitted Photo Keegan McGovern

By Brandon Miller

Former major league pitcher Randy Johnson once stated, “No matter who you are, you're going to get hurt in your career and you have to be patient to get through the injuries.” Former Coffee High Trojan shortstop and starting pitcher Keegan McGovern will embark on his journey into college baseball this spring for the University of Georgia, but his journey has been filled with peaks and valleys. And along the way, he’s had to take Mr. Johnson’s advice on more than one occasion. Through his relentless work ethic and absolute refusal to give up, Keegan has become one of the top freshman baseball players in the country.

Keegan started playing baseball at age five, and his travel baseball career kicked off at age seven. Keegan earned a scholarship offer from then-University of Georgia head coach David Perno while in 10th grade. “Georgia was the only college that offered me at that age and Georgia was the top college I wanted to go to,” Keegan states, sitting in the office of Kevin McGovern, his father. But, everything almost was thrown off course when Keegan injured his left knee in an early season football practice. “The first injury happened on kick-off team. I was running down the field, planted, and my ACL just snapped on me. It felt like somebody shot me in the knee, so I sat out the practice and medical staff took me to the doctor for an MRI. It said I had a torn ACL,” Keegan recalls.

Keegan had never been injured seriously before. “I didn’t know what the timetable would be, and I didn’t know if I would be back for the baseball season,” he says. Keegan hoped for a speedy recovery but his hopes were soon dashed. He learned he had about seven months of rehab and he knew it was going to be tough. Still, Keegan had his sights set on returning for a junior campaign on the baseball field. “I worked hard to push through and get my rehab done so I could be back full strength for the season,” Keegan states. Keegan knew his football season was over, but his junior baseball season could be saved.  Feb. 1 was the first Trojan baseball practice and Keegan had five months to rehabilitate a torn ACL and his rehabilitation schedule was rigorous at best, downright frustrating at its worst. “Two times a day if you have something to play for,” Keegan says bluntly. Not only did Keegan have a baseball season ahead, but he also needed to prove he was worthy of being a Georgia recruit. For two hours twice a day, he rehabilitated his knee.

Keegan also had a weight program designed by head football coach Robbie Pruitt and strength coach Mike Boothe. This gave Keegan an advantage in rehabilitation any normal high school would not have been able to provide. “To be a student athlete, you have to love the game. It’s all fun from the outside, but it’s a lot of work. Coach Boothe’s program accelerated my rehabilitation time,” says Keegan.

Despite all the hard work, his junior year didn’t go the way he had planned. By his own admission, it was a sub-par season. “I didn’t hit well at all; the year didn’t work out like I wanted it to,” he says. His junior season totals of a .286 batting average, five home runs and 24 runs batted in did not meet the high expectations he had.  Baseball scholarships, however, are more binding and pulling a scholarship after the athlete has committed to a school is a little more frowned upon by the baseball community.

With his junior baseball season behind him, Keegan once again set out to compete as a senior on the gridiron for the Trojans as the starting quarterback. Though he had his sights set on a collegiate baseball career, Keegan could have played football if he wanted to. Kipp Adams of ESPN once tweeted, “Coffee High's Keegan McGovern is the best quarterback I've seen all year.” Dabo Swinney, Clemson’s head football coach, even ventured to Coffee County to offer Keegan a dual scholarship for football and baseball. By Keegan’s senior year, the Trojan offense also had morphed into a spread rushing attack that mirrored Clemson’s offense. And Keegan was to be the centerpiece of the scheme.

Then, pardon the pun, Keegan was thrown another curveball during the spring football game. On a long quarterback scramble in the first quarter, Keegan tore the same ACL he spent most of the year rehabilitating. “The first thought was ‘not again’,” Keegan says, speaking wearily of the injury. Many have played high school sports and never came back from an injury of this proportion. Most individuals can name at least one person they know who was injured during their playing days and never came back or failed to regain their original strength. The thought of never playing again did go through Keegan’s mind. “There were several times I thought I couldn’t do this again. You know, seven or eight months of rehabilitation and trying to come back and play baseball, but you have to work hard and realize there’s going be a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Being injured his senior year in football weighed on Keegan. “Missing my senior year of football was tough, but Tyree Paulk stepped in and did as good a job, if not better than I would have,” he says. Soon after his second reconstructive surgery, the University of Georgia fired Coach Perno. “I thought I might not have anywhere to go,” Keegan recalls. Then the university hired Scott Stricklin as head baseball coach. The change had Keegan a bit rattled. “I was hurt and he hadn’t seen me play any, and all he could see was a guy who had torn his ACL twice and he hadn’t seen him play,” says Keegan.

Luckily, Coach Stricklin listened to some people who knew Keegan staff and decided to honor the scholarship. This was a sign of Coach Stricklin’s faith in Keegan. Earning a scholarship in college baseball is a difficult task. Keegan’s father, Kevin McGovern, points out that the summer before a player’s senior year is vital when it comes to getting the attention of professional and college scouts. “As far as the pros go, that summer is the best time to show what you have. Keegan lost that summer.”

Keegan’s future in baseball depended on his willingness to go through another extensive rehabilitation all over again. By this time, Coffee High had hired Joshua Cole away from McEachern High School. Keegan had enough on his plate and now he had to deal with a new coach for his senior season. It would have been easy for him to simply give up.  But that isn’t Keegan McGovern. Not only was he back on the field for his senior baseball season, but he had his best year yet and helped lead the Trojans to a region title.

Keegan led the Trojans in batting (.416), home runs (10), and runs batted in (37), while posting a 5-3 record from the mound. The Trojans advanced to the Elite Eight before losing to Parkview. “Winning the region championship is the biggest moment of my senior year,” Keegan states. “And stealing the championship away from Tift County felt especially good.”

With his senior year behind him, Keegan prepared for the move to Athens. He arrived at the University of Georgia at the beginning of summer semester in 2014. When asked about his daily schedule, he notes, “Our schedules are packed every single day, going to class early, then we will practice and lift weights afterward. The benefit of being a student-athlete is that you have mentors and tutors to help with schoolwork or any questions you have so you don’t have to worry about that stuff during practice. We’re going from eight in the morning till eight o’clock in the evening and we have very little free time.” Keegan added that some players starting college may not be used to the rigors of a college weight program. However, Coach Boothe’s workout regimen prepared him for what he would encounter at Georgia.

Keegan began fall baseball practice as one of only two left-handed hitters in the outfield. He had the chance to either play the outfield or man the designated hitter spot. After a fierce competition during the fall, the Bulldogs closed out their schedule with the annual Red versus Black fall World Series.  After being held silent in game one, Keegan singled and scored a run in game two, leading to a 5-4 win for the Black squad to even the series at one game apiece. In game three, he walked with the bases loaded to put the Black squad on the scoreboard, and he also sparked a rally in the fifth inning with a double. The Red team eventually won 7-5. The Black team responded with a 3-0 win over the Red squad in game four to force a game five. Tied in the final game, Keegan lined a 2-2 single back up the middle to drive in the game winning run. Afterward, he said, “It was nice to get a hit in that spot. It was a pitch I could handle. After I saw it go through the infield, I was just trying to get to first and make sure the run crossed home plate. I could see my teammates running out of the dugout after me.”

It was a fitting end to a successful fall season, and it earned Keegan a spot in the Bulldogs’ outfield in a platoon role. It also caught the attention of college baseball pundits across the country. Heading into the season, Keegan is ranked #81 on the list of top 100 freshmen players in the country. Kevin McGovern states, “Keegan will probably get between 100 and 150 at-bats this year depending on how he handles everything.” This is the normal procedure with young college players who show the potential of blooming into everyday players. Forcing his way into the starting line-up on a daily basis is a task Keegan has become used to in his journey to Athens. He is 100 percent healthy for the first time in two years and he’s ready to make his mark in a Georgia Bulldog uniform. The ‘Dawgs open this season on Feb. 13 against Eastern Illinois and begin Southeastern Conference play against Missouri a month later.

Last modified onFriday, 13 February 2015 15:14
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