SE: 2nd Grade Teammates Wicks and McCullough Reunite in Manhattan

By: Austin Siegel

Jordan Wicks wasn't sure if this was a thing that K-State baseball players usually did.

A few months into his first semester in Manhattan, Wicks walked into Pitching Coach Buck Taylor's office and told him that the Wildcats needed to sign Connor McCullough.

"I went in there and said, 'Look, I don't know if you normally let players give you recommendations on recruiting,'" Wicks said. "'But this guy was at Arkansas, we need the pitching and this guy can play.' I had only been at K-State for about three months."

It wasn't much time for Wicks to prove his eye for scouting talent to his new coaches. But after spending most of his life playing baseball with McCullough, Wicks was more than just a scout.

Growing up in Arkansas, Wicks and McCullough first crossed paths as seven-year-olds playing for the Dairy Queen Crushers outside of Little Rock. Over a decade before taking the mound in Manhattan, they provided the DQ Crushers with some serious elementary school lumber.

"Back in the tee ball days, Jordan was way stronger than I was. He would always hit home runs," McCullough said. "Every time he would do it, I would try and switch my bat to whatever he was using so I could hit a home run too."

Jordan Wicks pitching for the DQ Crushers

Wicks remembers traveling with McCullough and their teammates to a tournament in Memphis, back when "you don't even know if you're any good."

They were two of the biggest kids on the DQ Crushers, holding down the middle of the lineup for a team coached by – and this is where the story veers towards the plot of an 80's baseball movie – former K-State pitcher and local Dairy Queen owner Scott Stroth.

"Jordan was always such a good hitter growing up. I thought he had a chance to play in college and maybe even the next level at first base," Stroth said. "Connor was the same way. When you have those two guys as your best pitchers, we won a lot of tournaments throughout the years."

A draft pick of the San Francisco Giants, Stroth coached Wicks and McCullough through high school, as his two former power hitters began to receive national attention for their work on the mound.

Wicks quickly emerged as a promising young pitcher and the ace of their travel ball team throughout middle school. McCullough took a few more years to hit his stride as a pitcher, but when he did, it was hard not to notice the hard-throwing right hander on the mound.

"I was always one of the better pitchers until we were like 14 or 15. And then, Connor had a big jump in velocity, and it became really apparent that he was going to be a pitcher at the D1 level," Wicks said. "We were 14 and Connor was in the low 80's and then he came back after our freshman year and he's throwing 88. We were like, 'Wow, where did this come from?'"

Connor McCullough pitching for the DQ Crushers

McCullough was pitching at the Arkansas state tournament when he was clocked with a radar gun for the first time. He was already throwing in the mid-80's.

"That was a big deal back in the day," McCullough. "I was also starting to work on some other stuff and our coach taught me this pretty sick curveball that nobody could really hit."

Even with his improved velocity, McCullough said he wasn't expecting to play D1 college baseball until he pitched at a showcase where he caught the attention of the Oklahoma Sooners, managed by current K-State Head Coach Pete Hughes.

McCullough ended up heading to Arkansas as a freshman to pitch in the SEC.

Despite interest from several in-state schools, Wicks committed to K-State after a visit to Manhattan and his connection to Stroth and former coach Rollie Kenny.

"My experience in the past at K-State was awesome," Stroth said. "I was close to Jordan, Connor and their families and I think hearing about K-State and the feeling of family there resonated with them as they grew up. It kind of became a natural fit."

In high school, Wicks wasn't even sure if there was a path for him as a D1 pitcher, with several coaches recommending he try and make it as a two way-player in college.

"My love has always been pitching," he said. "That's where I always felt the most comfortable. I always knew that when it came down to it, pitching was going to be what I wanted to do and pitching was going to be my way to make it to the next level."

K-State took a chance on Wicks as a member of their starting rotation. All he did during his first season in Manhattan was author one of the best seasons from a freshman in the history of the program.

With a 6-2 record and 3.20 ERA to lead all conference freshmen, Wicks capped his first season at K-State with a five-hit shutout over No. 14 Texas in Austin and took home Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors.

He did it all wearing number 33, Stroth's old jersey from his time at K-State.

"I think I teared up to be honest with you," Stroth said. "It wasn't something that I was expecting. I thought it was a great gesture. If you talk to Jordan, he's just a class kid."

No performance from Wicks was more impressive – or meaningful – than his pitch to McCullough to join K-State after he decided to transfer from Arkansas as a freshman.

"He's a good salesman. Wicks told me everything I needed to know and he got my attention pretty quickly," McCullough said. "He's been a pretty big part of the recruiting process for a couple of kids at K-State. I think he something like 3-for-5 on recruits that end up committing."

"It's probably the most nervous I've ever been," Wicks said. "I was like if I know this guy and he's really good, should I say something to the coaches?"

McCullough said that his familiarity with Coach Hughes was another reason why he decided to commit to the Wildcats as a transfer. After sitting out his freshman season due to NCAA rules, he joined Wicks in K-State's starting rotation for the 2020 season.

His first year in Manhattan was limited to just 24 innings due to COVID-19, but McCullough showed exactly why his old cleanup hitter with the DQ Crushers was so excited to recruit him.

Opponents hit only .225 off McCullough as he struck out 29 batters and picked up wins over Missouri and Fairleigh Dickinson, pitching in the same weekend rotation as Wicks.

"It's awesome. Wicks hasn't changed since we were younger. He's always been that pitcher that nobody wants to face," McCullough said. "Knowing somebody that long and being on the same team with them is awesome."

Wicks and McCullough are back in Arkansas during the remote semester and plan to pitch together on a rec league baseball team this summer. And just in case you forgot this is essentially an 80's baseball movie, Wicks is working for Stroth back at the local Dairy Queen this semester.

Whenever they team up again in Manhattan, it will be hard to miss the DQ Crushers at the heart of the Wildcats rotation.

"They just took a chance on Connor and took my word," Wicks said. "Thank goodness for my sake it ended up paying off."

Kansas State University Athletics

SE: 2nd Grade Teammates Wicks and McCullough Reunite in Manhattan

Players Mentioned

Connor McCullough

Jordan Wicks

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