SE: K-State Baseball Continues to Set the Bar High in Fundraising Efforts
Nov 10, 2021 | Baseball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Tom and Lori Evans wore Kansas State baseball caps while sitting on a couch in their Nashville, Tennessee home. They thanked the K-State baseball team for their support in a video message displayed upon the video board at Tointon Family Stadium. Last January, they lost their 12-year-old son, Noah, to a type of brain tumor for which there currently is no cure.
But K-State baseball was there for support.
The crowd of fans that attended the third game of the K-State baseball program's annual intrasquad Fall World Series stood in silence. K-State head coach Pete Hughes and his baseball players watched the video while standing along the third-base line. Some players wore purple uniforms in support of Katie's Way, others wore gray uniforms in support of No Stone Unturned — two local Manhattan non-profit organizations that strive to improve the lives of children.
K-State baseball continues to strive to let children such as Noah know that they are with them.
"Noah was really sick and loved baseball," Hughes said, standing near home plate after viewing the video message from Tom and Lori Evans. "He did more uplifting for our guys than our guys did for him."
Hughes turned around. His players stood upon a tarp between home plate and the pitcher's mound. Several of the players sat on metal chairs. Women in dark aprons shaved their heads while everyone cheered. This was the annual ritual following the three-day Fall World Series, an event called "Shave for the Brave," in which every K-State player voluntarily shaved his head to show solidarity in support of cancer research.
"This is my fourth year shaving my head," senior Terrence Spurlin said. "Noah's story is truly inspirational to everybody in our locker room. It really impacted our team. Just giving back, it's great. It's awesome putting a face with the story and to understand how we were able to impact Noah and his family. It's a great foundation and a great cause."
There is no college baseball team in America that raises more money for the College Baseball Vs. Cancer campaign than K-State. For a fourth straight year, K-State baseball has laid claim to the national fundraising title. The dollar figures were listed upon the video board — $28,293 in 2018, $28,742 in 2019, $38,019 in 2020, and $35,336 in 2021. That's $128,390 raised by K-State's fundraising drive for the non-profit organization over the four-year span. In 2020, K-State raised nearly $10,000 more than any other college baseball program.
Hughes serves as an ambassador for Vs. Cancer, which is the signature fundraising campaign of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. The Evans family shared their story with the ambassadors. David Mays, senior campaign manager for Vs. Cancer, put Hughes in touch with the family. Due to the pandemic, the Evans family was unable to visit the K-State baseball team in Manhattan. But before the Evans family knew it, they had a Zoom meeting with the entire K-State baseball team.
Hughes told them, "These guys are now your brothers."
K-State baseball honored Noah by putting his initials "NE" on their hats last season. They sent the Evans family photos of a locker inside the locker room. The nameplate read: "NOAH EVANS." They sent Noah a K-State baseball uniform.
"Unfortunately, he passed away a few months after we spoke with him, but he still lives on within our program," Hughes said. "His fight and passion was always with our team."
Shave for the Brave came after the baseball program held the ALS Awareness Halloween Game on October 30, in which coaches and players dressed in costumes and played an entertaining game of baseball while raising money for ALS. The baseball team also volunteered at the Manhattan Just Tri It Triathlon and Alzheimer's Association and conducted a Manhattan Catbacker Club youth baseball clinic in August.
Such events are a part of Hughes' 19 Ways community service initiatives.
Hughes announced the community service initiative "19 Ways" in September 2018 upon his hiring as K-State head coach. 19 Ways was designed to have a positive impact on the Manhattan area on 19 different occasions. The program was named in honor of his late mother, Alice, whose favorite number was 19.
Hughes wears the No. 19 uniform, and originally developed the fundraising concept as head coach at Virginia Tech in 2009 before he instilled the program while serving as head coach at Oklahoma. Other baseball programs have taken notice of Hughes' work and Notre Dame, Northern Illinois, Virginia Tech and Northeastern are just a few such programs to follow Hughes' lead.
For four straight years, K-State baseball has led the nation through its fundraising efforts.
"Our kids understand the big picture and know how privileged they are to be healthy, to be a part of this community, and that they are able to help people who really need their help," Hughes said. "To go out and raise the money that they do takes effort and high-end qualities."
Senior Jeff Heinrich would have it no other way.
"I'm glad we can do something for families," he said. "It means a lot coming together as a team and helping not just the Manhattan community but the nation as a whole. It's one thing to succeed on the field but it's even more powerful when you succeed off the field. It's one thing to play baseball and win games, but when you can enrich people's lives, you're doing a good thing."
Mays was glad to be in attendance to witness K-State baseball's highlight of its fundraising efforts each calendar year.
"K-State continues to be the top fundraiser every year and it's done it for four years now," Mays said. "I know their efforts meant the world to Noah's family just to know there was a baseball team not only raising funds, raising awareness, and shaving their heads, but to know that there was a whole college baseball team behind them and supporting their efforts."
He pointed at the players who sat under the clippers.
"These guys are incredible," he continued. "They continue to set the bar for teams across the country."
Tom and Lori Evans wore Kansas State baseball caps while sitting on a couch in their Nashville, Tennessee home. They thanked the K-State baseball team for their support in a video message displayed upon the video board at Tointon Family Stadium. Last January, they lost their 12-year-old son, Noah, to a type of brain tumor for which there currently is no cure.
But K-State baseball was there for support.
The crowd of fans that attended the third game of the K-State baseball program's annual intrasquad Fall World Series stood in silence. K-State head coach Pete Hughes and his baseball players watched the video while standing along the third-base line. Some players wore purple uniforms in support of Katie's Way, others wore gray uniforms in support of No Stone Unturned — two local Manhattan non-profit organizations that strive to improve the lives of children.
K-State baseball continues to strive to let children such as Noah know that they are with them.
"Noah was really sick and loved baseball," Hughes said, standing near home plate after viewing the video message from Tom and Lori Evans. "He did more uplifting for our guys than our guys did for him."
Hughes turned around. His players stood upon a tarp between home plate and the pitcher's mound. Several of the players sat on metal chairs. Women in dark aprons shaved their heads while everyone cheered. This was the annual ritual following the three-day Fall World Series, an event called "Shave for the Brave," in which every K-State player voluntarily shaved his head to show solidarity in support of cancer research.
"This is my fourth year shaving my head," senior Terrence Spurlin said. "Noah's story is truly inspirational to everybody in our locker room. It really impacted our team. Just giving back, it's great. It's awesome putting a face with the story and to understand how we were able to impact Noah and his family. It's a great foundation and a great cause."
There is no college baseball team in America that raises more money for the College Baseball Vs. Cancer campaign than K-State. For a fourth straight year, K-State baseball has laid claim to the national fundraising title. The dollar figures were listed upon the video board — $28,293 in 2018, $28,742 in 2019, $38,019 in 2020, and $35,336 in 2021. That's $128,390 raised by K-State's fundraising drive for the non-profit organization over the four-year span. In 2020, K-State raised nearly $10,000 more than any other college baseball program.
Hughes serves as an ambassador for Vs. Cancer, which is the signature fundraising campaign of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. The Evans family shared their story with the ambassadors. David Mays, senior campaign manager for Vs. Cancer, put Hughes in touch with the family. Due to the pandemic, the Evans family was unable to visit the K-State baseball team in Manhattan. But before the Evans family knew it, they had a Zoom meeting with the entire K-State baseball team.
Hughes told them, "These guys are now your brothers."
K-State baseball honored Noah by putting his initials "NE" on their hats last season. They sent the Evans family photos of a locker inside the locker room. The nameplate read: "NOAH EVANS." They sent Noah a K-State baseball uniform.
"Unfortunately, he passed away a few months after we spoke with him, but he still lives on within our program," Hughes said. "His fight and passion was always with our team."
Shave for the Brave came after the baseball program held the ALS Awareness Halloween Game on October 30, in which coaches and players dressed in costumes and played an entertaining game of baseball while raising money for ALS. The baseball team also volunteered at the Manhattan Just Tri It Triathlon and Alzheimer's Association and conducted a Manhattan Catbacker Club youth baseball clinic in August.
Such events are a part of Hughes' 19 Ways community service initiatives.
Hughes announced the community service initiative "19 Ways" in September 2018 upon his hiring as K-State head coach. 19 Ways was designed to have a positive impact on the Manhattan area on 19 different occasions. The program was named in honor of his late mother, Alice, whose favorite number was 19.
Hughes wears the No. 19 uniform, and originally developed the fundraising concept as head coach at Virginia Tech in 2009 before he instilled the program while serving as head coach at Oklahoma. Other baseball programs have taken notice of Hughes' work and Notre Dame, Northern Illinois, Virginia Tech and Northeastern are just a few such programs to follow Hughes' lead.
Any haircut to raise awareness to childhood cancer is a good haircut! ✂️🎗️#NCAABaseball x 📸 @KStateBSB pic.twitter.com/VQy4Zkv8b4
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAACWS) November 8, 2021
For four straight years, K-State baseball has led the nation through its fundraising efforts.
"Our kids understand the big picture and know how privileged they are to be healthy, to be a part of this community, and that they are able to help people who really need their help," Hughes said. "To go out and raise the money that they do takes effort and high-end qualities."
Senior Jeff Heinrich would have it no other way.
"I'm glad we can do something for families," he said. "It means a lot coming together as a team and helping not just the Manhattan community but the nation as a whole. It's one thing to succeed on the field but it's even more powerful when you succeed off the field. It's one thing to play baseball and win games, but when you can enrich people's lives, you're doing a good thing."
Mays was glad to be in attendance to witness K-State baseball's highlight of its fundraising efforts each calendar year.
"K-State continues to be the top fundraiser every year and it's done it for four years now," Mays said. "I know their efforts meant the world to Noah's family just to know there was a baseball team not only raising funds, raising awareness, and shaving their heads, but to know that there was a whole college baseball team behind them and supporting their efforts."
He pointed at the players who sat under the clippers.
"These guys are incredible," he continued. "They continue to set the bar for teams across the country."
Players Mentioned
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