SE: How Nick Goodwin Became K-State’s Latest Freshman Phenom
Apr 22, 2021 | Baseball, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
Pete Hughes had a problem.
Injuries and a winless start to Big 12 play meant changes were coming to the K-State lineup. The head coach of the Wildcats just needed to decide where.
He was asked before K-State took on No. 3 Texas Tech if he might consider moving Nick Goodwin from second base to shortstop.
"He needs to develop in that phase of the game. He will," Hughes said. "It's a faster pace than he's used to in high school or at the travel ball level. That takes time. But I see him playing in our infield in the future."
The future arrived for Goodwin about two weeks later, when he climbed the ladder to grab a line drive and take a hit away from Oklahoma as the starting shortstop for the Wildcats.
On Wednesday morning, the NCAA Baseball Twitter account ranked it as one of their plays of the week in college baseball. It would have been surprising from almost any other freshman.
But Goodwin has redefined what's possible from a first-year baseball player at K-State, ever since his first game against an Oregon State team with College World Series experience.
"It was surreal," Goodwin said. "I was stuck in the moment and I still remember going up for my first at bat. You look at the pitcher and see Oregon State across the jersey like, 'Holy crap, this actually happening.' It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed every second of it."
Hughes batted the true freshman second against the Beavers, which should have been a spoiler about what was about to happen that afternoon in Surprise, Arizona.
Goodwin walked on four pitches in his first college at bat. Then, with K-State still searching for their first hit of the season, he lined a double just inside the bag at third to score a pair.
Through the first 20 at bats of his K-State career, Goodwin was hitting .450 and powering the Wildcats on offense. The question then is how a kid from Overland Park, who didn't even have a senior season in high school, arrived in Manhattan ready to rake like a teenage Roy Hobbs?
Start with what Goodwin has done since making his debut against Oregon State.
"As a college baseball player, you've got to make adjustments every game," he said. "Everyone knows how to pitch, they know where they can pitch you and they know your spots in the zone. I work with Coach [Austin] Wates a lot and read the scouting reports on myself."
Goodwin is part of a freshman class that's found a way to contribute right away in Manhattan.
While some of the first-year players on the Wildcats were here in 2020, before COVID-19 wiped out the spring season, both Goodwin and his roommate, Cameron Uselton, arrived this year.
To explain his adjustment to college baseball that, to anyone watching, hasn't looked like much of an adjustment at all, Goodwin points to the mound.
"Arguably we've got the three best weekend starters in the Big 12," he said. "We've got the best of the best. The guys we're facing in practice are better than the guys we face in games."
Of course, anyone can stand in the box while Jordan Wicks pumps changeups past you. For the true freshmen on the Wildcats, finding success this spring has also been about work ethic.
"Cam and I are going up to hit on our own just about every single night," Goodwin said. "We're putting our time and dedication into it to help the team."
That's something no college baseball coach can teach, certainly not this quickly, but Pete Hughes hasn't needed to with Goodwin.
His father and uncle both played professional baseball, with his cousin Joey Goodwin a former K-State baseball player. These are the guys, Nick Goodwin said, who always keep him humble.
"My Dad told me halfway through high school that he was going to stop being my coach and start playing the Dad role," Goodwin said. "He knew there were so many guys in my ear before and after games, but he still coaches me up and gives me pointers. I think that's good."
When COVID-19 wiped out Goodwin's senior season at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, preparing for his next step at K-State became even more of a priority.
He focused on putting on weight and improving his speed, even shadowing a few members of the Kansas City Royals who came to work out at his club team's facility over the summer.
Arriving at K-State for workouts in the fall, Goodwin finally got to play for a coach who had been keeping up with him throughout his high school career.
"I knew the track record that Coach Hughes had, and he told me about all the renovations they were going to be putting in. I fell in love with the place over those phone calls," Goodwin said. "He lets us play the way we want. He lets us play fast. If you boot a ball but you're playing 100 miles an hour, he's not going to scream and yell. We're playing the game the right way."
Goodwin's batting average hasn't dropped below .295 since the third game of the season, and his defensive prowess has been on display even as he adjusts to life at shortstop. That kind of talent, right away at the college level, is something his head coach can certainly appreciate.
"Especially in a year like this, there are probably three guys in the Big 12 that are having the type of impact on their lineup that Nick's having with ours," Hughes said. "It doesn't happen."
To make that jump, the freshman has needed more than talent. Hughes has seen it since Goodwin arrived on campus, but now, the rest of the Big 12 gets a front row seat.
"There are a lot of true freshmen that come into programs who are good enough, otherwise we wouldn't have recruited them," Hughes said. "But there's an adjustment period to get settled into the Big 12 and college baseball. There was no adjustment period for Nick."
Pete Hughes had a problem.
Injuries and a winless start to Big 12 play meant changes were coming to the K-State lineup. The head coach of the Wildcats just needed to decide where.
He was asked before K-State took on No. 3 Texas Tech if he might consider moving Nick Goodwin from second base to shortstop.
"He needs to develop in that phase of the game. He will," Hughes said. "It's a faster pace than he's used to in high school or at the travel ball level. That takes time. But I see him playing in our infield in the future."
The future arrived for Goodwin about two weeks later, when he climbed the ladder to grab a line drive and take a hit away from Oklahoma as the starting shortstop for the Wildcats.
On Wednesday morning, the NCAA Baseball Twitter account ranked it as one of their plays of the week in college baseball. It would have been surprising from almost any other freshman.
Goodie goes🆙 https://t.co/4hoY6h3JQE
— K-State Baseball (@KStateBSB) April 21, 2021
But Goodwin has redefined what's possible from a first-year baseball player at K-State, ever since his first game against an Oregon State team with College World Series experience.
"It was surreal," Goodwin said. "I was stuck in the moment and I still remember going up for my first at bat. You look at the pitcher and see Oregon State across the jersey like, 'Holy crap, this actually happening.' It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed every second of it."
Hughes batted the true freshman second against the Beavers, which should have been a spoiler about what was about to happen that afternoon in Surprise, Arizona.
Goodwin walked on four pitches in his first college at bat. Then, with K-State still searching for their first hit of the season, he lined a double just inside the bag at third to score a pair.
Through the first 20 at bats of his K-State career, Goodwin was hitting .450 and powering the Wildcats on offense. The question then is how a kid from Overland Park, who didn't even have a senior season in high school, arrived in Manhattan ready to rake like a teenage Roy Hobbs?
Start with what Goodwin has done since making his debut against Oregon State.
"As a college baseball player, you've got to make adjustments every game," he said. "Everyone knows how to pitch, they know where they can pitch you and they know your spots in the zone. I work with Coach [Austin] Wates a lot and read the scouting reports on myself."
Goodwin is part of a freshman class that's found a way to contribute right away in Manhattan.
While some of the first-year players on the Wildcats were here in 2020, before COVID-19 wiped out the spring season, both Goodwin and his roommate, Cameron Uselton, arrived this year.
To explain his adjustment to college baseball that, to anyone watching, hasn't looked like much of an adjustment at all, Goodwin points to the mound.
"Arguably we've got the three best weekend starters in the Big 12," he said. "We've got the best of the best. The guys we're facing in practice are better than the guys we face in games."
Of course, anyone can stand in the box while Jordan Wicks pumps changeups past you. For the true freshmen on the Wildcats, finding success this spring has also been about work ethic.
"Cam and I are going up to hit on our own just about every single night," Goodwin said. "We're putting our time and dedication into it to help the team."
That's something no college baseball coach can teach, certainly not this quickly, but Pete Hughes hasn't needed to with Goodwin.
His father and uncle both played professional baseball, with his cousin Joey Goodwin a former K-State baseball player. These are the guys, Nick Goodwin said, who always keep him humble.
"My Dad told me halfway through high school that he was going to stop being my coach and start playing the Dad role," Goodwin said. "He knew there were so many guys in my ear before and after games, but he still coaches me up and gives me pointers. I think that's good."
When COVID-19 wiped out Goodwin's senior season at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, preparing for his next step at K-State became even more of a priority.
He focused on putting on weight and improving his speed, even shadowing a few members of the Kansas City Royals who came to work out at his club team's facility over the summer.
Arriving at K-State for workouts in the fall, Goodwin finally got to play for a coach who had been keeping up with him throughout his high school career.
"I knew the track record that Coach Hughes had, and he told me about all the renovations they were going to be putting in. I fell in love with the place over those phone calls," Goodwin said. "He lets us play the way we want. He lets us play fast. If you boot a ball but you're playing 100 miles an hour, he's not going to scream and yell. We're playing the game the right way."
Goodwin's batting average hasn't dropped below .295 since the third game of the season, and his defensive prowess has been on display even as he adjusts to life at shortstop. That kind of talent, right away at the college level, is something his head coach can certainly appreciate.
"Especially in a year like this, there are probably three guys in the Big 12 that are having the type of impact on their lineup that Nick's having with ours," Hughes said. "It doesn't happen."
To make that jump, the freshman has needed more than talent. Hughes has seen it since Goodwin arrived on campus, but now, the rest of the Big 12 gets a front row seat.
"There are a lot of true freshmen that come into programs who are good enough, otherwise we wouldn't have recruited them," Hughes said. "But there's an adjustment period to get settled into the Big 12 and college baseball. There was no adjustment period for Nick."
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