SE: Meet the DIII Transfer Behind an Unforgettable K-State Baseball Moment
May 06, 2021 | Baseball, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
The first sign that something was up came when Chad Shade noticed the equipment managers.
They were already at Tointon Family Stadium when he got to the ballpark on Sunday, which wasn't all that unusual.
"They're awesome, such a great group," Shade said. "But one of those guys, Antonio Lewis, just started clapping."
This was different.
"He goes, 'Let's give this guy a round of applause,' and I'm just like, 'Tony, what are you talking about man?' He goes, 'Go check the lineup.' I go in there and I see my name right at the top," Shade said. "I was like, 'Oh, here we go.' It was such a cool experience."
Shade got the start in left field against Texas Southern on Sunday, his first as a Wildcat. It would have been a cool moment if nothing else remarkable happened in Manhattan that afternoon. The senior had two at-bats coming into Sunday's game and a walk against Northern Colorado.
But a few hours after K-State defeated Texas Southern 16-1 in seven innings, head coach Pete Hughes spent his postgame press conference talking about the fifth at-bat of Shade's career.
That's when the transfer from Division III Springfield College crushed a three-run homer to left field, the first hit of his K-State career.
"That's a moment that will be in the top 10 of my coaching career," Hughes said. "A great message to our program and our kids moving forward. Our program always pays off hard work, loyalty and team-first guys."
Hughes has been coaching since 1990. To do anything memorable in a game K-State won 16-1 says more about the player than the moment. It makes sense then, that Shade was never supposed to be in Manhattan this season.
His senior year was supposed to begin on a football field in Western Massachusetts, where Shade spent four years playing football and baseball. He didn't have any plans to leave.
"One of the things I loved about Springfield, and it's very similar to here at K-State, is the great people," Shade said. "I was surrounded by amazing people that supported me, and that's why I was able to play two sports."
Football season meant that Shade couldn't play fall baseball at Springfield, before baseball season ruled him out for spring football. It was a hectic schedule, but both coaches kept him involved.
In return, they got a dedicated student-athlete with speed to burn in both sports.
"Coach (Mike) Cerasuolo, who's the head football coach at Springfield and Coach (Mark) Simeone, who's the baseball coach, both worked with me when I wasn't able to be there in the offseason," Shade said.
He played quarterback for the Pride, once rushing for 247 yards and six touchdowns in a game. When baseball season rolled around, Shade was an all-conference outfielder, breaking the program record for runs scored in a season and stealing 32 bases in 2018.
Along the way, Shade became more and more interested in a future as a coach.
Springfield College, where James Naismith invented basketball, William Morgan invented volleyball and Amos Alonzo Stagg once coached the football team, was a good place to be.
But a football injury cost Shade his junior season. Then COVID-19 wiped out DIII sports in 2020.
As he weighed his options, Shade had a conversation with K-State assistant coach Thomas Hughes.
"I played summer ball with Thomas and one of the GAs [at K-State] Patrick Sullivan, and then after I got injured at Springfield College, I was listed as a bench coach just so I could be around the team," Shade said. "Dom Hughes came down and played summer ball that season. Those prior relationships were great and it's kind of funny we all ended up back here in Manhattan."
In chatting with Hughes, Shade began to chart a new path for a unique senior year.
He joined the Wildcats in the spring as a graduate transfer, looking for one more season in college baseball and the opportunity to learn from Pete Hughes about a career in the dugout.
"Coaching is obviously different depending on where you go. I feel like you can learn so much and take so many things away from different coaches and styles," Shade said. "One thing that I've noticed being here with Coach Hughes is I love his approach to coaching…Watching how he goes about his day, how he approaches players and game day, just little things you pick up."
Shade hasn't been a part of the 30-man roster in Big 12 play this season, contributing on the field in Manhattan as a defensive replacement and pinch runner in non-conference games.
Thomas Hughes, in an interview with MassLive.com when Shade joined the Wildcats, compared his former summer league teammate to a guy baseball fans in Kansas might remember.
"You can never have too many moves off the bench late in the game, especially this year when the NCAA is allowing us to have an unlimited amount of people on the roster," he said. "Terrance Gore, for example…you look up and he's on somebody else's postseason roster every year because he can steal bases and nobody can throw him out. It's such a weapon."
For his part, Shade has also been focused on his future in coaching this season, watching how his new head coach leads a program in one of the toughest conferences in college baseball.
"I've definitely enjoyed being here and having the chance to learn some of the different ways that he goes about things," Shade said. "He has unbelievable leadership, and I think that's a big reason this program is heading in the direction that it's heading."
On Sunday afternoon in Manhattan, for a few hours against Texas Southern, Shade wasn't focused on preparing for his future as a coach. He was trying to drive in Daniel Carinci from second base.
With K-State up 11-1 in the fifth inning, the team's final non-conference game of the season was set to end in seven innings due to the run rule.
It would, in all likelihood, be the final at-bat of Chad Shade's college career.
"Earlier in the game, I hit a ball and didn't get through it as well as I would have liked," he said. "This one, I hit a lot cleaner."
Shade might be the worst person at Tointon Family Stadium to ask about what happened next. He "kind of blacked out." At second base, Carinci didn't even pretend to run, just turning around and watching the ball soar over the K-State bullpen in left field.
On Twitter later that day, Shade would hear from former coaches, teammates, opposing players and reporters who covered him for the past four years at Springfield College.
Officially, it was a 365-foot home run. But a better way to measure the blast might be the number of Wildcats who left the dugout to greet Shade on the field. Every single one.
"It wasn't as much hitting the home run," Shade said. "Obviously it was great to hit a home run in a Division I game, but it was all the guys in the dugout just filled with excitement and happiness for me… just being surrounded by great people when things aren't necessarily where you want them to be, that's going to help you get over any obstacle you might have in life."
The first sign that something was up came when Chad Shade noticed the equipment managers.
They were already at Tointon Family Stadium when he got to the ballpark on Sunday, which wasn't all that unusual.
"They're awesome, such a great group," Shade said. "But one of those guys, Antonio Lewis, just started clapping."
This was different.
"He goes, 'Let's give this guy a round of applause,' and I'm just like, 'Tony, what are you talking about man?' He goes, 'Go check the lineup.' I go in there and I see my name right at the top," Shade said. "I was like, 'Oh, here we go.' It was such a cool experience."
Shade got the start in left field against Texas Southern on Sunday, his first as a Wildcat. It would have been a cool moment if nothing else remarkable happened in Manhattan that afternoon. The senior had two at-bats coming into Sunday's game and a walk against Northern Colorado.
But a few hours after K-State defeated Texas Southern 16-1 in seven innings, head coach Pete Hughes spent his postgame press conference talking about the fifth at-bat of Shade's career.
That's when the transfer from Division III Springfield College crushed a three-run homer to left field, the first hit of his K-State career.
First career start ✅
— K-State Baseball (@KStateBSB) May 2, 2021
First career hit ✅
First career home run ✅
What a moment for @chadshade#KStateBSB x EMAW pic.twitter.com/xDlUdvHSZA
"That's a moment that will be in the top 10 of my coaching career," Hughes said. "A great message to our program and our kids moving forward. Our program always pays off hard work, loyalty and team-first guys."
Hughes has been coaching since 1990. To do anything memorable in a game K-State won 16-1 says more about the player than the moment. It makes sense then, that Shade was never supposed to be in Manhattan this season.
His senior year was supposed to begin on a football field in Western Massachusetts, where Shade spent four years playing football and baseball. He didn't have any plans to leave.
"One of the things I loved about Springfield, and it's very similar to here at K-State, is the great people," Shade said. "I was surrounded by amazing people that supported me, and that's why I was able to play two sports."
Football season meant that Shade couldn't play fall baseball at Springfield, before baseball season ruled him out for spring football. It was a hectic schedule, but both coaches kept him involved.
In return, they got a dedicated student-athlete with speed to burn in both sports.
"Coach (Mike) Cerasuolo, who's the head football coach at Springfield and Coach (Mark) Simeone, who's the baseball coach, both worked with me when I wasn't able to be there in the offseason," Shade said.
He played quarterback for the Pride, once rushing for 247 yards and six touchdowns in a game. When baseball season rolled around, Shade was an all-conference outfielder, breaking the program record for runs scored in a season and stealing 32 bases in 2018.
Along the way, Shade became more and more interested in a future as a coach.
Springfield College, where James Naismith invented basketball, William Morgan invented volleyball and Amos Alonzo Stagg once coached the football team, was a good place to be.
But a football injury cost Shade his junior season. Then COVID-19 wiped out DIII sports in 2020.
As he weighed his options, Shade had a conversation with K-State assistant coach Thomas Hughes.
"I played summer ball with Thomas and one of the GAs [at K-State] Patrick Sullivan, and then after I got injured at Springfield College, I was listed as a bench coach just so I could be around the team," Shade said. "Dom Hughes came down and played summer ball that season. Those prior relationships were great and it's kind of funny we all ended up back here in Manhattan."
In chatting with Hughes, Shade began to chart a new path for a unique senior year.
He joined the Wildcats in the spring as a graduate transfer, looking for one more season in college baseball and the opportunity to learn from Pete Hughes about a career in the dugout.
"Coaching is obviously different depending on where you go. I feel like you can learn so much and take so many things away from different coaches and styles," Shade said. "One thing that I've noticed being here with Coach Hughes is I love his approach to coaching…Watching how he goes about his day, how he approaches players and game day, just little things you pick up."
Shade hasn't been a part of the 30-man roster in Big 12 play this season, contributing on the field in Manhattan as a defensive replacement and pinch runner in non-conference games.
Thomas Hughes, in an interview with MassLive.com when Shade joined the Wildcats, compared his former summer league teammate to a guy baseball fans in Kansas might remember.
"You can never have too many moves off the bench late in the game, especially this year when the NCAA is allowing us to have an unlimited amount of people on the roster," he said. "Terrance Gore, for example…you look up and he's on somebody else's postseason roster every year because he can steal bases and nobody can throw him out. It's such a weapon."
For his part, Shade has also been focused on his future in coaching this season, watching how his new head coach leads a program in one of the toughest conferences in college baseball.
"I've definitely enjoyed being here and having the chance to learn some of the different ways that he goes about things," Shade said. "He has unbelievable leadership, and I think that's a big reason this program is heading in the direction that it's heading."
A day to remember #KStateBSB x @chadshade pic.twitter.com/tO7byRkvgi
— K-State Baseball (@KStateBSB) May 2, 2021
On Sunday afternoon in Manhattan, for a few hours against Texas Southern, Shade wasn't focused on preparing for his future as a coach. He was trying to drive in Daniel Carinci from second base.
With K-State up 11-1 in the fifth inning, the team's final non-conference game of the season was set to end in seven innings due to the run rule.
It would, in all likelihood, be the final at-bat of Chad Shade's college career.
"Earlier in the game, I hit a ball and didn't get through it as well as I would have liked," he said. "This one, I hit a lot cleaner."
Shade might be the worst person at Tointon Family Stadium to ask about what happened next. He "kind of blacked out." At second base, Carinci didn't even pretend to run, just turning around and watching the ball soar over the K-State bullpen in left field.
On Twitter later that day, Shade would hear from former coaches, teammates, opposing players and reporters who covered him for the past four years at Springfield College.
Officially, it was a 365-foot home run. But a better way to measure the blast might be the number of Wildcats who left the dugout to greet Shade on the field. Every single one.
"It wasn't as much hitting the home run," Shade said. "Obviously it was great to hit a home run in a Division I game, but it was all the guys in the dugout just filled with excitement and happiness for me… just being surrounded by great people when things aren't necessarily where you want them to be, that's going to help you get over any obstacle you might have in life."
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