Whammer Eyes Milestones in Final Season
Feb 09, 2022 | Baseball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Dylan Phillips tries to describe the home run over the phone. It's early February. Kansas State baseball season begins later this month. Phillips, who has been named to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll five times, graduates in finance this spring after he passes Accounting 433 (Intermediate Accounting and Analytics II) his last business course. But for the next half hour, the topic is baseball.
And what makes Phillips so good at it.
"When everything is working, I mean, everything seems a little bit slower," Phillips says. "I don't know how else to describe a home run. You're in your zone and get the pitch that you want, and when you hit it, you just know. It's a really good feeling when you hit it and know that you don't have to be running anywhere anytime soon."
Phillips is a preseason Third Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball and a preseason First Team All-Big 12 selection. And by the time the league home opener arrives on April 1, Phillips might have already recorded a truly incredible accomplishment.
Phillips very well could be K-State's all-time home run king.
"He's going to go down as one of the all-time great Kansas State baseball players," K-State head coach Pete Hughes says. "If he stays healthy, he's going to walk out of here as the all-time home run leader and deservedly so, because he can do it against anybody in any situation."
The 6-foot, 220-pound junior can play outfield, first base and pitch. Last season, he ranked sixth in the Big 12 in batting average (.338), 14th in on-base percentage (.423) and fifth in slugging percentage (.652). He also ranked second in home runs (16) — a total that tied for the most home runs ever by a K-State player in a single season — and ranked sixth in the Big 12 with 58 RBI.
He is outstanding. He is brilliant. He has a great glove in the outfield. At first base he's one of the best defenders in the league. On the mound, he's a lefty who can pitch at the Big 12 level. But it's his offense that kills opponents. He's the guy you want in the batter's box. He's a three-run home run waiting to happen.
"He's done it against elite stuff," Hughes says. "The guys who can separate themselves are just true, clutch, power hitters. He's doing it against the best of the best and late in games in the league. Left on left, he's proven to do it in every scenario and every situation against any kind of arm.
"He can change the game."
A year ago, Phillips went 4-for-4 with a double, triple and two home runs against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. He recorded three two-homer games against South Dakota State, UAPB and at Kansas. He put together a season-long hitting streak of 10 games and a 21-game on-base streak to begin the season. He finished the season with 31 multi-hit games, 16 doubles, a triple, six steals, 51 runs scored, and 15 multi-RBI contests.
Phillips, 22, will put his stuff on display again when K-State opens the season at the State Farm College Baseball Showdown at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, home of the Texas Rangers. The Wildcats will play Arizona, Auburn and Michigan on February 18-20.
He is the Big 12's active leader with 31 home runs. He needs just seven to eclipse K-State's all-time record of 37 homers set by Scott Poepard between 1994-97.
"I'd definitely be happy having that record," Phillips says. "If I can do what I did last year, I'll get it. I just can't press, or else I'll find myself struggling to get there."
Dylan, son of Dave Phillips and Molly Luedtke-Phillips, grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, smelling the popcorn at historic Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium, then the site of the NCAA Men's College World Series. He began playing tee-ball at age 5 and played sports year-round. Starting at age 9, he attended at least one CWS game every June. It was the "big thing." When he was young, he sat with his family. It progressed to hanging out with high school friends behind the outfield wall. But all along, the dream was firmly embedded inside Phillips' mind. Particularly after he helped Creighton Prep to three straight state championships.
"I always thought it'd be cool to come back to the hometown," he says, "and have everybody I grew up with come see me play in a World Series."
The 2018 Nebraska Gatorade Player of the Year, Phillips led the state of Nebraska in hitting in both his junior and senior years (.500 and .557). On the mound, he went 9-1 with a 1.86 ERA with 67 strikeouts in 56 2/3 innings. Creighton University came calling. So did K-State. Phillips knew that the Big 12 always sent teams to the College World Series. That was a big deciding factor to join the Wildcats.
When then-head coach Brad Hill stepped down and Hughes became head coach in June 2018, Phillips didn't flinch. He basically had only known Hill through phone calls and a couple visits. He met Hughes in person. And he really liked him. He liked Hughes' straight forwardness and eagerness to help players develop their skills and grow into high-character men. Not to mention Hughes was a proven winner.
"I'm really glad I stuck it out," Phillips says.
Nobody outside of Phillips, his parents, and Hughes likely knows what Major League Baseball teams put on the table after the 2021 MLB Draft. But it clearly wasn't a high enough dollar figure to convince Phillips to leave K-State last July.
"Not a lot of kids pass up professional dollars to come back," Hughes says. "Good for him. He has a lot of confidence, and put a lot on himself in the draft, and didn't let emotions get involved, and wouldn't sign for a nickel less. He figured getting his degree and playing another year with the Cats was more valuable than what Major League Baseball put the number at. You don't get loyalty that much anymore. It's just another attribute that makes Dylan a special kid."
Phillips attributes a part of his even-keeled demeanor to former roommate and teammate Jordan Wicks, with whom he shared a house for three years. They became really close. Phillips admired Wicks' steadiness on and off the diamond, his routines, and his competitiveness. Together, they became beasts in the weight room and participated in all the voluntary workouts.
"Having that in the same house, you didn't want to be the guy who took a day off," Phillips says. "It bolstered that work ethic."
Of course, Wicks left K-State after his junior season because he was one of the highest-rated players in the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft. He was picked in the first round with the 21st overall selection by the Chicago Cubs.
That leaves Phillips to be the guiding force for the Wildcats this season.
"I've worked on just being the steady guy in the clubhouse," he says. "I try to limit the ups and downs of the game and try to be the rock for the team. All the guys we've brought in, their No. 1 goal here is to win. Instead of wanting to win, they expect to win. They know they're good. Now it's time to prove that."
Soon, they'll get their chance.
And Phillips will get his chance to dominate the Big 12.
"He's multi-faceted and super talented," Hughes says. "His greatest asset is he's arguably the smartest baseball player I've ever coached in 25 years as a head coach. He thinks about baseball all the time and keeps you on your toes. He breaks down the practice plan and the scout, and he's always thinking about the game. That's where his true edge is, albeit he's a phenomenally talented kid and a fiercely loyal kid, a great teammate, and super talented. His baseball IQ is through the roof."
But back to the home run. Phillips, on the other end of the phone, walks through it all. Inside fastball? He'll clobber it. Breaking ball? He can't be too picky. He spends hours studying film of pitchers. He sees every type of pitch in their arsenal. Sometimes, he can tell before he walks to the plate if he'll get his pitch. If he'll hit this guy, or that guy. He just knows. It is an uncanny science, really, but that's why, you know, he leads the Big 12 in home runs and he's on the cusp of becoming the Wildcats' home run king. That's also what makes him arguably the smartest player to ever play under Hughes. He tries to remember the first homer he hit at K-State.
He laughs.
"That is one I do not remember," he replies. "There's video of it, but at the time, I just blacked out. Funny enough, I figured out I had hit the home run off my teammate, Wes Moore, when he was at California State-Northridge. That was really funny. That's really the only thing I remember about it. That was the first weekend of my college career."
He knows where he'd like to spend the last week of his college career — taking the K-State baseball team to Omaha.
Dylan Phillips tries to describe the home run over the phone. It's early February. Kansas State baseball season begins later this month. Phillips, who has been named to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll five times, graduates in finance this spring after he passes Accounting 433 (Intermediate Accounting and Analytics II) his last business course. But for the next half hour, the topic is baseball.
And what makes Phillips so good at it.
"When everything is working, I mean, everything seems a little bit slower," Phillips says. "I don't know how else to describe a home run. You're in your zone and get the pitch that you want, and when you hit it, you just know. It's a really good feeling when you hit it and know that you don't have to be running anywhere anytime soon."
Phillips is a preseason Third Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball and a preseason First Team All-Big 12 selection. And by the time the league home opener arrives on April 1, Phillips might have already recorded a truly incredible accomplishment.
Phillips very well could be K-State's all-time home run king.
"He's going to go down as one of the all-time great Kansas State baseball players," K-State head coach Pete Hughes says. "If he stays healthy, he's going to walk out of here as the all-time home run leader and deservedly so, because he can do it against anybody in any situation."
The 6-foot, 220-pound junior can play outfield, first base and pitch. Last season, he ranked sixth in the Big 12 in batting average (.338), 14th in on-base percentage (.423) and fifth in slugging percentage (.652). He also ranked second in home runs (16) — a total that tied for the most home runs ever by a K-State player in a single season — and ranked sixth in the Big 12 with 58 RBI.
He is outstanding. He is brilliant. He has a great glove in the outfield. At first base he's one of the best defenders in the league. On the mound, he's a lefty who can pitch at the Big 12 level. But it's his offense that kills opponents. He's the guy you want in the batter's box. He's a three-run home run waiting to happen.
"He's done it against elite stuff," Hughes says. "The guys who can separate themselves are just true, clutch, power hitters. He's doing it against the best of the best and late in games in the league. Left on left, he's proven to do it in every scenario and every situation against any kind of arm.
"He can change the game."
A year ago, Phillips went 4-for-4 with a double, triple and two home runs against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. He recorded three two-homer games against South Dakota State, UAPB and at Kansas. He put together a season-long hitting streak of 10 games and a 21-game on-base streak to begin the season. He finished the season with 31 multi-hit games, 16 doubles, a triple, six steals, 51 runs scored, and 15 multi-RBI contests.
Phillips, 22, will put his stuff on display again when K-State opens the season at the State Farm College Baseball Showdown at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, home of the Texas Rangers. The Wildcats will play Arizona, Auburn and Michigan on February 18-20.
He is the Big 12's active leader with 31 home runs. He needs just seven to eclipse K-State's all-time record of 37 homers set by Scott Poepard between 1994-97.
"I'd definitely be happy having that record," Phillips says. "If I can do what I did last year, I'll get it. I just can't press, or else I'll find myself struggling to get there."
Dylan, son of Dave Phillips and Molly Luedtke-Phillips, grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, smelling the popcorn at historic Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium, then the site of the NCAA Men's College World Series. He began playing tee-ball at age 5 and played sports year-round. Starting at age 9, he attended at least one CWS game every June. It was the "big thing." When he was young, he sat with his family. It progressed to hanging out with high school friends behind the outfield wall. But all along, the dream was firmly embedded inside Phillips' mind. Particularly after he helped Creighton Prep to three straight state championships.
"I always thought it'd be cool to come back to the hometown," he says, "and have everybody I grew up with come see me play in a World Series."
The 2018 Nebraska Gatorade Player of the Year, Phillips led the state of Nebraska in hitting in both his junior and senior years (.500 and .557). On the mound, he went 9-1 with a 1.86 ERA with 67 strikeouts in 56 2/3 innings. Creighton University came calling. So did K-State. Phillips knew that the Big 12 always sent teams to the College World Series. That was a big deciding factor to join the Wildcats.
When then-head coach Brad Hill stepped down and Hughes became head coach in June 2018, Phillips didn't flinch. He basically had only known Hill through phone calls and a couple visits. He met Hughes in person. And he really liked him. He liked Hughes' straight forwardness and eagerness to help players develop their skills and grow into high-character men. Not to mention Hughes was a proven winner.
"I'm really glad I stuck it out," Phillips says.
Nobody outside of Phillips, his parents, and Hughes likely knows what Major League Baseball teams put on the table after the 2021 MLB Draft. But it clearly wasn't a high enough dollar figure to convince Phillips to leave K-State last July.
"Not a lot of kids pass up professional dollars to come back," Hughes says. "Good for him. He has a lot of confidence, and put a lot on himself in the draft, and didn't let emotions get involved, and wouldn't sign for a nickel less. He figured getting his degree and playing another year with the Cats was more valuable than what Major League Baseball put the number at. You don't get loyalty that much anymore. It's just another attribute that makes Dylan a special kid."
Phillips attributes a part of his even-keeled demeanor to former roommate and teammate Jordan Wicks, with whom he shared a house for three years. They became really close. Phillips admired Wicks' steadiness on and off the diamond, his routines, and his competitiveness. Together, they became beasts in the weight room and participated in all the voluntary workouts.
"Having that in the same house, you didn't want to be the guy who took a day off," Phillips says. "It bolstered that work ethic."
Of course, Wicks left K-State after his junior season because he was one of the highest-rated players in the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft. He was picked in the first round with the 21st overall selection by the Chicago Cubs.
That leaves Phillips to be the guiding force for the Wildcats this season.
"I've worked on just being the steady guy in the clubhouse," he says. "I try to limit the ups and downs of the game and try to be the rock for the team. All the guys we've brought in, their No. 1 goal here is to win. Instead of wanting to win, they expect to win. They know they're good. Now it's time to prove that."
Soon, they'll get their chance.
And Phillips will get his chance to dominate the Big 12.
"He's multi-faceted and super talented," Hughes says. "His greatest asset is he's arguably the smartest baseball player I've ever coached in 25 years as a head coach. He thinks about baseball all the time and keeps you on your toes. He breaks down the practice plan and the scout, and he's always thinking about the game. That's where his true edge is, albeit he's a phenomenally talented kid and a fiercely loyal kid, a great teammate, and super talented. His baseball IQ is through the roof."
But back to the home run. Phillips, on the other end of the phone, walks through it all. Inside fastball? He'll clobber it. Breaking ball? He can't be too picky. He spends hours studying film of pitchers. He sees every type of pitch in their arsenal. Sometimes, he can tell before he walks to the plate if he'll get his pitch. If he'll hit this guy, or that guy. He just knows. It is an uncanny science, really, but that's why, you know, he leads the Big 12 in home runs and he's on the cusp of becoming the Wildcats' home run king. That's also what makes him arguably the smartest player to ever play under Hughes. He tries to remember the first homer he hit at K-State.
He laughs.
"That is one I do not remember," he replies. "There's video of it, but at the time, I just blacked out. Funny enough, I figured out I had hit the home run off my teammate, Wes Moore, when he was at California State-Northridge. That was really funny. That's really the only thing I remember about it. That was the first weekend of my college career."
He knows where he'd like to spend the last week of his college career — taking the K-State baseball team to Omaha.
Players Mentioned
OF/LHP
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