Former Kosciusko Whippet and East Mississippi Community College (EMCC) pitcher Brock McKnight recently became the head coach of the Lee Academy baseball team in Clarksdale.
McKnight was most recently an assistant coach for the Mississippi Delta Community College (MDCC) baseball team in 2016 and 2017 after graduating from Delta State University in 2016.
“I had a lot of inspirational people I’ve had the opportunity to play for,” said McKnight. “Coach (Jonathan) Jones of Kosciusko, Chris Rose of East Mississippi and I’ve had the opportunity to coach with (Michael) Avalon of Mississippi Delta and Coach (Dan) Rives of Mississippi Delta and I just watched the way they played the game and how they coached and mentored young minds to want to compete for them. It was a fun experience to see.”
After playing two years at EMCC, McKnight felt that his talent had gotten him as far as he could go as a player and was ready to become a coach. After graduating from DSU, McKnight began coaching immediately at MDCC and assisted in pretty much all aspects of the game from pitchers to outfielders.
“I knew that I wasn’t going to become a professional baseball player by any means and I had the desire to coach and go ahead and get my career started early,” added McKnight. “By starting my career early, I feel that I can still grow and learn as a young coach and that is something that I’m looking forward to.”
McKnight had originally applied and interviewed for an assistant’s position with the Lee Academy Colts baseball team and during his second interview with the school he was told that he (McKnight) had impressed them so much in his first interview that they asked him if he would be interested in the head coaching position instead. McKnight said that he was interested and was offered the job about two weeks later. Thrilled to have such a great opportunity at an MAIS AAA school, McKnight accepted and has not looked back.
“I wasn’t going to be able to blow it by anybody on the mound by any means and I played with everything I had and that’s one thing that Coach (Jonathan) Jones got out of me was to give all you’ve got, every day of the week,” said McKnight. “That’s what I tell my guys all the time and we really poured into our guys to compete, compete, compete! You might not be the most physically talented person on the baseball field but you can bring your toughness and competiveness every pitch, every at bat, no matter what it is. One thing coach (Jonathan) Jones always used to tell us, ‘You never know when it’s all going to be over so give it all you’ve got right now and play in the moment."
McKnight says that he will take little bits and pieces from the coaches he’s worked for or played under and has been influenced by some big D1 guys like Jim Schlossnagle from TCU (Texas Christian University), coach Mike Bianco from Ole Miss and former MSU head coach John Cohen as well.
“When I was at Delta (MDCC) I was blessed and privileged to be there as long as I was and I talked to coach Rives and told him what I wanted to do and he was all for it,” said McKnight. “We got the ball rolling early and Lee Academy approached me and we went from there.”
McKnight states that he has had nothing but great support from the other coaches and parents since he accepted the position and has said that it has been a fun experience so far.
McKnight will teach health and be strictly a baseball coach when the school year starts this fall. “My immediate plans for the program is to teach them how to play the game and how the game should be treated and I believe the game knows,” concluded McKnight. “My big thing is to compete and to play the game pitch-by-pitch and not worry about the past or the future, just worry about what the game brings you. If you treat the game the right way, it will treat you the right way back.”
McKnight, who graduated from Kosciusko High in 2012, is the son of Jeff McKnight of Moorhead and Ginger Alford of Kosciusko.
