Cade Killingsworth’s childhood dreams of playing college baseball finally came true this week as he received scholarship offers to play baseball from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette and the University of Southern Mississippi.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to play college baseball,” he said. “Now that I finally realize that it’s becoming real, that’s big for me and I’m really proud of it.”
Killingsworth, entering his junior year at North Pike, received both offers while going on tours of ULL and USM’s campuses and has desires to pitch in college. He was spotted by coaches of the schools at a tournament for the travel team he plays for, Marucci Elite.
“It really came out of nowhere,” he said. “I’ve only pitched maybe five innings all summer, but I did really good in the innings that I pitched. They were both there watching other teammates of mine and when they saw me pitch, they both asked me to come for a visit and offered me on my visits.”
Killingsworth plans to pursue a degree in education.
Remaining undecided, Killingsworth took positive things away from both programs.
“ULL’s head coach, Tony Robichaux, was really nice and really good with his presentation,” he said. “Coach Chad Caillet and Coach Michael Federico from Southern Miss were really good to me. Coach (Daniel) Freeman showed me around ULL’s campus and was really nice and showed the program well. Federico took me on a tour at Southern Miss, and I like their program a lot as well.”
Killingsworth began playing varsity baseball for the North Pike Jaguars as an eighth-grader and believes gaining so much experience at a young age has helped him develop faster than others.
“Playing varsity in eighth grade helped me a lot,” he said. “Even my coaches will say that by playing my eighth-grade year, it helped me mature more quickly than other players in my grade did. I just know the high school game better by getting to play that extra year. I started my freshman year pretty much all season. I didn’t start much in my sophomore season, but I still got to learn the game, and learn how to play at a higher level than what I’m used to playing at.”
This past season, Killingsworth batted .347, with an on base percentage of .419, six hits and 27 RBIs as a first baseman. He made eight appearances on the mound pitching for the Jaguars in 191⁄3 innings. He finished with a 3-0 record, 26 strikeouts, and a 1.09 ERA.
Losing seven seniors, there will definitely be a hole to fill on the Jaguars’ roster next season. Killingsworth looks forward to leading the team in its new direction.
“Stepping into a bigger role will be huge for me,” he said. “I like being the leader, leading the team, and being the guy that everybody looks up to. The other roles on the team are going to be huge as far as who steps up in each position. I want to get better, get my team better, and get everybody around me better. Whatever happens, will happen, when it comes to my college decision.”
This summer Killingsworth has been playing for Marucci Elite, a travel team out of Baton Rouge. Earlier this month the Elite competed at the 2016 WWBA 2018 Grads or 16U National Championship in Cartersville, Ga., just outside of Atlanta. They will compete next week at the same location in the 2016 16U Perfect Game World Series.
“Playing for Marucci has taught me a lot and allowed me to get these offers,” he said. “It’s helped me progress as a player, and as a person. The coaches for the team know a lot of college coaches. So they’ll get really good players onto the team and spread the word to come watch us. At the time I had no schools looking at me, but when USM and ULL came to see my other teammates they decided to take an interest.”
Training has been another priority for the 16-year old from Summit, who said that an ordinary day of training consists of waking up around 9 a.m., eating breakfast and then going to the weight room for a lift. He’ll come back home, eat lunch, and go throw later on.
“I have to make sure I eat a lot of protein and carbs, drink a lot of water and just try to keep my body healthy and prepared for my next outing,” Killingsworth said.
Killingsworth says he started playing baseball around 3 or 4 years old. He grew up playing in the Dixie Youth League in Summit, and went on to play baseball in the United States Specialty Sports Association.
“When I was little I was always the kid that was bigger than everybody else,” he said. “I had more of a blessed ability, all thanks to God for giving me the talent. So I was always ahead of everybody else. I guess that’s why I stuck with it, I thought I was good at it and it ended up being the thing I liked to do the most.”
Killingsworth gives credit to his coaches at North Pike, Trey Lindsey, head coach George Lott and Dustin Lott for helping him out. He also credits Shane Trosclair and Mike Forbes, who have coached him on Marucci Elite the past two years.
Killingsworth is the son of Ernie and Danelle Killingsworth of Summit.
