March 24, 2009

Steve Brawner
Special to Rivals High

Garrett Gould didn't realize how good a pitcher he was until he was playing American Legion baseball the summer before his junior year.

That's when he compiled a 10-0 record and found himself striking out 18-year-old batters. He was 15.

"People had told me that I had a good arm and I really had a chance to do something special," Gould said. "But I didn't really realize it until I actually got out there and started throwing against kids older than me and realizing that I was throwing really good and 10-0 against kids three years older."

His junior season of high school baseball, the right-hander from Maize, Kan., pitched his way to a 9-2 record with two no-hitters and an ERA of 0.61. He struck out 95 in 57 innings ? topping the school record set by current Detroit Tigers pitcher Nate Robertson.

Gould's fastest clocked pitch that year was a 95 mph fastball, but he usually pitched in the 88-92 mph range. He also throws a curve and an improving changeup that he is still learning to trust.

Now a senior on his way to Wichita State University, Gould is ranked No. 25 on the Rivals 100 list of top baseball prospects, one of many accolades the senior has received. But, aware that the country is full of can't-miss high school stars who never excelled at the next level, he tries to take it all in stride.

"I guess now it's finally hitting me that I'm up there in the ranks, but I try not to think about it too much," he said.

His coach, Rocky Helm, was an assistant when Robertson played at Maize in the late 1990s, but he said even the current major leaguer wasn't as talented as Gould.

"I have never coached an arm that good," Helm said.

Gould was Maize's starting quarterback as a junior and looked to have a good season with his top receiver returning for another year, but he opted to sit out his senior year and concentrate on baseball. It was a difficult decision for an athlete who had played football since before kindergarten. While avoiding injury was a factor, he said he was more worried about his inability to commit to the team.

"It was hard, but I couldn't put our team in that situation," he said. "I was gone all the time on visits and showcases. I just didn't think it would have been fair to the team having to miss a bunch of practices and even miss games for that."

Instead, he has been working hard in the weight room and on the track while trying to improve his arm strength and mechanics. This year, he'll be leading a young team that will start at most two senior position players.

Gould chose Wichita State because it is close to home and family and because of its pitching tradition.

"Growing up in Wichita, everybody's a big WSU fan, so everybody grows up and every baseball player wants to go there, so that was definitely my dream," Gould said.

Gould's close-knit family includes three older brothers at Wichita State and a younger sister at home. His parents and oldest brother didn't miss a single home or away game last season, and his other older brothers attended his home games as well.

Wichita State pitching coach Brent Kemnitz first watched Gould pitch as a sophomore and knew he had a bright future.

"He was a no-brainer," he said. "He was a guy that was going to be a good college pitcher and very projectable to pitch for a long time."

Kemnitz, who called Gould "a great competitor on the mound," said that he expects him to be an impact player next season.

"He's very effective now," he said. "He has a pretty good knowledge of how to pitch and is pretty refined for a kid from this part of the country, but is also projectable. He's a guy that has a big upside."

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