Independence senior Clay Basham has been bitten by the golf bug.
So much so that after tooling around the links for just one year, Basham would love to see himself as a golf professional one day.
That dream however will have to sit on the back burner for now because the Independence standout still has business to take care of on the diamond.
Prior to the Christmas holiday in front of family, friends, coaches and teammates, Basham signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball at Bluefield State University starting in the fall of 2023.
“There is a lot going through my head for sure, but I am excited and ready for it,” Basham said.
The future move from Coal City to Bluefield seemed like a natural transition for the multi-talented all-stater.
“I think more than anything it was the coaching. I have been around (head) coach (Drew) Bailey for a few years now,” Basham said. “He was my pitching coach for awhile and he has always worked well with me. He is great at developing players.”
Playing amongst DI prospects like Atticus Goodson and Michael McKinney and with a star-studded lineup, Basham quickly proved during his sophomore season that he was big-time player himself.
In 20 games that year, Basham hit .565 driving in 45 runs in 74 plate appearances. On the hill he was 3-1 with a 1.72 ERA. Although his numbers did not reach those marks last year, Basham still had a strong season and proved to be a big bat at key times for the Patriots.
“He has been really solid for us the last two years,” Independence head baseball coach Scott Cuthbert said. “Some may look at last year as a down year, but he still hit .400. He has such a great sophomore year that it hurt him a little bit last year.”
“Going into last year I knew it would be hard for him to live up to the year before,” Cuthbert continued. “He struggled a little bit out of the gate, but he battled all year. Clay is a really hard worker and works hard every day.”
Basham has proven himself to an outstanding player both in the field and on the mound. He hopes that ability carries over to the college game.
“I talked with coach Bailey (Tuesday) and he said he wanted to see me pitching. Obviously I will also be a position player and hit, so it sounds like he wants me to be a two-way player. That is what I want,” Basham said. “I just have to listen and work hard. I have to be gritty. That is what our coaches preach (at Independence). I have to stick to that mentality and continue to develop as a player.”
Cuthbert has played at the next level and is fully aware of what it takes to play college baseball. While the move will be difficult, the Indy coach feels Basham is the right place to succeed.
“The biggest thing for kids moving up has been the speed of the game, especially offensively. The kids are throwing harder every day, but sometimes it is just adjusting to the grind,” Cuthbert said. “In high school you practice every day for two or three months. In college you are going at it from from September to the end of May. Doing that with classes can be tough sometimes. (Bluefield State) is a good fit for him. He has known coach Bailey for a little while and he has worked with him in the past.”
With high school baseball season here, Independence will be replacing several seniors giving them a totally different look. Basham will be the clear leader this year, but it will be a much different experience.
“He will have a different role this year. He will have to be patient out of the gate because we are not quite sure what we will have this year,” Cuthbert said. “We went through this a few years ago and it took us a little while to find our feet. Clay has been there and done that, so hopefully he can be that leader for the young kids. He will have to be the man that wants the ball.”
Most people are foreseeing a down year for the Patriots, but Basham is not one of those naysayers.
“I think I will be fine. I think we will hang in there and we will sneak up on some people,” Basham said. “We lost some great players, but we gained a lot too. Even our bench players from last year are good players and they will fill in the spots for us.”
