The very first interview on College Baseball Hub.com will set the tone for the hard-hitting, tough, investigative journalism that readers will always find here. Poor Adam Yeager. Marshall University’s junior shortstop didn’t know what was about to hit him.
The first question, what our readers must know: Who's the worst boy band of all time?
Adam knew the answer to a question of such gravity should only be divulged after proper consideration. So, I went on with the interview, pounding him with still more penetrating questions.
Favorite music? R&B, rap, and country.
Radio: Free or satellite? Satellite.
This led me to a new line of questioning.
XM or Serius? XM
What channel? 20 on 20
Geez, he was scoopin’ up my questions and throwin’ me out at first on every one.
Adam Yeager sure seems to have the world by the tail. And that’s a good thing. He’s got it coming to him. He’s the starting shortstop in an up and coming program in one of the best conferences in the country. He's friendly, polite, and well-spoken. School is going great. His long-time girlfriend is a Marshall cheerleader, for cryin’ out loud.
After being a two sport star at Huntington (WV) High School (twice first team big school all-stater in baseball; and starting point guard on a state championship basketball team that included UK’s Patrick Patterson), Adam took his pedigree to the University of Cincinnati. Things went very well, starting 53 of 56 games as a freshman.
However, in the fall of Adam’s sophomore year, the rug was yanked out from under him. Adam, very suddenly, lost his father. Terry Yeager, the head of their close-knit family, had passed away. Like many fathers, Terry was a great supporter of his son’s baseball career and life. However, he was also a tremendous backer and organizer of the Huntington Hounds, a non-profit baseball program, through which many players have gone on to college and pro baseball. Terry served on the Hounds’ board, and was known to quietly offer help to the families of players wanting to play, but finding it financially difficult. Quite a hole was left in the lives of Adam, sister Erin, mother Cindy, and the community with Terry’s passing.
Displaying mental toughness beyond his twenty years, Adam went on to have an even more productive year with the Bearcat baseball team in his second year. But home was calling him. He decided to transfer to Marshall, and play in his hometown of Huntington, West Virginia.
“The main reason was to come home. Live at home”, is his reply when asked what led to his transfer. He has settled back in to his family home, and is thoroughly enjoying the familiar surroundings. One plus to his move, was to be reunited with Marshall’s second year assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, Tim Adkins. Tim founded the Huntington Hounds, and worked along of side Adam’s father in directing the organization. Tim, a long-time professional pitcher and teacher of baseball, was persuaded to come to Marshall by new head coach Jeff Waggoner.
Adam said, “The coaching staff was another big reason. I knew Tim already,” adding, “This coaching staff has a lot of energy”. He’s excited about getting to play in Conference USA and in it’s venues. He’s also excited about the Herd’s prospects for this season. “I think we have a chance to be really good this year. Our line up is really deep. Our pitching staff is good, and our bull pen is really deep.”
Asked what he would tell high school players wanting to play college ball, he says, “Work hard, but play your game and don’t try to impress anyone. Just play as hard as you can, that’s all you can do”. He adds that getting on a travel team is a great advantage. “Most college coaches don’t have time to recruit during their season. They have to do it in the summer. So you almost have to play on a traveling team to be seen.”
Adam says his experience with the Huntington Hounds was enjoyable and unique.
“That was so much fun. Our group was different than any other group because we stayed together. There were six or seven of us that stayed together from when we were thirteen until we were eighteen. I got a lot of exposure playing with the Hounds, and that helped me to have a few different colleges to choose from.”
When asked if he could choose a best baseball memory, he quickly responds “It has to be the championship game this summer,” referring to his time spent in the Northwoods League. He says that his 2007 summer with the St. Cloud team was “probably the most fun I’ve ever had in baseball. We had a really close team, and we won the championship”. Playing in front the huge crowds the Northwoods League is famous for, and the great competition, only whets his appetite to play pro baseball after college. The lefty-batting, righty-throwing shortstop is blessed with blazing speed (6.6 in the sixty). He was voted the Northwoods League Offensive Shortstop of the year for 2007.
These days he’s enjoying living at home and relaxing with friends, when school and baseball permit. He insists he’s “a pretty boring guy”. He plays a lot of cards. He likes video games (he’s mastering “Call of Duty 4”). As for the future, he hopes it will include baseball, but he’s backing that up with a degree in Finance. My guess is he’ll be using his finance education to manage all of his baseball dough. But whatever the future holds, Adam Yeager has already displayed the fortitude that will make him a success in whatever he decides to do.
And by the way, worst boy band of all time? ……Hanson.
