Neal Holliman knew what he was getting out of pitcher Tanner Knight when he recruited him out of high school.
The Eupora right handed pitcher had a long build that had the potential to up his velocity the more weight he put on, but his ability to throw strikes stood out to the East Central Community College head coach. With his maturity on the mound already, it was no surprise that he was making an impact right away as a freshman last year.
What attracted Holliman the most about Knight, however, was his versatility. He played basketball in his early days but he starred on the football field as a quarterback and as a wide receiver and even was the team’s punter and kicker. In baseball that versatility showed as well as Knight could hit and defend as well as pitch.
“Tanner is a dang good athlete,” Holliman said. “He was a quarterback in high school and could have played both ways in baseball, but his future was on the mound. He’s still trying to put weight on that body so he can be what he wants to be.”
The progress is there with the weight gain. Holliman believes he’s added 20-30 pounds since he first arrived to Decatur which added another three or four miles per hour to his fastball and has him sitting in the high 80s while touching 90 mph.
Knight threw 17 games last year and started 11 with a record of 5-5 but he got stronger as the year went on. He threw four complete games and 67.1 innings as he had an earned run average at 3.07 with 51 strikeouts.
His work was good enough to get him looks from schools like Southern Miss and Louisiana Monroe as well as every major Division II and Division III school in the country. He ultimately decided he was going to pitch for former Mississippi State assistant coach Lane Burroughs who is the head coach at Louisiana Tech.
Holliman feels that’s a good spot for him but there’s also the chance that he can return for another year on campus due to the coronavirus outbreak. The NJCAA has already awarded another season for everyone and Holliman has suggested if the NCAA gives him an extra year as well, he should go ahead and move on to Louisiana Tech next year instead of returning.
“Coach Burroughs is a great guy and I’ve known Mitch Gaspard who was at Alabama. They’ve always been straight up and they’ll be good to Tanner,” Holliman said. “I feel like he needs to go on if he gets another year and start things off with La Tech. I didn’t feel like he had much more to gain by coming back.”
Things were already off to a great start for Knight as a sophomore preparing for his time with La. Tech. For the Warriors this year, Knight was a conference starter and had six appearances with a 4-0 record, 22.1 innings pitched, a 2.82 ERA and 28 strikeouts.
It was enough to start earning interest from MLB teams. The New York Mets had already begun scouting Knight and he was on the radar for the MLB Draft this season. Holliman believes that Knight’s best days are ahead of him and that MLB dream isn’t far away. First he looks like he will get to showcase his skills on a Division I level in Ruston next year.
“His best role is as a starter because you know what you’re going to get every time he’s out there,” Holliman said. “His pitch-ability is so far along he can give you a chance to win every game. He’s going to do just fine on that stage.”
