For the foreseeable future, Greg Elie can tune in on late summer nights and watch some of his former Baylor School players shine at the Major League level.
A West Coast special has been enjoyed of late by the Red Raiders baseball coach as former standouts Nick Kurtz and Christian Moore began their big league careers with a bang.
On June 16, Kurtz walloped a 447-foot walk-off home run for the Oakland Athletics against the Houston Astros to start a four-game series, which he ended three days later by hitting another two-run walk-off to dead center off veteran closer Josh Hader.
Just a few days later, on June 24, Moore became the first player in MLB history to hit a game-tying home run, a walk-off home run with his team trailing and drive in all of his team's runs in a single game as the Los Angeles Angels rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox.
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Moore's one-of-a-kind feat happened one year to the date after helping the University of Tennessee win the College World Series. His new teammates celebrated his game-winner by tearing the jersey off his back at home plate before dousing the Brooklyn native with two ice-cold coolers of sports drinks during his postgame interview.
"It means the world to me to be here in this situation," Moore told the Associated Press afterward. "It's a full, complete circle, obviously. The Angels saw something in me at last year's draft, and they continue to see something in me, and I'm going to continue to go out there and try to win games."
The 6-foot-4, 240-pound Kurtz has showcased massive pop as he hit nine home runs in a 15-game span and has an average distance of 420.8 feet on his 11 home runs this season through 44 MLB games entering Saturday when he added his 12th long ball of the season in his first game at Yankee Stadium. By comparison, Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. has an average home run distance of 419.8 feet on his nine homers.
Despite not having enough at-bats to qualify, Kurtz's 77.6 miles per hour average bat speed would rank third amongst all hitters, behind only the Pittsburgh Pirates' Oneil Cruz and the Tampa Bay Rays' Junior Caminero.
"Sitting back and watching these guys have the success they are in The Show is such a crazy experience," Elie said. "I wouldn't trade it for the world to see our former players do the great things they are doing. It is such a sweet feeling as a coach to see them shine and do what they love to do.
"To think one of your guys could hit 30-40 home runs a year in The Bigs is just wild. When people said Nick only had power because he hit at Wake Forest, I was like 'You are crazy'. He can hit the ball out of the park to all fields at any ballpark. He has immense power and unbelievable bat speed."
Kurtz and Moore are potentially just the first of many former Baylor School standouts to reach the Major Leagues.
Baylor Baseball (2019-present) who are playing at the next level
MLB
Nick Kurtz - A's
Christian Moore - Angels
Minors
Cooper Kinney - Rays
Free Agent
Danny Corona
Indy Ball
Gehrig Ebel - Frontier League
Greyson Linderman - Frontier League
Stan King - Frontier League
D1
Tomas Valincius - Mississippi State
Vytas Valincius- Mississippi State
Mack Whitcomb- Vandy
Jax Bishop - Tennessee
Henry Ford - Tennessee
Henry Godbout - UVA
Jay Dill - Troy
Matt Dill- Troy
Chris Campanella - UMBC
John Emendorfer - Charleston Southern
Dillon Adkins - Austin Peay
Carson Yates - Erskine
Caleb Hampton - Stanford
Amari Jefferson - Tennessee
Hunter Herndon - Wofford
Jonathan Larrea - Roane St
Nelson McKnight- Cleveland St
Patrick Johnson - Tennessee Tech
Chris Renegar - Union
Oliver Courdin - MGR Kennesaw St
Cooper Kinney, who graduated in 2021 along with Kurtz, has been one of the top hitters in the Southern League this season for the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits. The Tampa Bay Rays prospect was minor league baseball's Southern League hitter of the month in April after batting .338 with six home runs. His 11 first-half home runs for the Biscuits ranked third in the Southern League.
Kinney, Kurtz and Moore, each former first-round MLB Draft picks, were on Baylor's 2019 state championship team.
"We always joked that Cooper could roll out of bed and hit," Elie said. "He is knocking at the door and I wouldn't be shocked if he was up in the big leagues sooner rather than later."
Baylor School baseball has been one of the country's best talent-producing programs as the NCAA landscape is also scattered with former Red Raiders talent.
The Valincius brothers, Vytas and Tomas, will look to help make Mississippi State a title contender in 2026, their first season with the Bulldogs.
Vytas, who hit a massive home run to help close the Red Raiders' TSSAA state title 3-peat in 2021, starred this past season for Illinois as the senior left fielder hit .348 with seven home runs and 58 RBIs to earn second-team All-Big Ten honors.
Tomas, a former two-time Mr. Baseball winner during his time at Baylor, shined for Virginia in his freshman campaign this spring as the southpaw went 6-1 with a 4.59 ERA and 70 strikeouts over 64 2/3 innings in which he only walked 17.
"Good luck to the teams having to go against two Valincius'," Elie said. "They are both ultimate competitors and extremely driven to succeed. They will be a handful for the SEC."
Meanwhile, a pair of Henrys (Ford and Godbout), who starred at Virginia for the past two seasons, could both be selected in this summer's MLB Draft, which will be held on June 13-14 in Atlanta as part of the All-Star Week festivities.
Ford hit .362 with 11 home runs and 46 RBIs this past season and recently transferred to Tennesssee, while Godbout recently entered the transfer portal after batting .309 with eight home runs and 37 RBIs for the Cavaliers.
"Both of them were expected to go first round at one point and I think they each could be taken in the first three rounds," Elie said, regarding Ford and Godbout.
Mack Whitcomb, a 2023 Baylor graduate, transferred to Vanderbilt last week after setting the Ohio Valley Conference on fire for Tennessee Tech, as the sophomore catcher hit .360 with 15 home runs, 55 RBIs and 54 runs scored for the Golden Eagles.
"You just love to see things work out for a guy like Mack, who has an infectious love for the game," Elie said. "He bet on himself and always dreamed of playing in the ACC or SEC and now he is making that happen."
Jay Dill also could be selected in the 2025 MLB Draft as the Troy University senior closer went 4-2 with six saves and a 3.67 ERA while striking out 70 over 49 innings. He was the ace on Baylor's 2021 staff with a 0.85 ERA and 87 strikeouts.
A pair of former Baylor baseball stars are also making a name for themselves in the college football ranks as Amari Jefferson will be a sophomore wide receiver at Tennessee, while Caleb Hampton is a junior running back at Stanford.
"All of these guys came to Baylor and worked hard to make the most of their opportunity," Elie said. "They all worked extremely hard with our great strength coach Brice Johnson. He is a huge factor and driving force in these guys' success.
"To see them all take off in college and the pros now is rewarding to us all."
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.
Baylor School baseball program producing elite next-level talent | Chattanooga Times Free Press
