Prospect teams offer chance to gain eye of college coaches

A successful high school baseball career at Chaffee led Lindy Duncan to the University of Missouri where he became an All-American by his senior year.

He was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the third round of the 1980 major league draft, but after his major league dreams ended with a series of injuries, he returned to his hometown to help high school players with theirs.

"I came back to the area and decided that this area does not get its share of ballplayers coming out of it," Duncan said. "I just wanted to try to get the local kids an opportunity to experience that."

Duncan created the Cherokees baseball program to prepare high baseball players for the collegiate level. The Cherokees teams are prospect teams that travel to several tournaments throughout the summer to be scouted by colleges coaches. The players have a chance to go through advanced workouts and learn to manage their time as if they were on a collegiate team.

"It's the elite players in the area," said Jamie Puckett, coach of the 18-and-under Cherokees team and an assistant coach at Notre Dame. "There are other elite players in the area that are on other teams besides prospect teams. I believe it's the kids that are real serious about going on to college baseball."

One of Puckett's players this season is Notre Dame senior Colton Young, who will pitch at Tennessee-Martin next season.

"The big thing is being exposed in front of the college coaches," Puckett said. "All of the tournaments that we go to have college coaches sitting in the front row."

The Cherokees will travel as far as Memphis, Tenn., and Bloomington, Ill., to play in tournaments this summer. They'll get a chance to play at home this weekend in the second annual SEMO Invitational, which starts Thursday and features 22 teams from as far as Illinois and Tennessee.

The tournament is one of many created by Diamond Sports Promotions, a company designed specifically to help high school players gain exposure.

"This is an opportunity for us to see a lot of new faces," Southeast Missouri State baseball coach Mark Hogan said. "For the most part, this will be a first look at a lot of guys."

Four fields will be used for the tournament -- Whitey Herzog Stadium in Jackson, Harmon Field in Chaffee, Mo., Notre Dame Regional High School and Oran High School.

Five teams featuring players from Southeast Missouri -- the 18-and-under and 17-and-under Cherokees, Missouri Bulls, Chaffee Babe Ruth and Cape Girardeau Post 63 Senior American Legion -- will play in the tournament.

"You're going to see some highly talented players," Puckett said. "Pitching-wise, you're going to see high velocity. Overall, you'll see a much quicker game with less errors."

Each team will play four games from Thursday to Saturday, with championship games Sunday.

"Most of the kids that are playing in this tournament are looking for the same thing our kids are looking for," Duncan said. "They're trying to get themselves positioned so they can play college baseball."