By Matt Browning
For Hutchinson Trinity’s Kaid McElgunn, the mindset heading into the baseball season is simple: get better.
“I would say my primary focus this season is to just be better than last year,” McElgunn said. “Improvement is always ideal for a sport like baseball.”
That steady approach hasn’t stopped McElgunn from setting ambitious goals. After already holding the school record for stolen bases with 17, he has his sights set on raising the bar even higher.
“A personal goal of mine is to break our school record of stolen bases, which is currently held by me at 17,” he said. “But if I could also break a state record, that would be awesome.”
McElgunn’s confidence on the basepaths comes from a combination of experience and speed — two traits he believes separate him on the field.
“I’ve played competitively since I was in third grade, so I would say I have a good amount of experience,” he said. “As a dual-sport athlete who placed last year at state track in multiple events, I would say I have a lot of speed that especially helps me running the bases.”
That speed, paired with quick instincts, has helped him become a versatile piece for Hutchinson Trinity. Already this season, McElgunn has taken on multiple roles defensively.
“With my speed and experience, I can play a lot of positions,” he said. “This year already I’ve played center field, shortstop and second base.”
While his game already features strong fundamentals, McElgunn focused on adding strength during the offseason — a process that didn’t go as planned after a setback on the football field.
“As not usually being the biggest guy on the field, I really wanted to get bigger and stronger during the offseason,” he said. “But during our last football game I broke my collarbone, so that recovery and comeback definitely affected my offseason work.”
Even with that challenge, McElgunn remains focused on gradual improvement and limiting mistakes as the season progresses.
“As I stated before, improvement is always good in a tough sport,” he said. “A successful season would be improving every game little by little and limiting our mistakes out on the field and in the batter’s box.”
