"I
took two visits to Ole Miss, and both times I was amazed at the baseball aspect
of it," added Kyle Thornton. "The program
they have going on. It is steadily improving. The coaches love the game, and know
the game, and they teach it well. And the campus; they just have the complete
package. There is no doubt that is where I want to be."
Who were the
main colleges involved in Kyle's recruitment?
"The main three were
Ole Miss, MSU, and LSU. They were pursuing me the heaviest."
Who else
was involved?
"There were a lot of them, around 30 or so schools.
The SEC schools were Ole Miss, MSU, LSU, and Kentucky.. Some of the out of conference
colleges that were on me were Texas, USM, and MTSU. There were just a bunch of
them."
Kyle grew up with a divided family, but that really did not
play a factor in his decision.
"My family was divided. I went to a
lot of MSU games growing up, and I went to some Ole Miss games too. I pulled for
all of the Mississippi teams. But I was more of a MSU fan until I grew older and
some of my family started going to Ole Miss. That is when I grew to love Ole Miss."
Kyle's
stock blew up this summer when he was rated the top prospect at the National showcase
tournament by Pro Day Baseball in Orange Beach (AL)..
"I just kind
of blossomed in a hurry. When our team won the World Series, and I was selected
to the All-Tournament team, everything just kind of took off. It got really crazy
when I was ranked the #1 player during the national Pro Day Baseball showcase
tournament. Teams started coming after me from everywhere. But I tried to keep
it all in perspective."
Thornton's fastball is what separates him
from everybody else
"Right now, my most effective pitch is my fastball,
but my change up is just as good. I use both of them hand in hand. I am just a
junior in high school, and I average in the 91-92 MPH range and top out in the
mid 90's. That is pretty rare for a guy my age."
But there are some
other aspects to Kyle's game that makes the 6' 4", 215 pound right handed
pitcher so effective.
"I hit my spots well. I work them high and low.
But the big thing about pitching is the mental aspect of it. You have to be mentally
prepared and completely focused. That is where I excel the most, the mental part
of the game."
Kyle is currently 10-0 with a .76 ERA and looks to add
a few more wins to the column before the season is over.
"We are
just entering the 2nd round of the playoffs. We are 31-2 on the season. We play
Clinton this weekend. We should be able to handle them and move on to the North
Half."
Thornton carries a 3.85 GPA / 18 ACT.