WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) — Similar to Tristan McIntyre at McCutcheon, the start of Justin Hartman's tenure as head baseball coach at West Lafayette has been a little different. Hartman took over the program just last year, and while he won't get a second opportunity to coach the class of 2020, he says their efforts both on and off the field have set a precedent for his underclassmen.
The West Lafayette baseball roster featured six seniors. Tyler Boyle was a three sport athlete for the Red Devils. In addition to playing outfield for Hartman's baseball club, he was a defensive back on the football team and a point guard on the basketball court. Boyle will enroll in the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University in the fall.
Dawson Driggs pitched for West Lafayette, he plans on attending Indiana University as well.
Joey Gavin played in the infield and pitched. Gavin will stay in the area and study Kinesiology at Purdue.
Jack Howard pitched for coach Hartman, and plans on attending Indiana University to study computer science.
David Krogmann was a utility infielder and pitcher. Krogmann will attend Ivy Tech in the fall.
Thomas Bailey the final senior. Bailey plans on attending Purdue to study law and society, while also being involved in the Navy ROTC program.
Coach Hartman disappointed his six seniors had their final season in a Red Devil uniform taken away from them ..
But he knows the group is destined to do great things beyond high school ..
"This off-season they made a huge commitment to our program to get better and do things differently," said Hartman. "We really wanted to see how that was going to translate on the field this year, and I think there would have been good results."
"Their hard work and leadership would have paid off, and so I just told them, hold your head high, be proud of what you've done. But also look at your future, and be proud of where you are going in your life. Some things are bigger than baseball. And they will go on to do great things, all of them have tremendous character, great leadership, great work ethic, they are all going to do great things in life."
