Heady Taking Advantage of Big Opportunity

During the first three years of his Kentucky baseball career, shortstop Connor Heady was known more for his slick fielding than he was for his bat. But 2017 has been much different for the senior from Prospect, Kentucky. 

A career .188 hitter before this season, Heady is hitting .294 in 2017. He’s also seen his power numbers improve, as he has launched a team-high five home runs this year after only hitting two homers in his previous three seasons combined. Heady has a .394 on-base percentage this year, with a .518 slugging percentage. He has had seven multi-hit games, including a pair of hits in the Wildcats’ 13-7 win over Cincinnati on Tuesday night.

Heady believes that a change in approach, both physically and mentally, has helped him see drastically improved results in 2017.

“I think physically, I’ve gotten a little bit stronger every year,” Heady said. “Mentally, my plan has gotten a lot better. Really trying to drive the ball through the middle of the field on every swing. The situational hitting is still there, I am able to execute that part of the game. I’m definitely trying to drive the ball more.”

Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione loves the attitude that Heady brings to the ballpark on a daily basis.

“First off, he’s the same guy every day,” Mingione said. “He doesn’t have bad days. Every day, this guy shows up at the ballpark and he’s looking, searching for things to get better on. If you ask our guys, he’s one of the leaders of our team. He’s a very smart baseball player who has totally embraced the new coaching change and everything that’s going on. We presented him an opportunity, and boy, has he run with it.”

That opportunity began in the preseason, when Heady learned that he would be the everyday shortstop for the Wildcats in 2017. Heady believes that playing every day has made a huge difference for him this year.

“That’s the biggest thing, I think, you get to play every day, you get to work through the at-bats and you get to figure it out,” Heady said. “The coaches trust me, they said ‘you’re going to be the guy this year, we believe in you, just go do it.’”

Although he was not here for Heady’s previous three seasons, Mingione believes that his senior is benefitting from the many changes he has had to deal with this season, including playing every day.

“There is something to be said for knowing that, when you show up at the ballpark, you’re in the lineup,” Mingione said. “You’re not worried about someone right behind you taking the job. It’s just so neat because he’s a senior and he hasn’t had the career, offensively, that he’s wanted to. It’s really neat and it brings a lot of joy to our hearts to watch him doing so well.”

Heady hopes his successful 2017 campaign continues this weekend when he and the Wildcats return to action by hosting Vanderbilt in a three-game, SEC series. Game one is on Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET, following by a 2 p.m. first pitch on Saturday. Sunday’s series finale will begin at 1 p.m. ET.