This is an opinion piece.
It would be easy for a new coach to get caught in the Hartselle baseball tradition.
Brad Phillips admits he’s done just that.
“It’s hard not to look up and see all those championships,” he said Thursday.
Prior to this week, the Tigers had won 9 state baseball championships – all under legendary coach William Booth, who died while 2024 state finals were happening. Phillips, who spent six years on the South Alabama coaching staff, was hired last year to continue the Hartselle tradition Booth started.
He did just that this week, leading his top-ranked team to a best-of-3 series win over a tough Chelsea squad to clinch yet another Class 6A state title.
“I hope he would be proud,” Phillips said of Booth following Hartselle’s 4-3, 9-3 doubleheader sweep of the Hornets at Jacksonville State. “The foundation of the program is on him. He’s on the Mount Rushmore of high school baseball and coaching in general. I hope he would be proud of not only the wins but also of how the guys represented the ‘H’ on their chest.”
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Phillips spent nine years at Troy University and six more as the pitching coach at South Alabama before taking the job at Hartselle last spring.
He admitted his new gig came with some added pressure.
“They graduated 11 seniors, who all went out to play college baseball,” he said of last year’s state runner-up squad. “We don’t have many seniors this year. The pressure was there because you didn’t know what the cupboard was going to fully be like.
“These kids bought in, and they worked so hard. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s not supposed to be easy when you get to this point. I thoroughly enjoyed the pressure of the program and knowing how much baseball means to the Hartselle community.”
Phillips said the transition from college coaching back to high school wasn’t as difficult as he might have imagined because of the talent and maturity of the Hartselle players.
“With the level of player that is around our area, I quickly realized I could treat these guys a little older than they are,” he said. “That’s been the fun part. It’s a different caliber of player and being able to coach them, work them out, has really been fun. It’s the same game. It’s a little slower at times, but as far as the athlete I was able to coach, it’s very similar to their passion, their want to and their skills as well.”
The transition certainly seemed flawless on the surface.
Hartselle finished 35-8 and was ranked No. 1 by the Alabama Sports Writers Association throughout the regular season.
“To win one feels really, really good,” he said. “When you are younger, you start thinking about yourself a little bit. This one right here was totally about the kids. All my thoughts were just on the kids and wanting them to win one because they worked so hard.”
The Hartselle program – with its new leader at the helm – doesn’t show signs of slowing down anytime soon. Several key players will return next year, including state finals hero and MVP Asher Doepel.
The Tiger tradition is safe in the hands of Brad Phillips.
“It feels really good to carry on where the program has been for the last 25 years,” he said.
Thought for the Week
“Every strike brings you closer to the next home run.” – Babe Ruth.
Ben Thomas is the high school managing producer at AL.com. He has been named one of the 50 legends of the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Follow him on twitter at @BenThomasPreps or email him at bthomas@al.com.
