Knights' Ben Brooks more than a baseball player

Ben Brooks is ready for the next challenges that come his way.

Brooks, who has been named the Sumner County baseball Player of the Year for the second straight year, learned a lot and played a lot as a senior at Pope John Paul II. 

Now, it's off to play for the University of Memphis. Brooks will take a lot of the things he learned with him.

"I think the biggest thing off the field was time management," Brooks said. "We went to a pretty tough school and it required a lot of academic work and learning to balance that and baseball, that really helped me a lot, and I think it will help me going forward."

Named Mr. Baseball in Division II-AA, he hit .419 for the Knights, who won the East/Middle Region handily and made it to the state tournament.

"I thought we had a really good year," Brooks said. "Our goal going into it was to win a state championship. We'd been to the state tournament the last three years, and we were pretty close. With the team chemistry we had, I thought it was a good year for us."

"He's one of the best shortstops I've ever coached and one of the finest young men I've ever been around," coach Chris Parker said. "There's a lot more to Ben Brooks than hitting .400 and playing a great shortstop." 

Brooks has been committed to Memphis since the end of his sophomore year. The Tigers coaching staff saw him play at a tournament in Indiana.

"They got me on campus and I absolutely fell in love with it," he said. "The campus, the program, the coaches... I thought it was a perfect fit for me."

Brooks said when he talks with current Memphis players, they'll talk to him about the increased pace of the game and increased intensity. All the more reason, he said, to rely on his preparation.

"I think the best way to be prepared is to have a routine and be mentally in it," he said. "I feel like the older you get, the less it is about physical traits and more about being mentally prepared."

Brooks said he wants to play pro baseball after college.

"I remember the first time I went down there and they showed me a draft board of all the players of who they have had drafted," Brooks said, "and they've had three or four every year. That was definitely a turning point in what I felt like the right decision, because the end goal is to play pro ball one day."

Added Parker: "I think the University of Memphis is getting a gem."