By: Kiley Langford
At the beginning of December, Washington State University brought on a new baseball player, Daniel Parker, ’22, of Redwood High School.
Washington State is a four-year public university in Pullman, Washington. This University offers countless opportunities for its students. Washington State offers 98 majors along with access to master programs, doctoral programs, professional programs, and internship opportunities. Not only this, Washington State offers 6 Pac-12 Conference intercollegiate sports for men and baseball is one of them.
Parker will be playing for the highest level of collegiate baseball. He will be playing for an NCAA Division 1 team in the Pac-12 conference, as a Washington State Cougar.
He has plans to further his athletic career and academics at Washington State and plans to major in finance.
Parker has been a part of the Redwood Baseball program since his freshman year and joined the Varsity team his sophomore year.
Redwood Varsity Baseball Coach, Dan Hydash was “very excited to hear that Daniel would be signing with Washington State.”
He then goes on to say, “He has put the work in to be the best player he can be, and the work is paying off.” Without Parker’s willing determination he could not have accomplished what he has.
“Daniel is a special player. He has all the tools to go very far in the game of baseball.”
Redwood Varsity Baseball Coach, Dan Hydash
Coach Hydash says, “Daniel has many attributes that make him a good player but one of the most important is his competitiveness. Daniel loves to compete and it shows on the mound. He is in his element during competition, and his competitiveness inspires his teammates to want to be successful.”
Parker still has a couple more seasons with Redwood. But Hydash looks forward to “watching DP continue to grow as a person and a player.”
Hydash says that Parker “has come a long way since his freshman year and the entire coaching staff is excited to see first hand his growth and development. We are also very excited to watch him compete for the Redwood Baseball program during the upcoming season.”
Hydash has a few tips of advice to offer Parker. Coach Hydash stresses the importance of “the classroom before you worry about athletics.” He also says, “It takes a great commitment to be successful on the field and in the classroom. I would tell any college player to stay focused. I would also tell DP to always have confidence in himself. He’s going to experience highs and lows as an athlete but he needs to believe in himself and keep working.”
Coach Hydash has invested a lot of time in Parker and is excited to see him grow and succeed in the years to come.
He has also been involved in a travel baseball program, NorCal Baseball, helped him gain exposure for college and open many doors for opportunity and offers.
Parker has been playing baseball since he was 4 years old. For Parker, playing college baseball at the D1 level has been “a childhood dream.”
He has spent his entire childhood and teenage years devoting his time to playing baseball and bettering himself to the best of his ability.
Looking back at his preparation for this moment in his life, Parker says, “It’s been a grind over the years.” He then adds, “There’s been countless hours on the road and late nights in the hotels for tournaments.”
Parker has been preparing for this moment since he was a little boy. It is amazing to see that he has made his dreams come true.
Since last winter, Parker has kept in touch with many great programs such as CSU Fullerton, Pepperdine, San Jose State, University of Las Vegas Nevada, and Fresno State.
Although Parker has been in contact with college coaches since last winter, he has only been in contact with Washington State for “about three months.”
Despite not finishing his sophomore season for high school baseball due to COVID, he was still able to secure a spot on a D1 team.
Parker says COVID-19 “affected the recruiting process big time.”
NCAA made the decision to extend their dead period so tournaments have been very limited since March due to travel restrictions. Even campus visits and offical tours have been cancelled due to COVID. All communication between colleges and potential recruits has been through videos and phone converstations.
Parker has had to rely heavily on film. With the COVID-19 conditions we must follow, it is extremely difficult to play live games without violating any guidelines. Live film from games and showcases shows a lot about a player’s ability to react to competition and gives players the chance to prove their skills and talents. Through practice film, it is much harder to truly show a player’s full capabilities. This has made Parker’s recruiting process even more difficult.
Solely through film, Parker has impressed Coach Terry Davis. This just shows how good of a baseball player Parker is and the extent of his talent.
Parker will be joined by a handful of her travel ball teammates who have also committed to Washington State.
“It will be cool to already have some familiar faces in the dugout during games and it will help make the transition into college easier because I’ve known these guys for so long.”
Although Parker has not “been able to check out the campus” he plans on going to “see the campus and their brand new facilities sometime this April.” Parker has essentially made a blind decision in verbally committing to Washington state. However, he is 100% sure in his decision.
Parker says “I think it’s really exciting what the new coaching staff has planned for the program and to get a chance to compete in the Pac-12 conference at the highest level.”
He says, “After a few down years at Washington State, Coach Brian Green, who’s been known as a rebuild specialist, and his staff came to the program.” With the new coaching staff, the Washington State baseball team is going to have big things coming for them.
Parker will be a part of that bright future. He says with confidence in his commitment decision, “I knew that by going to Washington State, they will continue to develop and get me to where I need to be.”