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Keifer Wilson named Putnam County Baseball Player of the Year
Even among a senior-heavy squad in the 2021 baseball season, Greencastle’s Keifer Wilson made others take notice whether he was behind the dish, on the mound or at the plate.
Once the responsibilities carried by so many fell to him as a senior, Wilson’s play continued to improve, earning a second-straight Class 3A All-State selection from the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association and a spot in the IHSBCA North-South All-Star Series.
Leading a rebuilding Tiger Cub lineup to a second-straight winning season and a fifth-straight Putnam County Championship title, Wilson earned the title of Putnam County Baseball Player of the Year in the process.
Wilson hit .543 for the 2022 season with 44 hits, both school records added to his RBI record from the prior season.
Though not driving in as many runs (33) as a year ago, Wilson scored more times (25) while hitting 11 doubles, a triple and four home runs, walking only six times and striking out just seven times in 92 plate appearances.
Wilson hit for both power and average with an on-base mark of .598, a slugging percentage of .851 and an OPS of 1.450, adding 19 stolen bases to the tally.
“I thought I was always a challenge against any pitcher,” Wilson said about his approach at the plate. “My goal was to not strike out but put the ball in play.
“Especially in high school, if you hit the ball hard, the fielder isn’t fast enough to make the play or the ball goes by them.”
Behind the dish and from the mound, Wilson had eight errors in 151 total chances, accumulating 114 putouts and 29 assists, a fielding rate of .947.
On the mound, Wilson was 8-3 with a 2.55 ERA through 55 innings, allowing 58 hits, 39 runs (20 earned) and 16 walks while striking out 93 batters.
Greencastle head coach Ben Wells said Wilson was the ideal person to lead the Tiger Cubs in 2022.
“Keifer is everything you can ask for in a player,” Wells said. “He was a vocal leader when he needed to be but, for the most part, he was a guy that led by example.
“He was the first guy to come in and get cuts in the cage, he knew the game well and was someone the young guys could rely on to help them develop and the best thing about him was he wouldn’t say anything to anyone that he wouldn’t do himself. He led and did a lot for our program.”
Wells said Wilson had a drive that made his success the past two seasons seem natural.
“He started right away for us as a freshman as he was a special player,” Wells said. “The reason he has progressed as far as he has is because he’s such a hard worker.
“He puts in the time to make himself better, is very coachable and takes advice and applies it. It was hard to think he could improve on what he did his junior year but he did. He set three school records and that was all on him.”
What was different from the prior season was that Wilson was one of just a few known quantities heading into the 2022 season as only five other returning players saw significant varsity action in 2021.
With effectively a new lineup to work with, Wilson said much of the offseason, fall and winter practices were spent learning about what his teammates were capable of.
“The biggest thing this year was trying to get comfortable with the guys,” Wilson said. “It was about knowing their strengths and weaknesses and getting to know them in order to get where we could win ball games and have a good season.”
Playing with the Indiana Braves during the summer, Wilson had the added responsibilities of taking on the quarterback role for the Tiger Cub football team just before the 2021 season began as well as being a starter on the boys’ basketball team.
While additional responsibilities piled up, Wilson was still able to find time to keep working with teammates ahead of the baseball season.
“It wasn’t too hard to balance,” Wilson said of his busy senior year. “On Sundays during the fall, I had a wood bat league I would go to and after basketball practice, I would hit in the cage and throw with the guys twice a week.
“I just helped them get used to things. I got to see all of them in the cage, what they could and couldn’t hit and would throw against what they wanted to hit in order to help make them better.”
The biggest difference for Wilson personally was being the lead voice in the dugout after having so many seniors to lead the team the year prior.
“A lot of people think being a leader is an easy thing and everyone will like you,” Wilson said. “That’s not true at times.
“Sometimes, you have to be a bit mean about things and not many people can take that. You have to balance being able to get the job done while not hurting feelings.”
Wells said Wilson took on the role well.
“It helped he has a special group of guys in front of him last year, that he got a chance to see how they led and did things,” Wells said. “Everyone has a different way of doing things and putting their own stamp on things and he did a good job from the start of putting his mark on things and doing them in the right way.”
While opponents knew what Wilson was bringing each time out, the same could not be said for most of the rest of the lineup.
With a much younger squad lining up, Wilson said many didn’t expect to see the kind of season Greencastle had.
“I don’t think many people had us winning 10 games this year,” Wilson said. “Instead, we went over .500 and excelled, winning 15 games.
“We went from 19 wins with 12 seniors to 15 with on six seniors. Despite the changes, we still excelled throughout the year.”
After a solid start to the season, the Tiger Cubs ran headlong into the strongest part of WIC play in Northview and West Vigo, losing both games by double-digit runs.
Wilson said it was an important reality check for the squad.
“The first part of the season informed us about the journey we would be on,” Wilson said. “We started off 4-0 and were on fire, then we played Northview and West Vigo back-to-back and while we lost, it helped us because playing them, we understood the level we had to get to by the end of the season.
“They were just as good as any of our sectional opponents, so those games helped us get prepared for sectionals.”
In between the two losses was the Putnam County Championship, a title Greencastle would defend after wins against North Putnam and South Putnam.
“We had won county title four years in a row and had to keep that streak going,” Wilson said. “We knew the first game against North Putnam was the championship game and if we won that, we would go on and be fine.
“Treyten (Clark) threw a great game and kept us in it. We won the last two innings and while North Putnam came out with more fire in the rematch later, anytime we play them, we always hit the crap out of the ball and won again.”
The remainder of the season was one of stops and starts as Greencastle would not have a longer winning streak than the first four games of the season, one Wilson attributed to a team that got a bit ahead of itself when wins did come.
“The whole season, outside of the Northview and West Vigo games where we didn’t have great chances of winning, the other teams on our schedule were teams we could have beat nine out of 10 times,” Wilson said. “That day, things just might not have gone in our favor.
“We’d win two or three games in-a-row and started to feel like we had the next game in hand but things wouldn’t align and we just wouldn’t pull it out.”
The season would end in the first round of sectional play as the Tiger Cubs were drawn against No. 2 Brebeuf Jesuit, a team that would find itself in the IHSAA Baseball State Finals just a couple of weeks later.
Wilson said the team still had a successful season, even if there were a few more games than the year prior the team wanted to have back.
“Everyone knows that, at the end of the season, there were times during the year you should have done better,” Wilson said. “For what we had, we did the best we could, though there are a few games I wish we could have turned around.”
Despite only having three years of baseball at Greencastle, Wilson said he felt good about what he accomplished on the diamond.
“I thought I had a hell of a career and had fun while doing it,” Wilson said about his three years at Greencastle. “I tried to prove to everyone what my abilities were each game.
“Now, going on to college, I am going to do the same each time out.”
Wells said beyond a great career, Wilson was one of the catalysts for the way Greencastle’s baseball program is viewed today.
“Keifer left the impression of being a winner,” Wells said. “When he came in as a freshman, we went 12-13, which was close to our first winning season, then won 19 games last year and 15 this year.
“He is a big reason for the last two years, holding three school records, as he was always trying to be the best player he could be while helping the program develop.”
Wilson, who will be attending Olney Central College for the next two years, said the program as a whole was in a good spot moving forward and expected it to continue to grow in the coming years.
“Going from last year to this year, we set a path that just needs to continue,” Wilson said. “We lost 12 seniors a year ago and still went above .500, winning 15 games.
“In coach Wells’, and now my eyes, it should be a standard to win 15 games or more the next few years.”