Dunbar’s baseball seniors never got their final season, but their impact won’t be forgotten
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The Stories of the Spring
High school sports seasons across Kentucky were canceled this spring because of the coronavirus pandemic. This series by the Lexington Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com is telling some of the best stories of the spring that we were denied from each Lexington high school. Click below to read all the stories published to date.
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Editor’s Note: High school sports seasons across Kentucky were canceled this spring because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Herald-Leader concludes a series today telling some of the best stories of the spring that we were denied from each Lexington high school.
Even before the coronavirus pandemic wiped out their season prior to its first pitch, the members of the Paul Laurence Dunbar baseball team had grown accustomed to upheaval and uncertainty.
Following the 2019 campaign, the Bulldogs parted ways with Seth Knight, who had led the program for six seasons and was the only head coach the older players had known in their high school careers. For Dunbar’s rising senior class of nine, whose roots with the team went back to eighth grade, it was a blow.
“We were pretty devastated, because we knew we were going to have a great season,” said Michael Sizemore, a top contributor as a junior and the starting third baseman for 2020.
Josh Cunningham, a fellow senior and the team captain for this season that never happened, said the squad was “really upset” when Knight was let go. When they looked ahead to 2020 — and no permanent replacement was immediately named — that disappointment turned to worry.
“We didn’t want a head coach our senior year that knew nothing about us,” Cunningham said. “We wanted somebody that knew us. That we knew. And that would know the goals of the seniors coming into it and not have to get to know us in a short amount of time before the season started.”
For a program that hadn’t made it past the districts since 2012 and hadn’t won an 11th Region Tournament game since 2008, the goal was to be a team that advanced further.
Steve Deaton, a former PLD standout who went on to play for the University of Kentucky, was named the interim head coach after Knight’s departure. He had been an assistant with the Bulldogs the previous two seasons, and his presence helped calm the players’ uneasiness. Deaton took the reins, and the team bought in. By October, he was officially named Dunbar’s new head coach. Fall ball for the Bulldogs was a turning point.
The school brought on some new assistant coaches — including former UK star Sean Coughlin, one of Deaton’s college teammates, and former Morehead State pitcher Trent Martin, another Dunbar alumnus — as helping hands with the varsity team.
Cunningham said the excitement level jumped even more once the coaching staff was finalized. New aspects of the returning players’ games were unlocked. Outside of practice, more and more guys started staying after, getting in extra swings. Everybody started buying in to the new approach, and the 2020 season couldn’t come soon enough.
“We have an amazing team,” Deaton said. “It’s my first year as a head coach, and I had nine wonderful seniors that literally put in a lot of time and work. We changed our standards and how we do things, and they bought in and they were great leaders. And not only were they great leaders, they were competitive, they were selfless. They put their arms around the young guys and helped guide them through.
“Our team was in a good spot to, I think, have a tremendous year, to where we could definitely be a contender in our district, be a contender in the regional and be a contender in a state championship. The leadership was phenomenal. It’s sad, because the work they put in, the amount of hours — they would just hit on their own — they were just bought in. It’s unfortunate, but I think it made them better ballplayers and better young men. On and off the field.”
Dunbar’s senior class
Josh Cunningham, Michael Sizemore, Justin Kirk, Jacob Koehler, Kenneth Henderson, Griffen Brown, Jamarcus Robinson, Maclain Cromwell, Will Hord.
Deaton quickly named off all nine of his seniors, along with some thoughts on where they would have played and how they would have impacted the Bulldogs this season.
Not all of them would have been stars. Not all of them would’ve even been starters. There were some impressive younger players in the mix, but every one of Dunbar’s seniors would have had a role on this 2020 team. And every one of them had embraced that role, willing to do whatever was necessary to achieve the shared goal of winning baseball games.
“Everyone accepted and knew their role on the team, and we all pushed each other in practice,” Sizemore said. “There was no goofing or slacking around. Everyone was there to get better and work hard.”
And, even if they didn’t realize it at first, the rising seniors emerged as team leaders.
The older players quickly latched on to the message the coaches were sending, and that message was disseminated to the younger guys. Instead of coming to the coaches with every question they had, it became clear that the underclassmen could rely on those seniors for guidance. Deaton chuckled at the recollection of his veteran players and the way they morphed into leaders right before his eyes.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the way they handled things,” he said. “They listened. They asked questions. They never knew it all. They were always wanting to get better and be a student of the game. That was the funnest part to watch.”
Cunningham, the team captain who was poised for a breakout senior season, thought back on that transition and said it all kind of came naturally.
“Almost all of the seniors in our class are natural born leaders, whether they like it or not,” he said. “And everybody always looked up to every single senior in our class. It wasn’t just like, ‘Oh, we have these one or two players who really invest their time and really try to influence the younger kids.’ Every single senior was like that.
“As far as the juniors and sophomores, they’re not shy to work with the seniors. They’re not shy to talk to the seniors, ask questions. If they needed help with something, they’d come up to us, they’d ask us. ‘Hey, I’m having trouble with this. Do you have any suggestions for me?’ It was what Coughlin called a ‘classroom environment.’ You had nine seniors who know what they’re doing who can also help with what’s going on.”
The fun and anticipation for the 2020 season obviously turned to another round of uncertainty and, eventually, heartbreak for this Dunbar squad. The senior class won’t get to play their final year of high school. Those team goals they set for themselves will go unmet. Some of those players looking to turn a standout senior season into a college scholarship will never get the chance.
But this Dunbar class won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
Looking ahead
Deaton had high hopes for those Dunbar seniors who were looking to continue their baseball careers beyond high school. He’ll never know what would have happened if the 2020 season had gone on as planned, but things have turned out all right for several Bulldogs.
Cunningham spoke with enthusiasm about his recent commitment to play for Centre College, where he’ll begin his pursuit of a medical career with plans of becoming a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist.
“His work ethic and his passion — I thought Centre was a good fit for him,” Deaton said. “Could Josh have played at the D-1 level? I firmly believe that. But I said, ‘You’re getting a chance to play college baseball under great coaches at a great program at Centre, and get a phenomenal education.’ And that was what was important to Josh.”
Sizemore committed to Lindsey Wilson shortly after the 2020 season was canceled. He’ll be going off to college soon and expressed excitement over his future.
“They’re getting a heck of a ballplayer,” Deaton said.
Sizemore will be joined at Lindsey Wilson by Dunbar classmate Griffen Brown, and Kenny Henderson is headed to play for Campbellsville.
While they’re off at their new schools next spring, the teammates they leave behind at Dunbar will be a year older. New seniors and new leaders will emerge. And though they didn’t get to share the bus rides and the victories of one more year together, those new leaders will have the experience of the past few months to help guide the next wave of Bulldogs.
“I think that our fall and our leading up to the spring, what they gave these guys is going to be our standard in our program from here on out,” Deaton said. “And how they were selfless about knowing their roles, knowing that they might not be an everyday player. And accepting the idea of, ‘Hey, if I’m not going to be the guy, I’m going to push this other guy. Then when I get my opportunity, I have to be ready at any moment.’ … And these seniors implemented that. They pushed each other, and they pushed the young guys. And they put their arms around them and loved on them, and cared about them.”
Left without a senior season, Cunningham and Sizemore both acknowledged some solace in the idea that they — and their 2020 classmates — have still done something to impact the future of the program they love so much.
“I know all the guys following us, they definitely know what it’s like to work hard and what it’s like to be on a championship team,” Sizemore said. “And even though we didn’t get to play this season, I feel like they can keep the same values and bonds that we made this past fall and keep moving forward.”
Both veteran players said they’d be back in Lexington as often as they can next season to see their former teammates play. Deaton hopes every one of his 2020 seniors can get back to Dunbar at least once in 2021. He still has big plans for this group.
“They’re going to be remembered. We’re going to hang a banner up with them — the seniors — representing them for all year next year to honor them. Because they deserve that. They paved the path. And we’re going to try and get them back and give them their senior day. That way they’re honored. They truly deserve it.”
