How a York County baseball player earned a Division I chance before playing a high school game
Koy Swanson understood his success in baseball would come down to "doing the right thing at the right time."
That didn't just apply to knowing the right pitch to swing at but also for the recruiting process.
Playing well against the right people and — perhaps more important — in front of the right people.
For Swanson, the right time came at a rough time for many in high school athletics.
The Kennard-Dale sophomore first baseman verbally committed to the University of Maryland this past summer. The Terrapins have made the NCAA Tournament twice since 2015 and have produced a number of MLB players, including current Tampa Bay Rays all-star Brandon Lowe.
"It's every kid's dream to play Division I baseball, and I wanted to do it close to home," said Swanson, who lives about 90 minutes from College Park. "I was determined to make this happen now. It's an unreal feeling."
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Swanson is not the only YAIAA baseball player committed to a Division I school. Gettysburg senior Marshall Mott (University of Pennsylvania) and York Suburban senior Spencer Butz (Pittsburgh) earned opportunities earlier in their careers, while Central York senior Grant Smeltzer (Fairfield) found his this past summer.
But the 15-year-old Swanson earned his scholarship before playing a high school game, and also during a time when the COVID-19 pandemic had shut down many events throughout the country.
He achieved his goal by playing constantly this summer at major tournaments in southern states, something he and his family acknowledge was a health risk due to the pandemic.
He said he was home for maybe 18 days the entire summer.
And while he's continued to display his talent during an already impressive sophomore campaign, Swanson admitted he still has room for improvement.
Some of that will be the natural growth of his still-developing physical skills, but another part will be working on the mental makeup that is so important to baseball success.
For Swanson, the biggest key can sometimes be simply allowing himself to have fun.
"His frustration level sometimes gets hot," Kennard-Dale coach Blake Knecht said. "His emotion is sometimes a little out of control. And that's something he knows he needs to work on.
"But he just works. He's always working to improve something. He's the epitome of that."
A baseball pedigree
Swanson said he gravitated toward baseball on his own as a kid. He remembers a ball always being in his hand and always wanting to put an MLB game on TV.
But he had plenty of family influences, too.
His grandfather, Dave Lawrence, served as Delone Catholic's pitching coach and athletic director for many years. Lawrence's nephew, Casey Lawrence, pitched for the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners in recent years and recently signed with the York Revolution. Swanson has stayed in touch with Casey Lawrence throughout his professional career.
His father is also a baseball lifer.
John Swanson played for Millersville and was the longtime head coach at Bel Air High School in Maryland. He led the program to two state titles in 2013 and 2016, with Koy in the dugout observing both times.
"He was able to observe some of my guys, and I'm sure that rubbed off on him a little bit," John Swanson said. "But he's always loved the game and competed on his own. He soaks up information like a sponge."
And there was always competition in the Swanson house when Koy was a kid. His older sister, Chandler, is a 2020 Kennard-Dale grad who started for the Rams basketball team and now plays for Lock Haven. The "little rivalry" between the two helped motivate him growing up.
It became apparent early on he was a good baseball player.
He said he hit 36 home runs during travel ball a few summers ago on a 13-and-under team. John Swanson said a few private schools contacted the family about Koy playing for them, but the family was happy with him staying at Kennard-Dale and playing elite tournament baseball in the summers.
"There's baseball for everyone, you've just got to figure out where you fit in," John said. "Once you determine that, the bigger part is the academic piece and what you're going to do there."
Koy and John have gotten to spend a lot of time together this spring. John stepped down at Bel Air once his son entered high school and took an assistant position at Kennard-Dale.
While Koy was initially hesitant about being coached by his father, he and John believe being around each other at the field has strengthened their relationship.
"Watching my dad play in men's leagues and seeing how much he could teach me made me realize how good my potential could be," Koy said. "This runs in the family."
"I told him I was OK with sitting in a chair (as a fan), but I'm not going to miss him playing," John added. "As a dad, it's just fun to watch him compete."
A whirlwind summer
Koy was heartbroken when the coronavirus pandemic took away his freshman season, a campaign he believes could've been special for the Rams.
Still, he knew the bulk of his recruitment was not going to come from high school baseball.
"There are no PBR (Prep Baseball Report) scouts coming to Fawn Grove to see me play," he said. "I had to rely on tournament ball."
Swanson spent last spring working on his swing and putting on 15 pounds of muscle to his 6-foot-1 frame. Before the pandemic, he had planned to spend the summer playing with his travel team, Canes Baseball, a nationally prestigious club that recruits players from around the country.
That led to a decision for him and his family.
The Canes were playing a schedule that would require traveling by plane to states including Florida, Alabama and Georgia. It was a clear health risk with the coronavirus continuing to spread rapidly.
After talking it over with the program's head coach, the Swanson family decided Koy would play. He wore a mask when playing first base and at the plate. He said the tournaments checked players' temperatures, but since that wouldn't account for asymptomatic spread, his family made sure he was tested for COVID when he would return home from a tournament.
He said his results came back negative every time.
"To be honest, down south it was almost like the pandemic didn't exist," John Swanson said of some of the behavior they witnessed. "But the hotels we stayed at had the plexiglass up, the rooms sealed off, they did it right. The (baseball) facilities were always sprayed down after every game. We didn't go to any restaurants.
"We were apprehensive about it all, but we're so thankful that we did it."
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The Swanson family took the risk to help Koy get noticed by colleges, and they got their wish.
While college coaches were not allowed to attend the games due to NCAA rules on in-person recruiting during the pandemic, many major programs used videos from those tournaments to scout top prospects.
Koy said he sometimes played "seven or eight" games a week, and he was well-aware that every at-bat against a top pitching recruit could be the difference in earning a scholarship or not.
"If I hit a home run, that will put eyes on me. If I strike out, it puts eyes on them," Koy said. "You need to remember that if you weren't good, you wouldn't be there. That has to be in the back of your mind. If you go 0-for-6 the first two games, you can't let that become 0-for-18."
And even as a rising sophomore, Koy was confident which school he wanted to play for. His best friend from the Canes, Catoctin High School's Joe McManis, was already a Maryland verbal commit and helped Swanson get in touch with the Terrapins coaching staff.
Swanson got the call he craved over Zoom after a game in Alabama in July. Despite it being early in his recruiting process, he didn't hesitate to make his decision.
"I had never talked to the coaches in person, it's just crazy how it worked out," said Koy, who won't be able to officially sign with Maryland until his senior year and is interested in studying business or sports management. "I didn't feel too much pressure (to decide now), but this will take some of that pressure off.
"I can focus on having fun now."
Relaxing on the field
For Koy, one of the most eye-opening moments from this current season was the first time he got booed by an opposing fanbase.
After being surrounded by future Division I players throughout the summer, he now stands out every time he steps on a field in the YAIAA.
He said he's learned to embrace all that comes with that distinction. It's easier for opposing pitchers to walk him now. The left-hander told his father he thinks he's faced eight lefty pitchers in Kennard-Dale's first nine games.
Swanson also has plenty of teammates who won't play in college or are still learning the game.
"I've probably gotten four or five pitches to hit all year," said Swanson, who's hitting .444 with two home runs this season and also pitches for a Rams team that is 7-4. "The thing for me is to adapt to it. If I get walked on four pitches, I've got to trust that the next guy up will have my back.
"It's taught me to handle adversity and keep my composure. To pick everybody else up."
He's still learning to do those things, to some degree. John Swanson admitted that even though his son is a "man-child" who doctors think could grow to 6-foot-5, he's still just 15.
John has taught Koy not to "live and die" with every pitch. Kennard-Dale's Knecht said the coaching staff has talked to him about accepting that opposing teams will try and pitch around him.
Koy said he's picked up several tips that help keep him calm whenever he gets anxious during a game. He counts his fingers. He adjusts his belt. Tries to take a deep breath.
Then he reminds himself why he started playing baseball as a kid.
"I tell myself, 'What are you doing? You need to have fun. You're taking this too seriously,'" Koy said. "Once I relax, I get results. You can't take it too seriously. It's serious, but you've gotta have fun and play ball."
Matt Allibone is a sports reporter for GameTimePA. He can be reached at 717-881-8221, mallibone@ydr.com or on Twitter at @bad2theallibone.