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State Gazette Baseball Defensive Player of the Year: Dyer County Choctaw Trey Tarkington
Tuesday, July 23, 2024
Dyer County Choctaw Trey Tarkington
State Gazette photo/Jason Peevyhouse
JASON PEEVYHOUSE
Coming off a second straight season which ended in Murfreesboro at the TSSAA Class 3A State Tournament, Dyer County senior Trey Tarkington wrapped up his high school career as the leading starter for the Choctaws and has been named the State Gazette Baseball Defensive Player of the Year for the 2024 season.
Dyer County Head Coach Derek Hinson said Tarkington had a goal coming into the season of being the team’s No. 1 starter for the Choctaws.
“He’s our No. 1 guy and is going to pitch the big games,” Hinson explained. “He was going to give everything he had.
“As a senior, what he means to us was that he’s one of those guys that when you hear the name Trey Tarkington you know he’s a bulldog. He’s a guy that gives everything day in and day out on the mound. You know what you’re going to get.”
Hinson added Tarkington was very important to the Choctaws this past season, especially with his influence on the younger members of the Choctaw roster.
“Seeing him come to work every day was huge,” Hinson added.
Tarkington was the ace of a staff which saw him go 5-2 over the course of his senior season. The Senior pitcher sported a 1.63 ERA with 73 strikeouts in 51.2 innings pitched. This coming from a season in which he typically faced the opposing team’s best pitcher, especially during the district series. Fittingly, he was named the District 13AAA Pitcher of the Year.
“You know that guy is your first guy out and the team’s you’re playing are like ‘man, we’ve got to face that Tarkington kid’,” Hinson said. “Being that Game 1 guy allowed him to set the one.
“He was our guy and what you see is what you get.”
Over the course of his senior season, Tarkington’s off-speed pitches improved the most according to the Choctaw head coach.
“That was one of the big goals coming into the year,” Hinson explained. “Early in the year, he had a little arm injury that kind of set him back.
“But, once he got going, our number one goal in getting him ready for college was to develop the breaking ball. He’s got a good changeup but getting the breaking ball to a different depth was important. Early in the year, you could see it slowed down a little bit. But, since about the last month of the season, it’s kind of exploded out of his hand. He worked and worked for that. Once you tell him something, he’s going to do it. He’ll keep working.”
When it comes to things which don’t show up in statistics, his leadership leads the way.
“He’s quiet, but then again, the work ethic he has is something you’re not going to see like that with any kid,” Hinson. “For him, when he goes to the next step, my challenge for him is to be a little more vocal.
“He’ll still lead by example. But, at college, you’ve got to take it to another level. What is going to separate you from everybody else? That’s the one thing I think with Trey the intangible is he is going to have to be a little more of a vocal leader.”
Dyer County had more than one option for the No. 1 starter this year as the Choctaws had a pretty deep staff. This speaks to the level to play in Tarkington’s game on the mound.
“For us, as a coaching staff, we know he’s going to keep us in the game,” Hinson explained. “The walks and his pitch count may get up, but that is Trey.
“But, as the game went on, he got better. That was something big for us because we can take him where he can throw a complete game and get out in five if we mercy rule them. But, if it was close, we could get a complete game out of him.”
This was something Tarkington wanted, according to his head coach.
“‘I want the ball’ or ‘I want to win this game’,” Hinson explained. “With Trey, he had a little bit of wildness at first but he could also strike you out. That’s why he had 73 Ks this year.
“High strikeout and his ERA was right there where we needed it to be. He could spin it really well.”
With his career in orange and white now in the past, Tarkington moves on to the college level where he will play at Dyersburg State next spring. He will leave a legacy behind in Newbern as part of a two-time state tournament player.
“He’s going to be one of those guys that when you hear his name, you know that’s a dude,” Hinson said. “And, I think his best baseball is ahead of him.
“He was a young senior. His body is still growing. I can’t wait to see what he does. I know he’s gonna put in the work and go be a dude. But, I think Trey has got his best baseball ahead of him.”