Photo by Todd Lester.
Garrett Farquhar is shown in a game against Oak Mountain on March 8, 2017. He is one of 13 seniors for the Bucs this spring.
Roughly 10 years from now, if Hoover High School baseball coach Adam Moseley comes down with a stubborn case of the flu, he expects the doctor that he calls to be one of his former players from the class of 2017.
That’s how highly he thinks of his current senior group.
“From a character perspective, you know they’re going to be super successful in life,” Moseley said. “That usually translates to them doing well [on the baseball field], too.”
Moseley anticipates the 13 seniors on the Bucs team comprise a class that leaves a legacy that lasts well into the future, in the same ilk of some of the ones he had in his career at Grissom.
“There are a couple classes up there that I compare others to. I say, ‘Man, I hope they’re like this class.’ I think our seniors now are one of those classes,” Moseley said.
Moseley believes the tight-knit community of Hoover will only benefit from this group as it moves into adulthood in the next few years.
“These are guys that will come back and be leaders in that community,” he said. “Not that others haven’t, but this group, there’s a lot of it.”
Garrett Farquhar and Drew Guffey are two guys who exemplify the Bucs’ senior class and what it plans to accomplish on and off the diamond.
Farquhar led the Hoover football team to a state championship from the quarterback position in 2016 and is the baseball team’s starting shortstop, also one of the most crucial positions to play.
“It says a lot to be the quarterback and the shortstop at Hoover,” Moseley said. “That’s hard to do. That’s small town stuff, and he’s in the biggest school in the state doing it. He’s one of those guys that makes us go.”
Farquhar has signed to play baseball at Wallace State Community College, and Moseley lauds him for the way he goes about his business.
“He really has high standards for himself, and that’s why he’s so good. He doesn’t accept doing poorly,” Moseley said.
As for Guffey, he is heading to Snead State Community College to continue his baseball career, and Moseley calls him “one of the best defensive first basemen I’ve ever coached.”
In Moseley’s third year, the Bucs believe their potential for success is great, largely because of two factors, according to Guffey. The team features a group of guys who all consider themselves good friends and is a team that has fun with everything.
“When you’re this close, playing baseball is nothing,” Guffey said. “You’re out here with your buddies having fun, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Another factor working in Hoover’s favor is everyone’s competitive nature in baseball and everything else.
“They are competitors, and whatever we’re doing, they like to compete at it,” Moseley said. “I know that’s a cliché, but with this group, it really is true. You could put five cents on the line, and they’re going to fight you tooth and nail for a nickel.”
Farquhar has played on the varsity team since his sophomore season and has seen how previous senior classes molded the identity of the team. His class has taken lessons, both good and bad, and tried to apply them to maximize the team’s success this spring.
The seniors at Hoover want to win first and foremost, but Ben Abercrombie, Brandon Agsalud, Devin Cole, Farquhar, Casey Gilliland, Brock Guffey, Drew Guffey, Kenly Hager, Tanner Hendrix, Jacob Kopkin, Ty Robinson, Kenneth Watson and Tyler Williams want to leave an impact on the program for future teams.
“If we come out and just do it the right way and just really have an impact on the freshmen and sophomores, I believe that’s the best thing you can ask for,” Guffey said.