By FRED KRONER
Carter Selk found the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic to be a learning experience.
He was a Mahomet-Seymour freshman when the pandemic wiped out his first year of high school baseball.
“When we had our season canceled due to COVID, I really missed the game and wanted to play,” Selk said. “So, I think I really realized how much I loved baseball and wanted to keep playing after high school.”
A multi-sport standout, Selk began to look to the future.
“I set a goal of competing in college around freshman year,” he said.
Baseball was easily the first choice for the 6-foot-3, 215-pound outfielder.
“I have always liked baseball more than any other sport I play, so when it came to wanting to go to college to play something, I knew what I wanted to do,” Selk said. “I have played on a travel team every summer since I was around 9 years old.”
Even though COVID-19 did not affect high school seasons after his freshman year, it still had an impact on his recruitment. The NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility to any athlete in college during the 2019-20 school year.
“The recruitment process was not as easy as I thought it would be,” Selk said. “Especially with COVID, it slowed a lot down and a lot of players that were in college got one extra year that took up a lot of spots for players in the ‘23 (recruiting) class.
“I didn’t really have any offers or much looks at all,” Selk added. “I had been in contact with a couple schools, but nothing much more.”
It’s not the number of scholarship offers an athlete receives that’s important, it’s if there’s one that fits his needs.
Thanks to some assistance from M-S baseball assistant Ryan Remole, Selk will have the chance to continue.
“Coach Remole got in touch with one of the Quincy coaches during the latter part of the summer,” Selk said.
That led to a call from Quincy assistant coach Chandler Purcell, who works with the team’s outfielders and hitters.
Selk arranged for a campus visit, and was pleased with what he found.
“I ended up choosing Quincy after that one visit because I really liked the school and all the baseball program had to offer,” Selk said. “I really liked what the coaches believed in and what they were about.”
Following the lone visit that he took, Selk committed to Quincy. It helped that a former Bulldog is on the roster.
“I had a connection at Quincy because one of my old teammates from Mahomet, Kobe Essien, is there and will be a senior my freshman year,” Selk said. “I got in contact with him after the visit, and had a great conversation about Quincy.”
In two years at Quincy, Essien has started nine of the 11 games in which he has pitched. He has a 3-1 career record with 36 strikeouts in 28 1/3 innings.
An NCAA Division II institution, Quincy had a 37-25 record in baseball last spring.
Selk had no hesitation about committing now rather than waiting and seeing what additional offers he might generate during his senior season.
“I think Quincy was a great fit for me and they are also a great program,” said Selk, who is hoping that he can contribute early during his career with the Hawks.
“I think I can fit in well my freshman year,” he said. “I think if I keep working hard, I can get some playing time.
“It will also be good to get into the program and learn from older guys what it takes to be successful.”
As a junior at M-S, Selk was fourth on a regional championship baseball team in batting, compiling a .371 average. He was tied for first on the 27-6 team in home runs (six), second in RBI (38), third in stolen bases (18) and fifth in hits (36).
He had 10 games in which he had two, or more, hits.
“I would say my strength in the game of baseball is hitting,” he added. “The coaches told me that I was getting recruited by them to hit.”
M-S head coach Nic DiFilippo expects Selk’s production to increase as a senior.
“Carter has been an outstanding young man who battled through an injury his sophomore year and had a fantastic junior year,” DiFilippo said. “We look for him to be a leader this coming year.
“He has great potential to put up some huge numbers with his swing.”
Selk is undecided about a major, but is considering something in the area of finance or sports management.
With the Bulldogs, Selk has also played football, golf and basketball.
As a junior in golf, he had a low score of 41. He played football this fall as a senior and tied for fifth on an 11-1 team in receptions with eight, including a one-game high of four catches. He scored one touchdown.
In basketball as a junior, Selk had high games of 10 points and six rebounds on varsity. Thus far as a senior for a 3-4 squad, Selk has high games of eight points and eight rebounds.
He believes he can take more strides forward when he can focus on one sport, but doesn’t regret being involved with numerous activities while at M-S.
“I do think once basketball is over, I can really focus on baseball and trying to get better even more,” Selk said. “I also think in college getting in with the program and working hard at just baseball will really help too.
“But I think being a tri-sport athlete has helped a lot in getting me to where I am today also, from all the good coaches and lessons I have learned from all the sports.”
The chance to compete in college is the fulfillment of a long-time dream.
“It has always been a goal to play sports in college, especially baseball,” Selk said. “I played golf and basketball for a long time and have liked both but have not had any dreams of playing them after high school.
“Baseball has always been the goal and I’m super excited that the dream is now turning into reality next year.”
Another change coming next year – in addition to competing for a different school – is being about 160 miles from home.
“I think it will be a little tough moving away because I have never been away from my family for long periods of time,” Selk said. “Also moving away from friends and my girlfriend that have done so much for me will be hard.
“I think it will be OK because I am close with all of them and I know they will still be supporting me even if I am not with them.”
