By Maurice Patton
Zach Dunnavant is trying to make up for lost time.
The 2013 Giles County graduate, who has spent the past four years as an assistant baseball coach at his alma mater, has been announced as the successor to Kennedy Mathis atop the Mt. Pleasant program.
“I’m a young guy, looking to be a head coach,” the former Bethel University infielder said. “As soon as I came out of college, that’s been one of my hopes and dreams. I wanted to do it by the time I was 25. I’m 26. I’m just a hair behind. I was kinda upset last year – applying at places and getting beat out by guys that have been head coaches for 12 years or 10 years or seven years.
“This opportunity came open, me and the administration talked. The atmosphere up here, the administration up here, all seems like a really good fit. I’m excited to get to be a part of it.”
In his three full seasons as an assistant under Bobcats coach – and fellow alumnus – Dustin Hill, Dunnavant helped Giles County to a district tournament championship and a state sectional berth, the latter in this past season.
“He’s been very instrumental in all that,” Hill said. “He’s been our hitting coach, our infield coach. He’s really good with middle infielders; he played shortstop in high school as well as in college. He’s really good at ‘small ball’. He’s a big-time bunt guy. I feel like he’s a good Xs and Os coach.
“He knows the game really well. I think he’ll be a great asset for Mt. Pleasant.”
Mathis was named coach at Mt. Pleasant nearly a year ago and coached the Tigers to an 11-17 finish — the program’s first double-digit victory campaign in seven seasons – but stepped down last month to pursue an opportunity in the business sector.
“I’d be remiss if I didn’t say, big props to Kennedy Mathis,” Mt. Pleasant principal Ryan Jackson said. “As I told (Dunnavant), Kennedy really set the table. We’re in a position where we can really sprint toward something.
“Coach Dunnavant is a baseball guy. When you meet him, when you talk to him, you can feel the energy. I’m excited about the focus, the energy, the organization he’ll bring. He understands what we’re going for in terms of building a program, top to bottom. I’m beyond excited.”
Though it’ll be his first head coaching assignment, Dunnavant thinks his experiences as a collegiate player and as a high school assistant have put him in position to take on the upcoming challenge.
“It’s one of those things: In high school, you say ‘I want to play college ball, I want to play college ball, I want to play college ball’, then you get there and you don’t really realize the commitment you’ve got to make and to make it for four extra years – the early mornings, the late nights, the travel schedule,” he said. “I really feel like that’s been good prep for being a head coach.
“Then being under Coach Hill at Giles County, we’ve had a great four years. Going back to my alma mater was kind of a comfort zone, which I’m not a big fan of most times, which is another reason I’m excited to go to Mt. Pleasant, to get out of my comfort zone and see what I can do.”
Despite the relative lack of recent success on the diamond, Dunnavant is optimistic about the chances of elevating a Tiger program that will compete with his former Bobcats in District 10-AA next spring.
“There’s really nothing not to like,” he said. “There are a lot of people that support sports and support this school, the administration supports sports and supports the school, the kids seem hungry and ready. It seems like a great atmosphere to be around.
“People like to say this is a baseball school or a this, that or the other school. I’m not necessarily going to say Mt. Pleasant is a baseball school, but it’s a hungry school. That’s something you can’t buy at a lot of places.”