THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Hicks staying true to his new Blue brothers
Michael Hicks, a 2015 Coeur d’Alene High graduate, has always wanted to put himself into a position to succeed, no matter what he’s doing.
On the baseball field, the classroom, or whatever he might be doing.
That path almost took a turn toward the minor leagues right out of high school.
HICKS WAS drafted in the 27th round by the New York Yankees in the 2015 Major League Baseball first-year player draft, the 833rd overall pick.
“It was a huge consideration for me,” Hicks said. “And it was also one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make.”
He chose not to sign with the Yankees, instead starting his college career at NJCAA power Yavapai in Prescott, Ariz., but was not drafted after his freshman season.
“I really thought at the time I’d go to Yavapai and get picked up for more money later,” Hicks said. “But if I’d taken that offer, I wouldn’t have had the experiences I did in college. I didn’t feel like I was ready to play at that level right out of high school, and it just didn’t feel like the right time.”
After his freshman year at Yavapai, Hicks transferred to Portland and played two seasons before moving on to Boise State in 2019. He was not drafted after his junior season with the Pilots.
“I always knew what I had to offer,” Hicks said. “And I had to be in a position to succeed and be who you are as a player. Boise State, they had a spot for me. It’s just kind of unfortunate that it took me five years to figure that out.”
At Boise State, Hicks, a 6-foot-7, 251-pound lefty hitting outfielder, had to wait again as the Broncos — who dropped their baseball program after the 1980 season — didn’t return to Division I baseball until the 2020 season.
“We only had 12 guys on campus in 2019, so we did whatever we could with limitations and doing individual work,” Hicks said. “We were trying to establish a culture in the program and as a team on a small scale. It was a huge opportunity to not play and build something at the same time.”
Hicks added the team would practice at Boise High and the football team’s indoor facility.
“It was a grind at times,” Hicks said. “A lot of time, we’d just practice at the indoor facility when we could. It wasn’t ideal, but we were fortunate to have that option.”
Last summer, Hicks played for the Ridgefield Raptors in the West Coast League, a collegiate summer league baseball team in Washington. Hicks appeared in 48 games, batting .320 (57 for 178) with nine home runs and 50 runs batted in. His 50 RBIs led the West Coast League in 2019.
“I was just pumped to play again,” Hicks said. “It had been a year since I’d seen live pitching other than the four guys we had on campus at BSU. It was a lot of fun and a good experience.”
Hicks represented the team in the league’s home run derby as part of the All-Star Game in 2019. In the derby, Hicks hit seven home runs to advance to the semifinals before being eliminated.
“I was in the derby the previous year and did pretty poorly,” Hicks said. “I told one of my coaches at BSU that I didn’t want to do it again, but then he drove down to throw me batting practice. I just tried to go out and have fun, but I’ve always struggled in home run derbies. It’s a mental thing for me because I’m always trying too hard.”
WHEN THE time finally came this spring — Feb. 21-23 in Austin — Boise State opened the season against Texas.
“All of the guys on the team, we were excited and reveling in the moment,” Hicks said. “It was cool to be at Texas, but we were just excited to go out and play. We were just trying to win some games. Texas, it was cool to see that stadium, but we were just trying to win some games this season. And there’s no reason why we couldn’t have.”
At BSU, Hicks is teammates with freshman Jayce Bailey, a fellow Coeur d’Alene High graduate of 2018.
“He played with my little brother (Luke),” Hicks said. “I wasn’t super close with him in high school, but he’s been my throwing partner at BSU. It’s kind of interesting. I thought he was a catcher in high school, and when he got here, he was an outfielder. I was kind of shocked, but he’s a great guy and great teammate.”
BSU plays its home games at Memorial Stadium in Boise, where Hicks played in the 2013 state 5A high school championship game between Coeur d’Alene and Timberline of Boise.
“When I played there in high school the locker rooms were kind of in rough shape,” Hicks said. “But they’re really well taken care of now. I was kind of impressed coming in here for the first time in a while. One of my teammates (Geon Hyoung Kim, a Timberline product) has a picture of us from that game, fist bumping after the game, that we look at and laugh about from time to time.”
After being swept in its first series at Texas, Boise State won 9 of 11 to improve to 9-5 before the season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“It really didn’t seem real for a few weeks after things ended,” Hicks said. “It was pretty sad all the way around because we thought it was going to be our last games as seniors. But all of us realized the virus was bigger than baseball and we wanted to assist in whatever way we could.”
Hicks started all 14 games for the Broncos this season, batting .386 (22 for 57) with eight doubles and 11 RBIs. Hicks led the team in doubles.
Hicks, a communications major, is on track to graduate this spring. He’s eligible for the draft this year, but the draft might be shortened from 40 rounds to as little as five.
The NCAA announced it will not charge athletes a year of eligibility for this spring, meaning Hicks could opt to return for one last run.
“It was a really tough decision, but I’m going to come back and start my master’s degree and finish my last year of eligibility,” Hicks said. “We’ll have everyone back but two guys, and I think it’s going to be fun. It’s a pretty special program, and I can’t emphasize that enough. We want to come back and finish what we started and kind of feel like we owe the coaching staff to come back and finish the job. The NCAA gave us the year, and I’m still here and feel like there’s some unfinished business. It just didn’t feel right to walk away yet.”
Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.