Zane Phelps is every bit of a fierce competitor as the Wolverine used as a mascot at Bayfield High School.
The three-sport student-athlete has been a dominant force for four years at Bayfield, and he will take his unrivaled work ethic to Scottsdale Community College to play baseball next year. He will play for head coach Alex Cherney in a program with one of the best mascots in all of college sports, the Fighting Artichokes.
“They’ve had a lot of success in the past,” said Phelps, son of Dion and Koel Phelps. “I know the coach well, and it seems he’s excited about me coming in. He thinks I can make an impact right away.”
Phelps is used to making an impact right away. As a freshman at BHS in 2013, Phelps hit two home runs and batted for a .467 average in 11 games. He improved to hitting .575 as a sophomore and hasn’t looked back. With the state tournament still to play this season, he has amassed 17 home runs and 118 runs batted in through 61 games played.
“He shows up every single day,” said BHS head coach Jonathon Qualls. “It’s hard to ask kids to do that for four years day in and day out. Zane is one that shows up and gives everything he has, and he’s done that for all three sports. You get everything he has.”
Phelps also starred on the football field, leading the Wolverines to the CHSAA Class 2A State Football Championship in 2015. He rushed for 1,646 yards and 23 touchdowns while averaging 6 yards per carry. He also was on the receiving end of one touchdown and added 172 receiving yards. The hard-hitting safety also finished with 54 tackles, good for third on the team.
But he never thought about playing college football, even when recruiters kept calling head coach Gary Heide and Phelps after the team’s state championship. His first love has always been baseball.
“I made it short for them and told them I was going the baseball route,” Phelps said.
The perennial all-state power has always been more valuable than his prolific stats, though. He has set the tone for a very special senior class since they were all sophomores. By the end of their sophomore season, it was clear Phelps and company would deliver the town a state championship by the time they graduated.
Phelps will fill an opening at third base at Scottsdale next year. The two-year program plays in a wood-bat league and plays in the fall and spring with as many as 75 games potentially on the schedule. He will join the team this June and get to work right away.
The power-hitter is no stranger to wood bats. He has used them in Connie Mack summer league games for years, and Bayfield prefers to use wood in training. That will put him ahead of many other freshmen when he arrives.
“He has the power and size and raw skill to excel at the next level,” Qualls said. “In the four years I played in college, he has as much power as anyone I ever saw, and he’s only coming out of high school. He has skills that are unteachable.”
Phelps plans to study sports management. After a year or two at Scottsdale, he could be a prospect for the MLB draft or chose to sign with a four-year college as a transfer eligible to play immediately.
“This is what I was looking for,” Phelps said. “I wanted to go to Arizona because it is one of the best baseball atmospheres in the world. There won’t be any days off, because I’ll be facing guys pumping it every day. It will be tough competition, and I’m excited about it.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
