| This Week @ UCSD
is launching a new series called "Seniors to Watch"
that will highlight an outstanding UCSD senior each
month. In our first issue, we catch up with David
Tyler Morehead, who plays catcher for the Triton baseball
team.
Seniors to Watch: David Morehead
Ioana Patringenaru | January 16, 2007
David Tyler Morehead had just finished eighth grade when he was pitted against 18-year-old baseball players for the first time. He stood his ground. That’s when he realized he wanted to become a professional baseball player.
“One of my life-long dreams is to play professional baseball,” Morehead said. “If I had the opportunity to do that, it would just be amazing. It would be one of the things that I would really cherish.”
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David Tyler Morehead
Major: Management Science
College: Earl Warren
Age: 21
Favorite team: LA Angels of Anaheim
Favorite baseball players include, Barry Bonds, Ted Williams, Tony Gwynn and Angels outfielder Vlad Guerrero |
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Morehead is now playing for UCSD’s baseball team and is coming closer and closer to realizing that dream. Several scouts for pro baseball teams have their eye on him, said Head Coach David O’Brien.
“He’s exceptionally talented and gifted and he’s extremely self-motivated,” O’Brien said of Morehead.
Scouts are usually looking for big players and it says a lot that they’re interested in Morehead, who at 5’10” stands relatively shorter, the coach said. By the way, several other UCSD players are getting attention from scouts, including catcher and corner infielder Scott Clement and center fielder Bryan Silverman, O’Brien said. The Tritons are currently ranked 30th in the nation, but is aiming higher, he said.
Catchers are typically considered defensive players. But Morehead plays an offensive game — and a very good one, the coach said. He often comes up with a big hit or a big run when his team needs it, O’Brien said. Endurance also is one of Morehead’s strong suits. He will sometimes catch four games on one weekend. “He’ll catch the entire season if you ask him, even if he’s tired,” O’Brien said.
Morehead has been playing baseball since age 4. He started playing catch with his dad, then upgraded to wiffle ball. He became a competitive player in middle school. He saw it as an opportunity to make friends and liked being part of a tight-knit group, he said.
Many of Morehead’s favorite baseball moments revolve around that sense of camaraderie. At age 10, he joined his first traveling team, the San Diego Stars. They would often play games in small towns, like Kingsport, Tenn. and Burnsville, Minn. He has fond memories of running amok in Midwestern hotels, he said.
Morehead had just finished eighth grade when Rancho Bernardo High School coach Sam Blalock invited him to try out for the baseball team during the summer. There he was: a 13-year-old playing with 18-year-olds. They were big and strong, and Moorehead recalls being intimidated. But he did well.
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VIDEO: Click on the images below to watch
(Quicktime) David Tyler Morehead talk about: |
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| what drives him on the field |
the coaches who helped him grow as a player |
being scouted for pro baseball |
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Morehead said Blalock made him realize he needed to take baseball seriously. The high school coach was gruff but professional and he was really good at smoothing his players’ edges. He also put an emphasis on weight training and conditioning, which Morehead now shares.
While Morehead was at Rancho Bernardo High, his team won two CIF championships and he earned All-County honors. As a sophomore, he got to play third base during one of these CIF championship games, which took place at San Diego State. He can still taste that feeling of accomplishment and glory, he said.
Morehead carefully researched college baseball programs when he was in high school. He said he chose UCSD because of its academics. “You come out of here and you can get a job anywhere, doing anything you want,” he said. Once Morehead got to campus, he immediately focused on what it would take to become a professional player, O’Brien said.
He and his 34 teammates practice six days a week, from 11:30 a.m. to around 5 p.m. They’d practice every day, but NCAA rules require that they take one day a week off, Morehead explained, a hint of disappointment in his voice.
During his sophomore year at UCSD, he earned several honors including the Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division II West Region All-Star team and All-CCAA honors. He also set the school record with 20 doubles and had a team-high seven homeruns in 2005.
Also during Morehead’s sophomore year, the Tritons reached their conference’s playoffs, in Chico, a small town in Northern California. They lost their first game. One more loss and they would be out. They rallied and ended up winning the playoffs. Morehead said he liked the thrill of playing with his back against the wall. But what really drives him on the field is that feeling of camaraderie and fun that he’s been enjoying since he started playing competitive baseball. “We go out there and we joke around in between pitches,” he said. “We all have a really good time.”
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