FARMVILLE, Va. – April 23, 2015 wasn't a typical day for Longwood baseball. There was a visitor on campus with the team. Renowned statistician, baseball historian, writer and pioneer of baseball "sabermetrics," Bill James was on campus for a day of speaking engagements and meet-and-greets as part of the university's Simkins Lecture Series.

One of James' engagements was with the Longwood baseball team in which he discussed all things baseball in the Lancer clubhouse at Buddy Bolding Stadium. Before the meeting began, James was given a stat sheet and asked who he thought was the most valuable player on the team. It took him all of 20 seconds to peg Kyri Washington, a buzzworthy prospect who was on his way to leading the Big South in home runs in his junior season.
 
"It was a cool day because he came to talk about the whole Moneyball thing," Washington recalled. "I still think about it to this day; it's pretty cool."
 
Then a junior outfielder at Longwood, Washington was in the middle of a journey that would take him to professional baseball. The eye-popping stats that caught James' attention that day culminated in a 2015 batting line that included 15 home runs, nine doubles, 52 RBI, a .548 slugging percentage, and 10 stolen bases.
 
The 22-year-old Washington has delivered on the potential James saw that day, slugging his way to a breakout sophomore campaign in the Red Sox system. He boasts 14 home runs, 18 doubles, four triples, 63 RBI 13 stolen bases and a .477 slugging percentage for the Class-A Greenville Drive and is among the South Atlantic League's top 10 in homers, slugging percentage, and RBI.
 
But for all the buzz Washington has received since jumping from Longwood to pro ball, the local product from Farmville stays as close to his Longwood roots as he can.
 
Washington had Longwood blue running through his veins before he ever put on a Longwood uniform. Whether it was a young Washington taking a trip to see the Longwood baseball team in action as a kid or the entire 2016 team visiting him during a minor league game in May, Washington and Longwood baseball are bound together.
 
"Growing up I'd always go to Longwood baseball games," Washington said, reminiscing about his childhood.
 
Born in Farmville, Va., Washington spent much of his childhood in nearby Prospect, Va., and admired the baseball program headed up by legendary head coach Charles "Buddy" Bolding.
 
"I actually knew coach Bolding when I was 12 years old. I always had close ties to Longwood, but I never really thought about going there until my senior year of high school," Washington said.
 
After a childhood in the heart of Virginia, Washington attended three different high schools in various parts of the state, including Farmville's Fuqua School where his high school career began and Grafton High School in Yorktown, Va., where he put himself high on the Division I recruiting radar as a senior and played alongside future Lancers Blake Ream and C.J. Roth. Washington was successful in baseball at each stop earning multiple all-conference and all-state honors, but entering his senior season he had yet to commit to a school.
 
Then came Buddy.
 
"I was searching for a college to go to and coach Bolding called me one night to invite me to a camp at Longwood," Washington recalled. "I kind of knew then I want to go there, I want to play for them. I got there and to this day I love it."
 
Washington attended the camp and knew he'd be a Lancer. Before rounding out a high school senior season that garnered all-region, all-state, and a pair of player of the year awards, Washington accepted a full baseball scholarship with Longwood.
 
Right off the bat the freshman slugger made an impact as a power hitter. Washington led the team with six home runs, 17 doubles, and 37 RBI in his rookie season. Pleased but unsurprised by his production, Washington wanted more after his first season. However, he would have to do it with a new coach as Buddy Bolding, the man who recruited him, retired after 36 seasons at Longwood.
 
"I thank coach Bolding for setting me on the right path," Washington said. "From day one he believed I can be great and he stayed on me. I can't thank him enough for how hard he was on me from day one."
 
Brian McCullough became the new voice in the dugout as Longwood's head coach, stepping up from his role as assistant coach for four seasons prior to taking the reins of his alma mater. Washington continued to blossom as a sophomore, improving across the board in batting averages, home runs, slugging, and on-base percentage. He parlayed that success into a spot in the renowned Cape Cod League, where his power was so impressive that he was invited to compete in the wooden-bat league's home run derby.
 
For Washington, competing in the Cape Cod League, which had 292 alumni in the major leagues in 2015 and 260 alumni drafted in 2015, being a part of the prestigious summer league helped grow his profile as he was named one of the top prospects in the league. That summer Washington also participated in a workout which, as fate would have it, was hosted at the Red Sox's Fenway Park in Boston.
 
Though 2014 was a strong season for Washington individually, Longwood missed the conference tournament and the Lancers would transition into a third head coach in three years, current head coach Ryan Mau. A third straight coaching transition proved to be difficult for the young slugger.
 
"Having three coaches in three years was a little rough at times," Washington said. "Trying to get comfortable and trying to learn what each coach wants to do is tough when you have a different guy each year, but I think all three coaches at Longwood were awesome."
 
Mau, who is set to enter his third year at Longwood this season, wanted to assess what he had to work with in players like Washington when he first got to campus ahead of the 2015 campaign.
 
"When coach Mau and [assistant coach Chad Oxendine] got there I remember the first time they saw me hit," Washington said. "They took me to the cage and told me just to swing and they didn't say anything about it. The next day we came in and completely reinvented my swing."
 
Washington, already on the radar of professional scouts after two solid college seasons, was asked to change his plate approach by his third coach in three years. Washington had faith in his new coach and that he would see the results from his effort.

"Kyri did a great job of allowing us to break him down mechanically, allowing us to teach him some things about his swing, and then he just ran with it," Mau said.
 
"When I first watched him I saw what all the scouts talked about, which was unbelievable power, but still a very raw individual without an offensive approach, which is why his strikeout numbers were so high. He wasn't able to deliver that long ball power as frequently as he should've been. Getting him into an offensive approach, a mental game plan, helping him understand his swing, and making some mechanical adjustments … a lot of things went into play there."
 
Washington put in the work, perfecting the balance and consistency in his swing, and almost immediately saw the results as he was able to handle pitches he couldn't before. The fall before his junior season Washington felt like a better hitter. He went on to set career highs in batting average, hits, runs, RBI, slugging, on-base percentage, and led the Big South conference with 15 home runs, more than doubling his total from the previous season.
 
"It's a huge credit to him for being as coachable and eager to learn as he was," Mau said of his former standout player. "A huge credit goes to coach Oxendine, our hitting coach, who had a huge role in his development. Kyri's work ethic was unparalleled. The guy is extremely hard on himself, but that's why he's as good as he is."
 
After a strong 2015, Washington had a decision to make. Eligible for the 2015 MLB Draft, Washington was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 23rd round. He could either jump to the professional ranks and deal with finishing his college degree later or stay in school another year, pass up the guaranteed spot in the 2015 draft, and get another year to mature while finishing his degree. For a star student and athlete who could improve on his draft stock with another year in school, it wasn't an easy decision to make.
 
"When I got drafted in the 23rd round I wasn't expecting to go that late so there was a question of if I wanted to go back to school," Washington said. "I talked to coach Mau and my agent to figure out what the best-case scenario would be."
 
Said Mau, "I sat down with Kyri and his family and we tried to help him weigh his options and discuss what's best for him in his career and weigh that against completing his education on time. Ultimately it was his decision and it looks like he made the right decision. We're excited for the success he's having, we're extremely proud of him, and proud to claim him as a Lancer."
 
Washington signed his first professional contract June 25, 2015 and has excelled since joining the professional ranks. After hitting .263 in 35 games in 2015, Washington is putting up numbers this season that project to 158 hits, 36 doubles, 28 home runs, and 124 RBI over 162 games, and was the player of the month in June for his current team, the Greenville Drive. The 22-year-old is considered one of the top prospects in the Red Sox organization, cracking the organization's top-30 prospects this season as ranked by MLB.com.
 
"Life in professional baseball is great," Washington said. "Playing every day, it doesn't get any better. Any ballplayer who grew up playing baseball would give up anything so that baseball would be their job. You get to put on a uniform and play in front of thousands of fans. It's definitely awesome."
 
No matter how far baseball takes him, Longwood will always be a part of Washington's life. He still closely follows the Lancer baseball team, talks to former teammates like Roth and Aaron Myers, and keeps up with his best friend Brandon Harvell. Washington, who owns a 3.50 grade point average, plans to complete his degree in finance within the next two years and stick around Longwood as much as possible.
 
"I'll come back in the fall and see all the guys, see all the coaches, be around practice and workouts," Washington said. "I talk to them all pretty often, I try to stay as close to the program as I can."
 
Washington says he's transitioned into a more all-around game and is focusing on developing speed on the base paths. The numbers say Washington has been successful at it as he's stolen 13 bases on the season. The power is there for the 220-pound Washington and he's working to improve his speed, defense, and the ability to hit for a higher average to earn another promotion. In Single-A with Greenville, four levels sit between Washington and the promised land of the major leagues.
 
A kid from Virginia, Washington has made smart men like James look even smarter by living up to lofty expectations. James, who has spent more than a decade as a member of the Red Sox front office, was a part of the organization as the senior advisor on baseball operations when Washington was selected in the 2015 draft. Though he hasn't spoken with James or received confirmation that James had an impact on the Red Sox selecting him, Washington is happy to be a part of the organization and often thinks back to when James visited Longwood. Washington wants to prove James, his former coaches, and the Red Sox organization right in their assessments of him as a baseball talent.
 
"My goal is to make it to the major leagues and to play at least 10 years in the majors," Washington said. "I want to play as long as I can and play until someone tells me to hang it up and I'm not going to quit until then. Whatever it takes. I have to push and strive to make it to the big leagues and that's where I'd like to be in the next few years."
 
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