GREENVILLE – Greenville senior Tyler Beyke, the son of Jim and Michelle Beyke has been named to the National High School Baseball Coaches Association (NHSBCA) 2020 Ohio Pre-Season All-American Team.
‘It’s definitely a big honor,’ said Beyke of the award. “It shows that all the work that I’ve put in to get to where I am today that it all pays off.”
“It also feels pretty good because I know there are a lot of really good players on that list,” Beyke added. “They are all going to good schools and I am going to a good school so I think it is a great honor to be on that list.”
“This is a very well deserved honor for Tyler,” said Greenville varsity baseball coach Eric Blumenstock. “To be included among the best in Ohio is a very impressive accomplishment.”
The NHSBCA provide services and recognition for baseball coaches and to help promote and represent high school baseball across this country.
Beyke, a four year starter for the Green Wave varsity program earned the prestigious award playing shortstop, considered to be the most demanding defensive position where a strong arm is needed to throw out a runner. Beyke also took his turn in the rotation on the pitching mound and is an excellent hitter.
“I take great honor in being able to play shortstop,” Beyke said. “I like to pitch some also. Being a dual position I think that will help me in the long run when I go to college. If they need me to play short or pitch – where ever they need me the most.”
Beyke learned of his selection while working out at the Y (before COVID-19) from a friend.
“I didn’t receive any notification,” noted Beyke. “A friend came up and asked if I had seen I was on this list. I was kind of surprised. It was pretty cool to see that. He sent me the picture and I saw the list.”
Beyke began playing baseball at Greenville’s Sater Park beginning a 6-years of age playing T-Ball before playing for the Greenville All-Star 7-U and 8-U teams ( 7 and 8 years old).
“I played my first year of Kid-Pitch as a 9-year old through Greenville and then I stepped away from the Greenville program and played select ball.”
The next three years Beyke played for the Dayton Diamond Dogs based out of Englewood.
“We had workouts at Northmont High School two or three times a week,” Beyke said. “We did a lot of traveling with that team going to state tournaments, Columbus and sometimes Tennessee.”
After three season with the Diamond Dogs, Beyke returned to Greenville as a 13-year old to play for the Miami Valley Heat, a team based out of Greenville.
“We still did a lot of travel-ball tournaments,” said Beyke. “We had a lot of Darke County guys and we had a lot of fun with that team. We played as 13, 14 and 15-year olds together.”
The past three years, Beyke has been playing for the local Greenville Post 140 American Legion team under the direction of Coach Chad Henry.
“This summer will be my third year with the American Legion team,” noted Beyke. “That team is a lot of fun too. We play league games with the other Legion teams in our district including Troy, Piqua, Sidney and Van Wert.”
Beyke is a three sport student athlete including basketball, a 2-year starting quarterback for Wave football team and 4-year starter for the baseball program.
“I really like playing all sports but I feel I am most capable of playing baseball at the next level,” Beyke said. “I love all the sports but the sport that I love the most and that I always have is baseball for sure. I’ve always dreamed of playing college ball ever since 9-U when everything started making sense.”
“Tyler’s skill and leadership shines on the baseball field and in the classroom,” Coach Blumenstock stated. “Being on this list is a credit to the amount of hard work Tyler has put in.”
“We hope that we can get this season started at some point and he can add All-American to this pre-season honor,” added Blumenstock.
“Looking forward to getting to play some spring ball here if we can get back to it,” Beyke concluded. “A lot of ball to be played.”
Beyke has signed to play baseball for Trine University while continuing his education with studies in Civil Engineering.
The list of 28 Ohio players includes players that will take their game to the next level includes five going to The Ohio State University. Other universities include: Ohio University, Purdue, TCU, Tennessee, Central Michigan, Vanderbilt, Auburn, North Carolina State, University of Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Toledo, Kent State, Wright State, University of Charleston, UD, Trine University, Wofford and Sinclair.
Beyke is one of five shortstops named to the list and one of 13 pitchers.
