From his days with the South Surrey-White Rock Baseball Association, to White Rock’s 2015 Little League World Series team, to his years with the White Rock Tritons, Kole Turner has always loved playing baseball.
The Peninsula-raised almost-21-year-old, who currently plays with Three Rivers College in Missouri, has just signed to play Division 1 baseball with Arkansas State University as an RHP (right-handed pitcher).
“It’s a dream come true to be able to play Division 1 baseball – I’ve always wanted to do that,” Turner said via cellphone from Missouri on Monday.
“Arkansas State has a great program and a lot of history. It’s a bigger school, but the class sizes aren’t too big. Playing in the Sun Belt Conference for a Power Five baseball school is something you can’t beat.”
Turner, who was studying general education at Three Rivers, plans to study commercial real estate at Arkansas State, to become a commercial real estate agent “if baseball doesn’t work out.”
If he does get drafted to the big league he’d love to play for Canada’s only major league baseball team, the Toronto Blue Jays.
Or the St. Louis Cardinals.
“Or whoever will take me!” he said.
Both his dad, Ryan Turner, and former White Rock Tritons general manager Kyle Dhanani note that Turner hasn’t been a full-time pitcher his whole baseball career.
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In fact, he only pitched during his last year with the Tritons, and when he went to Three Rivers, their shortstop was injured, so “he’s really only pitched at this level for one year,” Ryan Turner said.
“I’m excited to see what he can do dedicating his time to pitching. Growing up, he was more of a positional player, so to me, he has a ton of potential because he doesn’t have a lot of pitching coaching behind him,” he told the Peace Arch News on Monday.
“Going to Arkansas State where they have a really, really good pitching coach is going to be great for him to, hopefully, get to the next level, which is to play professional baseball. He throws the ball really hard – he’s topped out at 95 miles per hour.”
He and Turner’s mom are very proud, of course, he said.
“It’s great to see him reach this goal and that hard work pays off.”
Dhanani said Turner’s work ethic and determination to achieve his goals are what the Tritons baseball program is all about.
“His journey has proven that becoming a NCAA D-1 player can be done, even if it’s not how you expect it to happen,” Dhanani said in an email.
“Kole not only worked hard but he also adjusted where needed, as he began as a position player in Bantam, grew to become a pitcher and hitter as a Senior Triton and will now be a Division 1 pitcher.”
Turner’s brother Reid, 19, also a pitcher, currently plays for the Senior White Rock Tritons.
The brothers – like many siblings – have always been competitive, Turner said, but noted he’d love to play with his brother in the big leagues one day, if it all works out.
He enjoys the sports community and atmosphere in Missouri, and only has to travel about an hour and a half for the move to Arkansas State.
People in the area often tease him for saying “washroom,” (rather than restroom) or for the way he says “sorry” or “about,” but for the most part, Turner enjoys living in the States, especially because high school and college-level sports are so enthusiastically embraced.
“High school sports are a huge deal here – it’s crazy – sometimes they’ll get more fans than we do at a college level,” he said.
“I’d like to thank the Tritons program for preparing me for college baseball… without them, I don’t know where I’d be. I’d also like to thank my family for being able to provide for me and giving me the opportunity to come and chase my dream.”
@Canucklehedd
tricia.weel@peacearchnews.com
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