Polak excited for return to SEC baseball
For Joey Polak, his college decision wasn’t hard. It happened as soon as he stepped onto South Carolina’s campus the summer between in sophomore and junior high school seasons.
A few weeks after that, he committed to the Gamecocks.
“I fell in love with the campus right away. And I love the coaching staff,” he said. “The coaching staff is awesome. Coach Holbrook, Coach Espo, Coach Buscher, Coach Meyers were all there and all showed me something different about the campus. I really appreciated that. At that point, I knew where I wanted to go.”
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The infielder recently graduated from high school and will be in Columbia for the upcoming season. When he came down for his official visit, he received the normal recruiting pitch, but a few things stuck out to him.
How baseball’s respected. The atmosphere. The campus. The academics. But one thing stuck out to him, and it wasn’t about anything on the field.
“Coach Holbrook, when I walked into his office, he was the only coach I talked to who looked like he didn’t have any stress in his mind,” Polak said. “His eyes were completely fine. There was no redness. The fact that I can be there and be really relaxed helps me a lot, and the coaching staff had a big part in that.”
Polak recently graduated from Quincy Notre Dame High School in Quincy, Illinois. He moved up to the area from the South in 2010, where he’s had to brave the cold winters for the past six seasons.
He joked he’s excited to play “in warm weather all year,” saying he’s used to seeing some snow on the ground in April. But most importantly, he’s ready to get back to baseball he grew up watching.
“I was surrounded by the SEC my entire life. Making that dream a reality was a really big thing,” he said. “We moved up to the tri-state area in 2010 and I lost that touch, but traveling around brought that spark back in my life. It’s a blessing.”
The 6-foot-5, 225-pounder is playing for the Quincy Gems, a college team similar to the Lexington County Blowfish.
Currently, he’s batting a team-best 22-for64 (.343) with a team-leading three home runs. He’s also tallied 13 RBIs.
Polak has played almost every infield position, primarily third base and shortstop. He’s known primarily for his bat, and says he’s working to make his defense just as good.
The incoming freshman announced via Twitter and confirmed in a phone interview he’ll be coming to South Carolina once the Gems’ season finishes this summer.
With the Gamecocks losing seniors Marcus Mooney and DC Arendas leaving, Polak will be in the heat of competition for a starting job when fall practice starts in September.
“They leave the position up to us and whether we want to work hard enough or let the older guys compete for their spots,” he said. “I’m going in with the mindset that I’m going to go in there and compete for the spot. If I don’t, then it’ll be my fault because I didn’t work hard enough.”
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