Denham Kozy came to Morton College as a corner outfielder, but found a home in center. The sophomore racked up seven outfield assists, which stood out among the selection committee when it came time to honor Kozy with the Region IV Rawlings Gold Glove Award.
"We had him in right field, but we had some injuries and needed him in center," Morton College baseball coach Chris Wido said. "He filled in very well and became a very, very good center fielder. I think he sealed the deal with seven outfield assists."
In addition to Kozy's seven assists, he fielded .974 with just three errors in 106 total chances. Kozy also is Morton College's third Region IV Gold Glove recipient in the last four years, joining shortstop Thomas Schroeder IV (2022) and outfielder Luke Ulbert (2023).
Kozy told Steve Kral of Reporting Baseball Indiana that a key to his success on defense is staying calm and relaxed.
"I used to really suffer from being anxious out there, overthinking and being almost scared for the ball to come my way when I was in high school," says Kozy. "Since I got to college, I realized it's about just being calm and understanding that it's just a game.
"Another key is expecting the ball to get hit to you. It makes it way easier when you think that every pitch the ball is coming your way became then you're ready for it."
Kozy enjoyed his experience at John A. Logan in downstate Illinois, but wanted more playing time. He got that at Morton College and put up some eye-opening numbers on the offensive end. In addition to a .341 batting average in 54 games, Kozy led the Panthers (25-32) in home runs (11), RBI (59), doubles (16), slugging percentage (.637), total bases (114) and stolen bases (17).
Best of all, the second team all-Skyway Conference and Region IV selection immediately fit into the culture Wido has established during his four seasons as head coach.
"Denham provided us with instant leadership," Wido noted. "He seemed to fit in well with everybody on the team. He took sophomore leadership in the fall and carried it over to spring. He definitely was one of our most vocal leaders. Definitely a team guy. He came here with a lot to prove after not playing at Logan. He bought into everything we did here."
Kozy found his groove with a monster April, hitting .393 with 7 home runs and 33 RBI over 28 games. He also put up a .753 slugging percentage.
"The success he had wasn't an accident," Wido said. "He arguably was our best hitter. It was great to watch his growth from fall to spring. He really found his groove in April and took off from there."
While Kozy is uncommitted, Wido says he has a number of options as where to play the next two years.
"He's a good person," Wido said. "He's someone you wish you could have more than one year."
