FOND DU LAC — West Virginia Mountaineers first baseman and outfielder slugger Grant Hussey had no idea he would be heading to Fond du Lac to play for the Dock Spiders when his freshman season wrapped up.
“I got a text from my coach one day saying, 'you’re going to Fond du Lac,'” Hussey said. “They’ve obviously sent a couple guys here before. I think they got a pipeline here with coach (Charbonneau). I had no clue.”
The Dock Spiders were pretty pumped to get a guy like Hussey who might have gone in the 2021 MLB draft if he wasn’t so committed to being a Mountaineer. He was the number one ranked high school player in West Virginia and the USA Today player of the year for the state. In his freshman year of college, he hit 11 home runs and 35 RBIs with a .489 slugging percentage
“We’re lucky to get him out here,” said Dock Spiders manager Zac Charbonneau. “We’re fortunate to have a good relationship with the coaches at West Virginia, sending players here to Fond du Lac over the years. Grant’s kind of next in that lineage of getting good players.”
Speaking of good players coming to play for Charbonneau, a notable name that came through Fond du Lac a few years ago was Tim Elko who is now an Ole Miss legend and helped the Rebels just win the College World Series.
“It just proves that coming here makes you better,” Hussey said. “Playing in leagues like this makes you better. He’s obviously one of the biggest names in college baseball. Just knowing that is really cool.”
One thing Hussey is working on this summer is not striking out. He may be able to tear the cover off the ball but in his freshman year he struck out in 39% of his at-bats. With the Dock Spiders the Mountaineer is working on plate discipline and making better contact.
“The repetitions are everything,” he said. ”I got a lot during the season (with WVU), but being able to come here and refine everything that I learned and need to work on and playing every day allows that. You might have a bad day or two, but as long as you know you’re working on something and getting better that’s all that matters.”
The work this summer is paying off. His strikeout numbers are down and his power hasn’t suffered, as he’s slugging over .500. His batting average is up 61 points, as Hussey hit .244 in college and is now sitting at .305 in the Northwoods League.
“Some guys aren’t able to roll out of bed and hit the way he is and now he’s turned himself into a more professional hitter and that’s what we’re seeing out of him. His ceiling is a lot higher than a lot of other guys. “He’s going to be a guy, he’ll be a draft pick, and then it’s him getting into the system and advancing from there. Safe to say he’s going to be a pro,” Charbonneau said.
