Thousands of people nationwide will tune into the Major League Baseball draft this June, but one Hammond student will be watching with special interest. That student is Tucker Toman, who plays short-stop and pitcher for the Skyhawks.

Tucker is a senior at Hammond and plans to attend LSU in the fall – unless he gets drafted into the major leagues this summer. Whether that happens in 2022 or after college graduation, Tucker has big plans. He said, “I will not just make the big leagues, but compete for a title. I need to get there as fast as I can and get to work.”

Tucker Toman was born in Columbia, South Carolina, and while he was growing up, his dad was a baseball coach in South Carolina. Four years later, Tucker and his family and moved to Virginia because his dad was hired as the lead coach of Liberty Baseball in Lynchburg. Tucker later moved back to South Carolina when he was 13 and started Hammond in the eighth grade.

Tucker has always been playing sports and said, “I started hitting soccer balls with my dad in the house at two and three years old.” Tucker has always been playing sports for as long as he could remember. He started baseball by playing in little league and Dixie youth league around five or six years old.

When he was not playing in leagues, he would play baseball with his dad and his brother and watch his dad coach baseball. He said that watching his dad coach is a plus for him. Since his dad knows a lot about baseball from a coaching standpoint, his dad teaches Tucker when he is playing and practicing.

I asked Tucker about what positions he has played, and he said, “I played the whole in-field, shortstop, second-base, and third-base.” Tucker also added on that he is a switch hitter, which means he bats from his right-side and his left-side.

When I asked Tucker what he does in his free time, he said, “I like taking a step back and taking everything in.” He likes hanging out with friends, playing videogames such as MLB the Show, or fishing in Florida. He enjoys pond hopping with his brother and “trying to keep it legal,” meaning not going into anyone’s property. He also spends a lot of time in the weight room or practicing on his own time on the field.

Since the beginning of Tucker’s high school career in baseball, he has earned many achievements such as winning the national state championship twice, being Nationally Ranked (top 20) in the country and number one in his division. He is also the number one position player in the state.

I asked Tucker what one great memory was he had about playing baseball. He said, “definitely winning the state championship and dog-piling with my friends after we won.” I also asked Tucker about his goals and future plans as an athlete. Tucker said one goal that he wants to achieve is to win his third national championship his senior year.

On top of that, Tucker was also SCISA player of the year as a freshman and junior. He was selected to play in the Perfect Game All American game in San Diego at Petco Park, which is the world’s largest scouted game.

Along with that he played in the MLB Highschool All American Game in Denver Colorado in Coors Field which is a high school all-star game that highlights the United States’ top players. Tucker also played in the Baseball Factory All American Game in Kansas City, which is where the top baseball players from all over the nation in grades 10-12th play against each other for experience and for scouts to watch.

I asked Tucker what he has learned from playing baseball throughout the years. He replied, “Everything. Everything from social stuff, everything from games, mental, and baseball is ninety percent mental, and you have to be tough to play baseball.” He also said, “You can’t dwell on bad things that just happened, you have to push through and move forward.”

He said that one week during the summer, he went 0 for 10, the whole week, and did not get a hit. But the next week he led the whole event in hits. He learned that “there is always a positive thing to take out of everything.”

Whether Tucker Toman becomes a professional baseball player this summer, or whether he takes his talents to the Louisiana State Tigers for the next four years, he has much to be thankful for. “I have been blessed with the God-given talent that He has given me,” Tucker said. “I’m really motivated by my faith and family.”