Nathan Lawson found out he had been named Kentucky’s Prep Baseball Report (PBR) Player of the Year the same way nearly everyone else did: by reading a tweet.
Lawson was working with Russell County Laker head baseball coach David Rexroat at Laker Field on Tuesday. Rexroat was inside the fieldhouse, and Lawson was outside. Rexroat quickly texted Lawson the link when he saw the good news.
“It’s just awesome,” Lawson said of his first thoughts after finding out he had won. “There were a lot of players on that list that were really good. It feels amazing.”
On the mound, Lawson had an 11-2 record. He pitched 72 innings and allowed 36 hits, 8 earned runs, 20 base on balls. He recorded 123 strikeouts and had a miniscule 0.78 ERA.
At the plate, he put up a .470 batting average, 15 doubles, a triple, a school-record 13 home runs, and 48 RBI.
Lawson helped lead the Lakers to their best season in school history this year with a trip to the state finals.
“I’m just honored to get it,” Lawson said. “I think I did deserve it, with the run we had and everything … [PBR] scouts every single player in the state. They’ve seen all the candidates play multiples games. Being selected by them for this award, it means a lot.”
Lawson was one of 11 seniors across the state of Kentucky to make the final list of candidates, earning the honor with fellow teammate Cody Luttrell.
Luttrell excelled on the mound as well to give the Lakers a strong 1-2 punch, going 12-1 with an ERA of 0.84 over the span of 75 innings. He struck out 136 batters while walking just 12.
“It was just an honor to even be chosen as a candidate, with me and Cody both making it to the [final list],” Lawson said. “I’d just like to thank everybody, thank my coaches and the community for everything they’ve done for me.”
Lawson will be continuing his playing career next season at Eastern Kentucky University.
