High Noon Highlights (1/26): Catching up with Phil Forte

Welcome to High Noon Highlights, your daily rundown of all the things you might have missed yesterday in Oklahoma State Athletics.

Former Oklahoma State pitcher Thomas Hatch invited to Cubs training camp:

Former Oklahoma State All-American pitcher Thomas Hatch has been given one of the Cubs’ 19 non-roster spots to attend the team’s Spring Training camp. Hatch was the Cubs’ first pick of the 2016 MLB draft.

Hatch was dominant during his time at Oklahoma State, with arguably his most noticeable performance coming in a five-hit shutout against UC-Santa Barbara in the 2016 College World Series.

It’s cool to see him getting a shot at the bigs.

Catching up with Phil Forte:

A year ago, Phil Forte was crowned the Oklahoma State 3-point king. The Oklahoman’s Nathan Ruiz talked to Forte about his new passion, coaching. He is now coaching at St. Louis University (the Fighting Travis Ford’s!). He talked about the difference going from player to coach:

“As a player, you think you put in a lot of hours. You think you’re in the gym a lot,” Forte said, “but as a coach, you’re here even more. When practice is over, you don’t just really go home. You’re always trying to figure out ways to help the players.”

Child of 2001 basketball plane crash victim plans walk on at Kansas:

Lawrence Free State senior Garrett Luinstra plans to accept a position as a preferred walk on spot at the University of Kansas. As he does he’ll be carrying on the legacy of his father, Brian. Brian Luinstra was a trainer for the team when the tragic plane crash happened in 2001. Really cool story.

Read the full story from the Kansas City Star here: