Inductees

Some folks don’t choose a career until they’re well into college. For Kent Fewell, he had a pretty good idea even as a grade-schooler.

“In elementary school and well into junior high, my favorite subject was P.E.,” Fewell said. “It seemed like the coaches I had and teachers I had I enjoyed. And I said, ‘This is something I’d really like to do.’”

Fewell never thought twice and ultimately returned to his alma mater, coaching the Columbia Hickman High School baseball program for 27 years. And his success there is why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct Fewell with the Class of 2022.

From 1975 to 2004, Fewell’s teams earned 366 wins. In fact, the school named its high school baseball field in his honor following his retirement.

Fewell’s 1990 team won the Class 4 state championship, and he was named the Coach of the Year. Additionally, his teams won nine district titles, three sectional titles and sent more than 60 players on to play in college.

Five players reached the professional level, including one, Blake Tekotte, an outfielder for the San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox from 2010-2012.

All of this from a coach who has absolutely cherished Hickman and saw the impact sports could make on so many.

“The coaches I had were great coaches,” Fewell said. “And you got paid for it, too. When you’re young like that, you’re not worried about making money. And it was one way I could stay involved (in sports).”

A 1968 Hickman graduate, Fewell played football, basketball and baseball, and was a senior captain in all three sports his senior year. The 1966 football team was ranked No. 1 in the state. The 1967 baseball team and the 1968 basketball team finished as state runners-up.

Fewell later graduated from Nichols State University in Louisiana, where he played baseball and one year of basketball. He was part of its 1970 team that was the NCAA Division II national runner-up.

Eventually, he returned to Columbia’s West Junior High School and coached middle school basketball and track & field. His good friend Ken Ash (MSHOF 2015) was coaching baseball at Hickman and brought him on staff, with Fewell also assisting basketball and football.

Then Fewell caught a huge break, as Ash departed for Central Methodist University. Hickman immediately promoted Fewell to head coach of the baseball team.

In those early years, he soon realized the difference between being a good player and being a good coach.

“It helped having played college baseball,” Fewell said. “But it’s not the same thing as making decisions, such as pulling a pitcher or when to pinch hit. But I learned from watching other coaches. They’d put you into situations you hadn’t seen.”

Fewell labored to create a winner, but acknowledged that it took seven years his entire system had become the standard. For him, it was a labor of love.

“I always thought Hickman was the best baseball job in the state,” Fewell said. “And we always had outstanding talent.

That’s the thing about Fewell, who emphasizes that the players put in the work.

“It was just a pride thing to play for Hickman,” Fewell said. “Kids wanted to play for Hickman, not me. The program meant something to them. We had tryouts, worked hard and had leadership, and kids were coachable.”

That helps explain why Fewell’s teams worked endlessly on defensive situations.

“We always tried to tell them, ‘You don’t win a game, you lose a game,’” Fewell said. “It’s a matter of time before somebody is going to make a mistake.”

Looking back, the state title season remains a sweet memory. The Kewpies were 14-6 entering district play but got hot at the right time.

“Our seniors after awhile, they took pride in how we were going to play,” Fewell said. “If somebody wasn’t doing something they were supposed to do, they took care of it.”

Fewell credits several mentors: youth league coaches, as well as Hickman coach Jerry Whiteside and Nichols State’s Ray Didier.

Fewell had the unwavering support of his wife, Jan, and their children, Wes and Megan.

“My biggest thrills were being able to coach my son, Wes, for four years at the high school level and watching him play at the University of Missouri; and watchin my daughter, Megan, play first base for Rock Bridge High School softball,” Fewell said.

“When I drive by the field now, I miss it,” Fewell said. “I’d do it again in a minute.”