Khris Davis of California State University at Fullerton has put up the kind of numbers this season that have done two important things: They have positioned the Titans for another run at the College World Series, which they have won four times and last reached in 2007, and they have established Davis as a highly regarded player for the upcoming Major League Draft in June, where you can look for him to go in the top 10 rounds, for sure, and perhaps in the top five rounds.
So far, Davis is batting .337 and is slugging .640, third best in the Big West Conference. He also leads the league with 10 home runs, 23 doubles and 112 total bases and ranks in the top five in five different categories. Against traditional Pac 10 Conference power Stanford in early March, Davis showed just how dominant he can be with a 4-for-4 day at the plate that included three home runs and six runs batted in. When Davis is hot, Fullerton wins, and he has been hot enough to lead the Titans, ranked fifth, sixth and seventh in the three major polls (Collegiate Baseball, Baseball America and USA Today) to a 36-13 record overall and 14-7 in the conference.
“Khris has a bat that you don’t see too often,” says the national cross checker for a premier National League franchise, one known particularly for identifying and developing young talent. “He is an aggressive hitter with impressive power and the ability to perform under pressure. A lot of people like him a lot.”
But the most remarkable thing about Davis is not his current success, but how he got to where he is today. Out of Glendale (AZ) Deer Valley High School in 2006, his future seemed guaranteed and secure. Davis had just finished a high school state championship season better than Paul Konerko’s state championship swan song to amateur baseball at Scottsdale Chaparral High School in 1994, just before he was selected in the first round by the Los Angeles Dodgers and signed for a then very-substantial $1 million. The 6-foot, 195-pound Davis, who swings hard from the right side nearly every time up, batted .592 as a senior with 10 homers and 50 RBI, to go along with a slugging average of 1.173. He then proceeded to lead the Arizona Firebirds to the prestigious Connie Mack World Series championship.
Davis made it clear to all that he was intent on playing college baseball and was not selected until the 29th round of the draft (by the Washington Nationals). He figured it was a cinch that after three top-level seasons, the transition to professional baseball would be lucrative and not all that difficult.
Little did he know.
The college game turned out to be faster than Davis expected and the transition to a school 300 miles from home wasn’t any easier. He was a significant player as a freshman, but not anything close to a star. He started 10 games in left field and 27 as designated hitter, with eight multi-hit games. In the classroom, he had to work hard and still found himself behind more than ideally should have been the case.
The next season, his world turned topsy turvy. Coach George Horton and most of the assistants who had recruited Davis left to establish the new program at Oregon. Dave Serrano was hired from the University of California at Irvine, and Davis found himself searching for his college identity. He fell further behind in the classroom and found himself out of the lineup nearly as often as he was in it, although his underlying ability was obvious as he became the team’s top pinch hitter with a .538 average and three home runs. The Titans finished 41-22 and reached the NCAA tournament for a 17th consecutive season.
“It was difficult for the Coach Serrano to coach me last year,” says Davis. “I did not always have the best attitude and for the first time, I began to question myself.”
Serrano, who was 114-66-1 in three seasons at Irvine, including the school’s first-ever trip to the College World Series in 2007, was both understanding and demanding of Davis. From the start, he had great respect for Davis’ talent, but wanted to see him mature so that he could handle the inevitable challenges he would confront.
“Khris has always been blessed with great God-given ability. It was just a matter of him finding it,” says Serrano. “At first, he was not taking full responsibility of playing to his potential on a day-to-day basis. It was the same situation in classroom.”
The result was a summer of soul-searching for Davis and his family – always a great source of support – and evaluation for Serrano. Despite suggestions from certain advisers that a transfer might be in order, Davis was determined to succeed at Fullerton.
“I needed to remind myself that I could get better every day – on the field and in the classroom. Coach Serrano reminded me of that, and we both gave ground,” says Davis, who is dedicated also to making his team as successful as possible. “It has been a fun year and will only get better if we can make it to Omaha and win there. I like our chances.”
Talk like that is all Serrano wanted to hear. It’s even better that Davis has backed it up on the field and in the classroom, where he has become a solid student who will someday return to get his degree.
“We decided early in the fall that we were going to demonstrate to Khris the confidence we have in him and let him succeed or fail with his performance over the long term,” says Serrano. “In the past, he would pick his moments. Now he does his job every day. It’s a process all kids have to through. A lot of it is confidence. Baseball knocks you down sometimes. Khris has learned to pick himself up. The result now is far more positive. He is essential to our team and has a great future.”
For now, Davis is focused totally on the job at hand – bringing a fifth national championship to Fullerton. “This is the most fun I can imagine,” he says. “It would be great to win it all.”
The college experience will be coming to an end for Davis, and soon. And then it is on to the professional ranks, where Davis is confident that his newly developed approach will serve him well. Like every premium player, he is hoping to be drafted as high as possible. But when it comes down to it, he figures draft status is not the most important factor.
“I’m going to do my best to be a Major Leaguer,” says Davis. “I have coaches here who believe in me, and they have taught me how to believe in myself. I’ve seen a lot of high picks leave the game heartbroken, and I’ve seen guys selected later who have gone on to great success. I think that I am smart enough to know not to go in with preconceived notions and to let my performance say all that needs to be said.”
It’s a different Davis than the one who left Arizona three years ago. He’s now a young man who better understands his challenges and his significant potential. It will be fun to watch him become a pro.