Longtime assistant coach Nick Kenyon keen on South Kitsap baseball rebuild

Three men served in the position of head baseball coach at South Kitsap High School between 1976 and 2023: Elton Goodwin, Jim Fairweather and Marcus Logue. That trio combined to collect 755 victories and four state titles.

Sizeable shoes to fill for new Wolves head coach Nick Kenyon, but it's a job he's fully qualified for after spending the past 19 years as an assistant.

"I've been a part of the SK baseball program for over half my live, playing and coaching," the 44-year-old Kenyon said after Monday's practice.

It was 25 years ago that Kenyon was suiting up for the Wolves as the team's stud senior. He earned Narrows League MVP honors after going 9-0 on the mound and hitting .440 with six homers and 30 RBI. The 1999 South Kitsap graduate then competed four seasons at WSU, finishing out his playing career in 2003 at the same time Goodwin (491-136 coaching record) was wrapping up his coaching career with South Kitsap's third state title, adding to the ones the Wolves earned in 1983 and 1996.

Kenyon began his long stint as an assistant coach under Fairweather, who went 128-64 in nine seasons in Port Orchard. Kenyon continued in the same position under Logue, serving as an assistant for 11 years. When Logue (136-82, state title in 2015) opted to step down last August, Kenyon made sense as the Wolves' top coaching candidate, but he took his time deciding to apply. Teaching and coaching two sports at Marcus Whitman Junior High, Kenyon wanted to make sure the timing was right.

"I thought about it for a long period of time," said Kenyon, who also coaches his son's select baseball team.

In the end, Kenyon decided he was ready to lead the Wolves.

"I just want these kids to know I'm there for them," Kenyon said.

Logue completely supported the hire, calling Kenyon a phenomenal teacher, leader and coach.

"I've worked with Nick a long time and I'm thrilled that he's leading South Kitsap baseball," Logue said. "Nick holds student-athletes to a high standard and works effectively with young men on how to support them in efforts to make them not only better baseball players, but even better human beings."

Discipline is one of Kenyon's core beliefs — he wants players to show up to practice on time, ready to go with shirts tucked in, "all that stuff," he said. He also wants South Kitsap's players to believe in themselves. One of the team's mottos this spring is #BTT, which stands for Be The Threat.

"We've got to figure out a way to do it with what we have," Kenyon said. "At the plate, be the guy that, bases loaded, gets the base hit. Or on the mound, be the guy that shuts the (batter) down. Or on the bases, be the guy that gets the huge lead and gets the pitcher to think about you and not worry about the batter, steal the base."

Little things are being stressed in practice and post-game talks won't just include typical individual highlights.

"We talk about what we did good, what we need to work on, quality at-bats," Kenyon said. "We're not just looking at hits, strikeouts and averages. You could be 0-for-3 but you had 3 quality at-bats that moved runners over."

One thing that Kenyon wants to make clear is that he's one piece of the puzzle as head coach of a team that finished in ninth place in the South Puget Sound League 4A with a 5-16 record in 2023, the program's lowest win total in decades. The Wolves entered the week 1-2, having delivered Kenyon his first win March 12 with a 6-5 victory against Central Kitsap.

"We're all in it together," said Kenyon, whose assistants include former Olympic College baseball coach Mike Reese, Eric Worden, Steve Lovell, John Nelson, Gary Hike and KC Bayne. "Even on my emails, I don't say 'Coach Kenyon.' I say 'SK baseball staff.' It's us. I couldn't do this without them. Just like the players, they can't do it individually. That's what we are trying to preach to all these guys. It takes all 52 players in our program and all eight-plus coaches we have to be successful."

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Former player Nick Kenyon now the head man for South Kitsap baseball