Noah Coy latest in Center Grove shortstop pipeline to push Trojans. 'It's the culture.'

GREENWOOD — It's a surreal feeling for longtime Center Grove coach Keith Hatfield, watching his young children interact with his team and thinking back on the way Trojans shortstop Noah Coy was a constant fixture around the program when his older brothers, Nathaniel and Nick, played for the school nearly a decade prior.

Baseball is a family affair for the Coys, and that's in part to the culture Hatfield and his coaching staff have fostered over the years. Kids in the community grow up wanting to play baseball for the Trojans, and the most-coveted position is shortstop.

The recent history of Center Grove shortstops is illustrious. From Bryce Eblin (Alabama) to Tyler Cerny (IU), to Drew Culbertson (Missouri) and now Coy (Notre Dame), Center Grove has produced shortstops who star in high school and go on to become major contributors at Power 5 schools. Sam Griffith played second base next to Culbertson and is now starting at shortstop for Oakland University. After waiting his turn behind Cerny and Culbertson, Coy is seizing his opportunity up the middle as a senior.

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"It's the culture," Coy said. "It starts in the weight room, in the classroom. Me, Tyler and Drew have hung out together, outside of baseball, basically anytime they're all home. Just feeding off of each other, picking each other's brains. That's the culture that Center Grove has created with coach Hatfield and coach (John) Carpenter and all the other coaching staff (members).

"Just showing that these guys above us have set the standard, and it's our job as seniors, sophomores and juniors to keep that standard going to try to elevate it as much as we can."

Through 20 games, Coy is batting .460 with 29 runs scored, 17 RBIs, five doubles, two triples, one home run and 11 stolen bases. After playing second base as a sophomore and third base as junior, Coy has settled in nicely at shortstop with 92% fielding percentage. His athleticism allows him to cover a lot of ground up the middle. He has fast actions at short but is always in control with more than enough arm strength to make off-balanced throws.

Also a star on the gridiron, Coy will play up the middle for the Fighting Irish next season. Cerny is having a breakout sophomore season at IU, batting .332 with 19 doubles and eight home runs in 46 games. Culbertson's started 39 of 42 games as a true freshman at Mizzou.

With a strong pipeline from Center Grove shortstop to Division I in place, it doesn't appear to be drying up anytime soon. Sophomore second baseman Gannon Grant has all the skills to be the next star Trojans shortstop. His younger brother, Grady, is also a promising infield prospect.

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"I think that's a big thing with both Center Grove baseball and football is how much our head coaches give back to the community and come down (to the youth level), being seen in person when you're in Little League and just having something to look forward to," Coy said.

"That's the biggest thing with the Center Grove culture is when you are an 8 or 9-year-old, you're like, 'Man I want to be like Tyler Cerny.' You want to be like those guys just so you can come up and it gives you something to push towards and look forward to."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Noah Coy latest standout Center Grove shortstop headed to Division I