West M's Porter taking golf career south

FALLS TOWNSHIP — One trip to the Maryville campus was all it took for Jack Porter to feel at home.

Porter, who just wrapped up a sterling two-sport career at West Muskingum, will soon leave his beloved Tornadoes for Southeast Tennessee, where Maryville sits on a quiet campus in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains.

Porter had multiple options to extend his athletic and academic careers, but he ultimately chose the Division III school to play golf. He was Muskingum Valley League Player of the Year as a senior, leading the league in Match Performance Rating, as West won the Small School Division title.

"As soon as I stepped on campus it felt like the right place," Porter said. "The guys on the team were really cool. The coach is a younger guy who played basketball at Northern Kentucky — he's (West Virginia men's basketball coach) Bobby Huggins' nephew — he understands basketball, and I feel like I will understand him really well."

Porter also served as the Tornadoes' point guard en route to the Tornadoes' Small School Division basketball title. He pondered a collegiate career in basketball — he was a first-team All-East District performer — as the hardwood season progressed, but he ultimately chose the golf course.

"I kept telling myself that I can play golf the rest of my life," Porter said. "One injury in basketball and it can all be over. It was definitely tough deciding."

Maryville, located just south of Knoxville near the Great Smokey Mountains, has been ranked in the top 30 in Division III the last three years and placed fifth in the Collegiate Conference of the South in 2022.

The Scots have played in 10 tournaments since the fall and have three seniors.

"They're really solid," Porter said. "They played in a lot of bigger tournaments, traveled to Georgia, Florida, North Carolina. They have another kid from Ohio on the team (Haydn Hunt), and they have a pretty good variety of places where kids come from."

Porter said the team features a collection of multi-sport athletes, which he said endeared him to the program.

"They all enjoy sports," Porter said. "I feel like if we want to play pickup basketball that it's something we can do and enjoy."

Porter said he will major in business, but is undecided whether he will focus on accounting or management. He has a 3.8 GPA and a 27 on the ACT.

He thanked his swing coach, EagleSticks head professional Kelly Morrow, and his parents, Darren and Erica, for helping him succeed.

"I owe them everything," Porter said. "My dad was the first one to get me into golf. My mom was always a big supporter. She was every tournament that she could be at, even with her work schedule."

He is bittersweet about leaving West. He and classmate Jacob Allen, the Tornadoes' No. 2 man and a basketball teammate, have been close since their childhood.

"We've had that bond since elementary school playing as buddies," Porter said. "If I didn't have him, who knows what would have happened. I wouldn't have had nearly the season I did. When I got to play with him, I could play freely, as a friend and because we were competitive."

Porter said he made significant strides in the mental aspects of the game the past two seasons, a big reason he felt he turned the corner as a player. Now it's about skill refinement before heading south.

"I know I have the swing and it was take a lot of work to maintain that, but the biggest jump will be in the short game and how many birdies I can make," Porter said. "I need to get better on the 3-5 footers."

sblackbu@gannett.com; Twitter: @SamBlackburnTR

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: West M's Porter taking golf career south