Jonah Bride’s accomplishments in his prior seasons go far from unnoticed. As a junior college transfer, Bride has worked his way to the top of the totem poll at Founders Park.
As a freshman in 2015 at Neosho County Community College, Bride hit .471 along with a single-season school record of 96 hits with 14 home runs and 93 RBI. His RBI ranked third-highest in junior college.
Taking his talents to the next level, Bride has shown all gas and no brakes during his years at South Carolina. He consistently displays his skills on the field, but his work ethic and dedication haven't gone unnoticed.
“He comes to the park every day to work extremely hard. He's extremely coachable,” head coach Mark Kingston said. "Some days you'd think he's a freshman because he's always trying to learn and ask questions, and to me that's a great characteristic. He's one of the rocks of our team."
Bride proved himself on the field last season, starting in all 60 games at third base, holding a .371 on-base percentage and leading the team with 12 doubles. While he repeatedly found the pitches at the plate last year to help the Gamecocks, that's not his only contribution, and Bride has been working all offseason to be ready for 2018.
“With Coach Kingston he wants me try to hit the ball around for a little more power this year so I’m going to try to be more aggressive at the plate and just be a good teammate and try to be a team leader as well,” Bride said.
Looking at Bride's performance last season and during the fall semester, Kingston feels confident about his star player's abilities, both offensively and defensively. As Bride is one of few seniors on the team, Kingston is ready for him to have another strong season and help lead the team back to where they want to be.
“Jonah Bride will be our third baseman,” Kingston said. “He'll hit in the middle of the order. He is a calm but motivated presence for our players … I think he's probably the best defensive third basemen in our league.”
As a player entering his final collegiate season, as well as one who has seen a multitude of different coaching styles, Bride feels ready to take on this year with Kingston. While the team faces the pressure of returning to the postseason, Bride believes in the South Carolina team and coaching staff.
“Coach Kingston, from day one, along with the rest of his staff, have been super encouraging for us," Bride said. "The work, the work ethic he wants to instill in all of his players, it's been awesome."
While this season may be unpredictable, Bride is just ready to go out there for one final go.
"We're very excited, and as I said, we're prepared," Bride said. "Opening day is very, very soon, and that's super exciting."